Nathan Brown

Journaling doesn't have to be aesthetic to be effective

Why you don't need coffee, expensive journals, or fancy pens to see real benefits from journaling.

I wake up at 8am.

I stumble out of bed and start to brew my morning coffeeā€”a dark roast from only the finest Ethiopian jungles. While it boils, I grab my expensive journal and my fancy gold pen and I find a place to sit outside.

Surrounded by lush trees and chirping birds, I peacefully spend the next hour and a half recording all my reflections and thoughts from yesterday. I take great calligraphic care with every word I write, giving my Rs and Ls extravagant curls.

Once Iā€™m finally done, I breathe a sigh of satisfaction and head back inside. Ah, shoot. I forgot about my coffee.

My black coffee pot lies broken on the floor, burnt, holding remnants of (maybe?) still drinkable coffee. I suppose I wonā€™t be having much caffeine today. But hey, at least I can write about this misadventure tomorrow morning!

Except, of course, I donā€™t do any of that.

I donā€™t drink coffee. I donā€™t have an expensive notebook or a fancy gold pen. And I definitely donā€™t sit outside to journal.

Instead, I sit inside at my desk. Every night, I spend 5-10 minutes typing out my daily journal entry, and I use a simple tool: the Apple Notes app on Mac.

Iā€™ve been journaling every day for the past six months. Since Iā€™ve started on June 19, 2022, Iā€™ve never missed a day. My goal is to write 365 consecutive journal entries over the course of one year.

You donā€™t need an extravagant and aesthetic journaling routine to reap the many rewards of spending a few minutes to write every day.

If you want to start journaling, I would highly recommend starting right now. There is no better time to start.

It is better to do something than to do nothing while waiting to do everything. ā€”Winston Churchill

Additionally, there are many advantages of journaling, which include reduced stress, deepened self-discovery, and a boost in health and well-being (source).

If you've already started to journal, awesome! If you want to continue the positive habit of journaling, Iā€™d recommend the following three tips:

The 50-Word Rule

For every journal entry I write, I force myself to write 50+ words. Itā€™s always better to write something than it is to write nothing. And writing 50 words is trivially easy. When I donā€™t feel like writing, I simply ask myself:

Nathan, writing 50 words takes like 5 minutes. Is it really that difficult to spend 5 minutes of your night writing?

This tactic works well for me. 80% of my journal entries contain 150+ words.

Be Kind to Yourself

Sometimes you simply donā€™t have enough time or energy in your day to writeā€”that's okay. Everyone has tough days. Jot down two or three thoughts about your day, and just write that journal entry tomorrow.

Have Concrete Goals

When you start journaling, have a goal or two in mind. What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to...

Write down that goal so you'll be more committed to it.