Did you know that the American poet Sylvia Plath maintained a diary from 11 years of age till the time she died? In fact, she was not alone in this endeavor, for famous people across generations like Mark Twain, Anne Frank, Warren Buffet, Arianna Huffington, etc, all maintain a dairy. This makes us wonder, what is so alluring about writing a diary that even these famous people could not resist but jot down their thoughts and feelings in it? For starters, keeping a diary helps to record your experiences. While being in a digital age makes us rely on clicking pictures, writing a diary is much more effective since your feelings might escape the lens of the camera but will definitely find their way onto the page. Still not convinced to write a diary? Then, read these benefits of writing diary which are sure to make you write one!
1. Enhances communication skills
Have you noticed how often we succumb to writing our speech for school, college, or office presentations before we actually deliver it? And how doing so often does wonder on our delivery? What do you think is the reason behind this? Well, it owes to the fact that writing has strong relations to communication. When we write, we often are forced to organize our thoughts and then phrase them into words and then meaningful sentences. This clarity of thought, which writing daily can help us with, eventually leads us to express ourselves better and communicate effectively. And think how many misunderstandings you can prevent in your relationships, only if you get better at communicating your feelings and thoughts. So, go and start writing your diary!
2. Stimulates critical thinking and strengthens problem-solving skills
Our mind is often riddled with questions and problems that we encounter in our daily life. With a mind preoccupied with troubles, finding solutions becomes tough. And here we make use of writing diary. For it effectively helps us to de clutter our mind as we unload everything on paper. Freed from any unnecessary troubles and worries, you will become better at equipping reason and intelligence to critically think and then solve any problem. Further, writing daily can help you visualize connections between seemingly disparate situations. This might lead to interesting insights which can help you to come up with new and creative solutions.
3. Improves both mental and physical health
Writing in a diary has been an effective measure to prevent as well as cope with depression, stress, and anxiety. Releasing pent-up emotions, worries, frustrations on a sheet of paper can truly ease the mind as well as steer your head clear of any intrusive thoughts. Apart from these mental health benefits, writing in a diary boosts the immune system and reduce symptoms in chronically ill patients. In fact, its effectiveness was proven when a study showed how a patient’s health was significantly improved after journalling. If we are to go by any of this, then writing in a diary is not just good for mental but also physical health.
4. Gives you a good night’s sleep
In this digital world, we spend every second of our time glued to our laptops and smartphones. Even before sleeping, we are stuck to the screens which produce white light, often associated with restraining the production of melatonin, the hormone responsible for inducing sleep. As a result, our sleep gets disturbed and delayed. But switching off phones and instead of writing a diary before sleeping can help you wind down and get ready for bed. Moreover, a better sleep is guaranteed with no white light around you. In fact, a study also noted that writing a diary before bed helps you to slow down and put things in perspective. Moreover, it removes distractions, decreases overthinking and worries, which in turn can help you fall asleep faster and better.
5. Helps you hone your writing skills
You often hear people say ‘Practise makes a man perfect’. And it truly does, for writing a diary can help you discover your voice and improve your writing skills. Everyone has a unique style to express themselves and that is exactly what makes one’s writing distinct from another. This voice develops over time and the diary provides a great space for you to experiment as well as practice. You see these voices ranging from being humorous to satiric to serious and for you to find where you lie amongst these, you need to start writing a diary. Better, in fact, if you can write in a diary daily.
6. Fosters Creativity
Your diary is your safe space. A space for you to be vulnerable and write whatever you think or feel without fear of judgment. This helps you to experiment with different thoughts and come up with new ideas. Not only that, but often we have an inner voice guiding us to write grammatically correct sentences, have a better tone, use good vocabulary, all of which inhibit the creative juices. But unrestricted space which the diary provides, allows your thoughts and emotions to flow naturally. In fact, putting pen to the paper also helps you become more aware of your surroundings. With these increased sensory stimulations, comes the advantage of discovering new ideas. Moreover, diaries possess so many snippets of your life which can be visualized together into new creative expressions.
7. Boosts memory and retention
Do you remember what you ate for dinner three days back? Well, most people will not be able to answer this. But guess what, if you would have written about it in your diary, you would have retained the memory. For when you write, your brain deems it as essential and stores it for longer. This is essentially why your teachers at school would suggest you take notes in the class. Apart from retaining information, writing in a diary can improve your working memory. And mind you, a study conducted on two groups of college students backs up this fact also. One group journaled their emotions while the other simply wrote about time management. Results proved that the former group had a higher working memory capacity.
8. Increases self-awareness
From all the benefits mentioned in the list, this one is the most important one. Since the diary records our journey through time, it is the best way to refer back and track our habits. Knowing how we respond to situations, which things trigger us, how much time we time we waste in a day, etc. can help us manage our emotions better as well as become more productive. What’s best is the way we learn about our weaknesses, strengths, ambitions, etc. For knowing them is the way we can turn our weaknesses into strengths and use our strengths to our advantage. And the better we know ourselves and our emotions, the better we are able to understand others as well. So, it’s a win-win!
We hope these benefits motivate you to integrate writing diary into your daily life!
