Why Journaling Has Become An Essential Tool for College Students in 2024
Journaling is essential for college students, offering mental and physical benefits while helping manage their hectic academic and personal lives.
You might be wondering why you should incorporate this simple practice into your busy academic life. Well, there are many reasons why. For Gen Z, who often prefer texting over talking, journaling can be an especially valuable tool.
Journaling offers a unique approach to help understand and manage difficult emotions. Research proves there are physical and mental benefits to journaling, including the release of the stress of academic pressures and personal life challenges.
Journaling can be a transformative experience for college students. If you’re a college student, this is your sign to start journaling!
The importance of journaling
Journaling may seem like a silly hobby to pass the time; however, it can become a powerful tool for processing experiences. College students have a hectic lifestyle, and writing can help them pause and reflect.
One TikTok user explains how she does different spreads in her journal, such as writing class schedules and professor information on one page. Another spread idea can be a homework page, and checking off the list can be a therapeutic experience. These spreads allow us to progress and manage tasks. The organization allows college students to make their lifestyle much easier and more effective.
Through writing, thoughts become easier to organize, emotions are processed, and reasons behind actions are figured out. College students tend to follow a structured routine, and journaling is quite similar to that.
Gen Z tends to trauma dump on friends and families or even on TikTok. However, journaling can also be used to dump all our internal emotions on paper. It’s almost like free therapy.
Journaling offers a structured way to solve conflicts and solve problems. It also creates a personal space without judgment.
Being alone allows college students to be in a calm and safe environment compared to hectic campus life. Journaling in a personal space allows college students to gain self-awareness and emotional intelligence.
Physical benefits of keeping a journal
Journaling can help physical health. By writing down thoughts, journaling can help reduce stress, which can also help reduce anxiety. All these health factors enable better well-being.
“Journaling can be a great pressure-releasing valve when we feel overwhelmed or simply have a lot going on internally,” says Amy Hoyt, PhD, founder of Mending Trauma. It is important to allow yourself to express yourself on paper in order to allow your mind to have a break from the constant stress.
Reduced stress can lead to lower blood pressure, improved immune function, and a general sense of well-being.
When something difficult arises, we tend to go into the flight or fight state. Journaling can help calm the nervous system. Writing can be used to identify patterns and triggers, offer positive self-talk, or cope with trauma and stress.
Mental benefits of keeping a journal
Journaling also offers mental health benefits, especially for Gen Z, who advocates for therapy and mental health awareness. Journaling can be used as a tool alone when difficult thoughts come up.
Through writing, college students are able to separate the emotion from themselves, such as by using the phrase: “I’m having this thought, and it makes me feel…” This technique helps to recognize and address emotions to become less overwhelmed by keeping everything in your mind.
Instead of pushing emotions away, journaling allows college students to become more self-aware.
If an individual is aware of what their current emotion is, they can address it. Writing can also be used to make a plan. If a friend is causing you to be upset, maybe you can see if you played a role in some way or if a boundary is necessary.
When difficult situations occur, many individuals go into black-and-white thinking. Writing allows us to find the middle ground and find the balance between what is right and what is wrong.
For me, the primary reason I started journaling is to help maintain my memories and accounts of events. I write about my day, the boring routine ones, as well as the interesting, eventful ones. I can now look back on entries from long ago and relive some of that experience and some of the emotions I was having at the time, though I still need to work on being more emotive in my accounts. My memories of holidays and important events are preserved and help trigger parts of my memory that weren’t written down.
Reddit User: watchedclock
One great thing about journaling is the memories you have to look back on. Even if it would be rereading difficult emotions, you can see how you have grown over time.
Journaling allows individuals to become empowered and resilient and gain a sense of accomplishment.
Some tips to start
Find your method
Choose the medium that works best for you, whether it’s a traditional journal, a digital journal, or just simply using the notes app on your phone.
The key is to find a method that feels comfortable and convenient. There are many websites online to journal, such as Notion, Journey, and Diaro.
Don’t be afraid to switch things around if you feel you need a change to fit your needs. The goal is to build a journaling routine that supports your life and personal growth.
Create a gratitude list
Start each journaling session by listing three things you’re grateful for that day. This practice can help shift your focus to positive aspects of your life and improve your overall outlook.
Gratitude journaling can help reframe your perspective to handle life’s ups and downs.
This simple practice can help cultivate mindfulness of appreciating the little or big things around you.
Daily emotion check-In
Make it a habit to check in with your emotions each day. Write about how you’re feeling, which can help identify specific triggers to address. Describe your emotions in detail — are you feeling stressed, joyful, anxious, or overwhelmed?
This daily reflection can help you become more self-aware and regulate emotions. Through addressing your emotions, you can try to find coping strategies to help your issues.
Feelings can be complex, and sometimes, we might not even notice how we react so noting them down can help us understand our emotional triggers and how to manage them more effectively.
Use prompts
If you’re unsure where to start, use journaling prompts to freewrite. These could be questions or topics.
Prompts can vary widely, from reflective questions like “What are three things I learned today?” to broader topics such as “Describe a recent challenge and how I overcame it.”
This practice can help with writer’s block and make writing more fun as it also may help you go deeper into self-discovery.
To-Do lists
Incorporate to-do lists into your journaling practice. Each day or week, outline the tasks or goals you need to accomplish. This can range from daily chores and assignments to long-term projects and personal objectives.
As you check off completed items, you may achieve a sense of accomplishment.
To-do lists allow you to keep track of your progress, which you can further use to celebrate compliments. Also, it may help make journaling a more structured and satisfying journaling experience.
Next steps
To address conflicts, use your journal to analyze the situation and brainstorm possible next steps.
Write down as much detail about the situation, including the people or places involved, big or small events that may have caused it, and the emotions involved.
By exploring conflicts, you can gain clarity and develop actionable steps to overcome the problem.
Set time blocks
Plan specific times for journaling, whether in the morning to start your day or at night to reflect on the day’s events. This can help build consistency and make journaling a regular part of your routine.
You may choose to write first thing in the morning to write down your goals or at night to reflect on your day. Consistency will help you make journaling a regular part of your routine.
A dedicated time slot will enhance your commitment and ensure that journaling becomes a meaningful and ongoing practice.
Happy journaling!
Journaling offers a structured outlet for college students to examine the challenges of academic and personal life.
Allow yourself a safe space to reflect and process emotions. This simple tool will help enhance your overall quality of life.
By regularly exploring your thoughts, you can gain clarity, track your progress, or address any challenges you encounter.
It allows you to have a one-on-one connection with yourself. This personal connection fosters greater emotional resilience and helps you navigate the complexities of college life with increased self-awareness.
The benefits of journaling go beyond the pages of a notebook or screen. Utilize this tool to guide you toward a more mindful and fulfilling college experience.
