The deep rooted benefits of journaling for creativity.
There is no doubt about it - journaling is an exceptional tool when it comes to unleashing your inner creativity.
I’ve journaled for as long as I can remember. Colourful diaries adorned with stickers and a plastic padlock. Notebooks covered with pictures I’d ripped out of magazines. Birthday and Christmas gifts from Claire’s Accessories and WHSmith. The home may have differed, but the words inside always followed the same path.
More often than not, I was a very sad child. I grew up surrounded by trauma, and my small glimpses of joy and escapism came on the weekends when I would spend 34 hours with my Dad and sister. I was confused and my head was full of unanswered questions and a troubled narrative. And so, those journals were my way of making sense of the world around me and taking the time to try to make sense of those questions that I was too afraid to ask out loud.
But this isn’t a blog about my childhood (I could write a whole book about that!); it’s about journaling as an act of self love and a gateway to creativity.
So, what are the benefits of journaling for creativity? Journaling enables us to silence the inner critic and declutter ideas in a safe space with no judgement. It gives us permission to listen to our voice, our hopes and our needs.
My reasons for journaling may have changed over time - the pay off, however, hasn’t.
Read on to find out more about the beauty of journaling, how it can increase creativity and the ways in which you can create your own sacred creative space.
What are the benefits of journaling for creativity?
The wonderful thing about journaling is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. It ebbs and flows and takes many different forms; much like the very practice of creativity.
Here are 8 ways that journaling can maximise your creativity.
1. Journaling silences your inner censor.
We all know what it’s like - whether you work for a company, are studying or are a business owner, we are taught to write with a critical eye. It starts from the moment we learn to add the flick to an ‘a’ and loop around for a ‘b’.
And that isn’t a bad thing. As a copywriter, being intentional and strategic with the words I choose is at the core of everything I do.
Yet… It can stifle us. When we feel stifled, those glimmering ideas inside of you may not ever see the light of day. Journaling can nudge this away from our sub-conscious.
How? When we journal, it is for us and us alone. We aren’t worrying about structure or grammar and we certainly aren’t bogging ourselves down with brand guidelines. All we are doing is putting pen to paper and seeing what comes out. This, therefore, can encourage us to be bolder and braver in the way we write and the images that we paint. This is a valuable mindset to bring into our everyday lives.
2. It gives you an opportunity to listen to your inner voice.
If you’re building a brand, this point is particularly prevalent.
Journaling encourages us to dig deep - like, really flippin’ deep. Within this deep, sometimes uncomfortable space, we can truly connect with our inner voice and narrative. You will start to recognise what is needed to nourish this inner voice and, as your confidence grows, bring it out into the world.
I cannot count the amount of times I have told people to ‘write how they speak’. The thing is, that doesn’t come naturally to everyone (especially those with corporate backgrounds), despite it being the most natural thing in the world. When you journal, you have no other way to write - it’s coming from your heart, from your soul. So, it stands to reason that what you produce is going to be in your own authentic voice.
3. Journaling can help you springboard ideas.
I have uncovered some of my best ideas while journaling.
Especially when using journal prompts, the openness and curious nature of journaling can make it the perfect way to welcome in ideas and opportunities that you’d never even thought of before. I believe that this is because journaling peels back the layers - the blocks that may have been getting in the way.
You can then take these nuggets of an idea, and put in the research and planning to unpick whether there is something in it.
4. It can also help you nurture ideas.
In a similar way, your journaling practice can be a means of you nurturing your ideas. You could do this by:
Visualising them
Looking at your motivations for wanting this *thing* in the first place
Is it in line with your values?
Remind yourself of the reasons you CAN fulfil this idea
Even the act of writing the idea down - seeing it physically in front of you on the paper - is a fantastic way to bring it to life.
(Btw - I’ve included a free journaling prompt download at the end of the article with more ideas on how to nurture your creativity)
5. It’s a safe space.
I love this one - the best part of journaling, for me, is that it is a totally safe safe. There are no rules and no one who you need to ask permission from. And this open ticket - this safety - means that your imagination can wander down untrodden paths and into magical spaces.
There’s no limit. You’re creating a world within those pages. It’s exciting. It’s liberating.
It is in those moments of utter freedom that we access our best work. Harness that feeling.
6. Journaling helps you declutter your thoughts.
Does anyone else dig a good list? I can’t get enough of them. And I’m talking old-school lists - pen and paper, my friends. There’s something about dragging those scattered thoughts from my head and laying them down neatly into my notepad that gives me the space to actually work through them. Journaling is no different.
In times of anxiety, stress, overwhelm, sadness and… Well, just about every emotion going, journaling is a way to break apart the tangled web and separate it into manageable chunks.
You may not even know what is causing you stress or panic. By journaling, there’s a massive possibility that it will become clear.
This matters for so many reasons, but when we look at it with regards our creative engines, it’s impossible to access our best creativity when our heads are worn down by the weight of the world.
7. It forces you to slow down and reflect.
Day to day life is fast. We run from task to task, barely taking a moment to breathe. When we aren’t working, we’re posting on social media, when we aren’t on social media, we’re doom scrolling through the news, and when we aren’t doom scrolling through the news… You see where I’m going, right?
Even if you only journal for ten minutes every day, those ten minutes will be guaranteed time where you have to pause and look inwards. This stillness brings us closer to our intuition, which in turn makes it easier for us to live our truth. And pals, when we live our truth, creativity rains down on us in abundance.
8. Journaling can be a part of a creative ritual.
When I journal, I don’t just pick up a pen and write. I create a sacred space that helps me tap into my inner dialogue while setting me up for the rest of the day.
This is something I also do during my Journaling for Creativity workshops. Sessions starts with a movement meditation to shake off any stagnant energy, before settling into a grounding meditation. We then journal using prompts, with a curated playlist in the background. I surround myself with candles, incense and oils, and a steaming pot of camomile tea. All the delicious things I need to focus and relax every inch of my being.
How to get started and journal for creativity?
If you’re new to journaling, you might be feeling slightly unsure of where to even start.
Here are a few tips to get you into the headspace for journaling:
Buy a notebook - one that feels special. Every time you pick it up, you want to immediately feel excited for the words that are going to fill its pages
Pick a time that works best for you - while journaling in the morning is a positive way to start the day, it isn’t for everyone. Try out a few different times and see which one works best
Be realistic - if you’ve never journaled before, chances are that you aren’t going to start off by doing it every single day and filling out ten pages. Start small, and go from there
Try different techniques - there are so many ways to journal, and these range from free writing to a very structured approach. If you find yourself with writer’s block, start off with either a gratitude journal, sense based journaling or prompts
