I think I fell in love with writing down things that were in my head at a very young age. I would write down poems, thoughts, even a prayer, a disappointment and everything worth writing. I even wrote on a piece of paper and kept it intact for a very long time.

I love the idea of keeping thoughts, memories, inspiration in a note, sometimes I will have that gush of inspiration and write for days unending, afterwards go into hiatus and not write anything for long.

I have been writing and keeping all my notes for many years, that I even have a special section in my library for them, I tease my boys sometimes telling them that my books and journals are some of the legacies I’m transferring to them.

In recent past, I have managed to keep my writing routine as consistent as possible and in keeping up with the consistency I have discovered some useful tips that have helped my journaling, My son has been so impressed with my journalling style that he is showing interest in keeping journals too. I got him a new notebook to start with last weekend. xoxo

Journaling doesn’t have to be perfect or time-consuming, it just has to be the way you want it. You have to enjoy doing it. One of the ways I make mine fun is in the materials I use.  Are you a pen and paper person or do you prefer the computer format?

I have always loved using notebooks with a different colour of pens. All the different colours help me to focus on what is the core of any topic I am trying to put on paper, it aids my mapping so to speak. it is also artistic for me.

I have developed a brand for my journals – I used notebooks custom-made with African fabrics just to give me that inspiration and make an Afrocentric and artistic statement.

Another aspect of journaling to consider is the appropriate time to do it . When do you want to journal?  is it in the early morning before the day starts, or right before bed, making time to journal a part of your routine helps you to remember to do it consistently. You have to consider the best time when you feel you can easily pour yourself into your journal without interruptions or distractions

What will be the content of your journal? what you want to write about is the whole of the essence of keeping a journal in the first place. When I started writing things down way back when I wrote about my struggles as a young adult trying to navigate my way through life, I wrote excerpts from books I read, poems and many others.

You can write about anything, after all, it’s your journal. keeping a journal is the best way to get your thoughts out of your head, relax, and think productively. I discovered that the more I poured myself into my journal, addressing different areas of my life as I write, the calmer I became, and the clearer certain grey areas I was struggling with became.

There are great benefits that can be attributed to journaling,

1. It helps you stay motivated- 

2. It helps you to become a better writer.

3. It helps in processing thoughts and emotions.

4. It helps you to capture and keep track of ideas- often times you find ideas flooding your mind, when you write them down you are able to go back and work on the later.

5 . It helps you to achieve your goals.

I am sure there are more benefits you can think of, kindly share them in the comment section, will love to hear from you.

 

© OBA 2018.