How I Use a Journal to Improve Productivity, Embrace my Creativity, and Stay Happy

A simple, yet effective guide to journal your way into becoming the best version of yourself

Image credit: Mary Ne.

I have been journaling almost every day for the past 15 years. As a teenager, I used to treat my journal as a personal diary — only writing about the incidents that happened during the day and how they made me feel. With time, I included newer prompts that morphed the journaling experience into more of a structured approach toward looking at the contents of my life.

As journaling was already helping me understand myself on a deeper level, I decided to do some research on practices that can enhance my old habit to make it more productive and fun. I discovered three amazing uses of a journal that prompted me to write in one regularly. The new prompts that I introduced have helped me convert my journal into a tool for self-awareness and growth. They had several benefits for my mental health, the most significant being:

• Journaling helped me take forward the lessons from the worst moments of my life and develop insights for a better future.
• It gave me a deeper clarity of my goals and intentions, which in turn kept me grounded and helped me plan ahead more effectively.