3 Ways Journaling Makes You a Better Writer

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When I was a college freshman, all the way back in 1992, I started journaling. I couldn’t give you the exact reason I started this habit. It probably had to do with the fact that I’ve always been a writer at heart. There was also a good chance that one of my college professors suggested it as a spiritual practice.

Just a few weeks ago, over Christmas break, I decided to go back and read some of the entries. There are 28 years’ worth of journals—some years I journaled a lot, and some years not so much. Nevertheless, it would take many hours to go back and read everything I have written.

Because we were starting a new decade, I went back and read my journals from around 2010. I also read them from the last year and a half. This was an enlightening experience for many reasons, but the biggest lesson I took away from that experience is the value of journaling itself.

Over the last few months, I have actually doubled down on my journaling habit. Nearly every day, I take out my notebook and pen, and I write anywhere from 1-3 handwritten pages. I follow the practice called “Morning Pages,” which is outlined by Julia Cameron in her excellent book The Artist’s Way.

Basically, it goes like this: write three longhand pages each day, preferably first thing in the morning. Writing by hand gives you a whole different, and I would say more intimate and thoughtful, experience than composing on a phone or computer.

I don’t have any agenda for what I’m writing about. I write about whatever comes to mind. Usually, I’m talking about my feelings, what’s happening in my life, or sorting out some problem I need to solve. This morning, when I was journaling at a coffee shop, I spent a few paragraphs writing about a guy who was talking loudly and obviously had no social awareness … and then I promptly realized that I was being judgmental. As a result, I immediately became more aware of my tendency to judge people based on a tiny snippet of their life. And then I realized the need for more empathy and compassion in my heart.

It’s these kinds of observations and learning points that I love about journaling. When you stop and pay attention to what is happening in your life, and you pause long enough to write them down, you get some really great insights you wouldn’t get any other way.

But those aren’t the only benefits of journaling. In fact, I want to quickly talk about three amazing benefits of journaling, and why this practice makes you a better writer.

1. You develop the habit of writing every day.

If you’re going to be successful on any level as a writer, then regular writing is a must. Writing is one of those things where the more you do it, the better you are probably going to get.

It doesn’t matter if you are writing books, blog posts, articles, social media posts, podcast content, doing copywriting, or other types of writing. Writing is just like working a muscle. It takes time to get better, but the more you do it, the better you are going to get.

But it’s not just a matter of being BETTER. It’s also a matter of being FASTER. Your ability to write solid content quickly is a skill that is transferable to pretty much any field or type of work.

2. You release your creativity through the act of writing.

The simple act of sitting down and writing will set your creative juices in motion. Nearly every time I sit down to journal, it generates ideas or thoughts or memories about something that I would not have accessed otherwise. This creativity spills out into other areas of your life including your business writing.

Creativity is closely tied to observation. If you can look at your life, and process the things happening around you, and within you, it helps you take a step back and see what is really going on. We live in such a fast-paced world that it’s critical to slow down and just observe for a few months—to process what is going on. Journaling goes a long way toward giving you this ability. You are a better artist, you’re a better creative, and you’re a better thinker and writer when you can critically observe both yourself and the world around you.

3. You have a written record of your life.

One of my most prized possessions is a notebook from the 1970’s that contains handwritten poems from my grandmother. She was a great writer, and oh how I wish she had kept a journal! I’m very much like her in the way that I think, create, and process the world.

When you keep a journal—even if you don’t write every single day, but write regularly—when you keep a journal, you have a record of your thoughts and ideas. You can look back and see your progress and how you have changed and hopefully grown. Or in my case, you can look back at your old journals and see all the things about yourself you WISH you had changed by now.

Either way, there is a LOT of value in recording your thoughts and ideas. It will benefit you in the here and now, but even more so, it will benefit your future self. Journaling will also help you become a better writer for your business, company, or organization.

I can’t begin to tell you how much this simple habit of doing journaling has impacted my life. It’s one of those keystone habits that impacts a lot of other areas of your life. If you’ve never done journaling, I encourage you to start small with just a few minutes a day, or even just a half-page a day for a week. Give it a try and see what you think.

Do you keep a journal? If so, how has it helped you become a better writer?