Keeping a diary sounds like a childish idea. The association that first comes to mind is either a teenage girl who is writing “Dear diary, I like this boy at school who doesn’t even notice me…”, or Bridget Jones type from a British-American comedy “Bridget Jones’s Diary” who wants to find love and writes about her lonely life.
Well, if you want to keep a diary for the same purpose described above, you are welcome. However, there are plenty of other reasons for journaling these days. In fact, after learning more about these reasons you’ll be convinced that it’s a great idea!
Types of modern diaries
We can divide diaries into different types:
- Private diaries. These are the ones we discussed, where you can express your emotions and feelings in writing.
- Type of a diary to write about important events in your life, kind of like your detailed biography.
- Travel diaries. If you enjoy traveling and visit new countries often, you should definitely keep a travel journal where you can write about the most interesting places and facts for you to remember from your trips.
Ways to keep a diary
There are two ways to keep a diary. The original one is writing things down to your paper-type diary book. Another one is using your laptop and some of the modern technologies.
How to choose? Just follow your desires and habits for this one. If you feel that you are a classical kind of girl/guy, go for a hand-writing diary. If you like to surf the web a lot and try new apps all the time, then go for a typing-on-your-laptop diary. It is very convenient because you can find a lot of apps and websites to keep a diary online.
Why keep a diary? Here are 7 key reasons:
1. To remember your life story
Your diary can be like “a walk to remember” through your life. One day you’ll wake up and get a strong desire to remember the craziest and the brightest days in your life. The time you went to high school, your prom memories, your first trip to Paris, and other things like that. This is where your diary can serve you as a time capsule. You can read about your impressions and feelings. This will be the way to relive the brightest moments of your life.
2. To make To-Do lists
Making To-Do lists in your diary is a great idea. You can write down things you need to accomplish during the day and just “check” the things you’ve done. It is a wonderful way to improve your memory. That’s because when you write something down, you train your visual type of memory. Plus, you get a feeling of completion every time you cross off or just “check” things from your To-Do list in your diary.
3. To keep good mental health
Sometimes our negative emotions overload our good mood and positive thinking. If something bothers you, like having a fight with your friends or breaking up with your loved ones, a very effective way to get rid of all these negativity is through writing about it in your diary. Scientists proved the positive effect of journaling for mental health. It helps reduce stress, manage anxiety, and cope with depression.
4. To set future goals
I’m sure that you know about the effectiveness of writing down your goals. So, why not do it in your diary. It is a smart practice. When you set your goals on paper, you can write a more detailed explanation of each goal and try to set a plan for implementing all of them. It’s always easier to do it on paper.
5. To get smarter
Start a little challenge for yourself. Learn at least one new thing every day. It can be horseback riding, baking, or just new interesting facts from your friends or Internet. And write these things in your diary in order not to forget them. Or, as an option, a really cool practice is doing notes while reading an interesting book, some things that are close to you emotionally or things that sound motivational. This is the way to use your diary to get smarter. Isn’t this great?
6. To build your self-confidence
It’s hard to believe that you can actually build your self-confidence by keeping a diary. Nevertheless, it’s quite possible. What you need to do is write only good things about yourself. These can be some good qualities you notice or positive events from your life that made you proud of yourself. This way you can relive these positive memories by reading your diary when you feel sad or blame yourself for something, and you’ll feel confident again.
7. To improve writing skills
Being a good writer is not an easy thing. Not everyone has a talent for writing, probably that’s why young people turn to essaygeeks.co.uk writing service, where you can get a quality-written paper from professional writers. Which is a wrong idea, because even though writing well takes practice, it’s possible! And when you write in your diary all the time, you might not notice this, but you will improve your writing skills for sure. Who knows, you may even become the next Joanne Rowling.
Takeaways
Hope that now you see why it is so necessary to keep a diary. There are so many reasons for it. Try journaling and you’ll see how fun it is. Plus, you will improve your writing skills, your emotional background, and you’ll see your future goals much clearer.
Author Bio
Chris Richardson is a journalist, editor, and a blogger. He loves to write, learn new things, and meet new outgoing people. Chris is also fond of traveling, sports, and playing the guitar. Follow him on Google+.
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