I love journaling. I've been journaling for as long as I can remember, though my elementary self didn't have the most interesting journal entries. Point being, journaling is a great hobby. Not only is it entertaining, it's also useful and a great way to build habits and keep your life organized.
You see, journals aren't just for writing what your crush said to you that day. It's for much more than that. You can use it to record your dreams, vent out your emotions, record an important event, make to-do lists, use it for creative entries or combine all of those in a bullet journal. Journals are super versatile, and you can use them for any use, or several different uses, even. So here are some ideas on how you can get your life together by using a journal.
Calendar/ To-Do Lists
One really useful way to use your journal is to keep track of your schedule. Planning with calendars or to-do lists in your journal is a great way to keep track of your busy life in a place you'll never lose it, and in a place you can fully customize and adjust in, unlike with a pre-bought agenda or calendar.
Dream Journal
Do you ever have those vivid, crazy dreams that you just can't seem to remember the next morning? One of the ways to remember those dreams is to write it down as soon as you wake up in your dream journal. It's the perfect way to start remembering your dreams, record your dreams to look back on, and put good use to your journal.
Gratitude Journal
Something that we all forget to do is to think about what we're grateful for in life, but that simple act can help keep us grounded. Keeping a diary to record what you're grateful for on a daily basis is a great way to work on our morals in an organized manner.
Tracker
A common use for journals is using it as a tracker. Whether that be for habits, food, or exercise, using your journal is a great way to keep on top of important things. One unique example is a mood tracker, to record how you felt each day. Also, you can mark off every time you take time out of your day to meditate like you told yourself you would or write down the meals you had, and it would motivate you to keep going and do better in the future.
Scrapbook
Another fun way to use a journal is as a scrapbook! Again, it's super personalizable so you aren't stuck with whatever format a store bought scrapbook gets you. You could write an entry about a fun event or experience, and then use keepsakes like movie tickets or pictures to accompany it. It's a perfect way to join a diary and scrapbook in the way you'd like for it to be.
Sketchbook
Sometimes, artists or just people who enjoy drawing don't have their sketchbooks handy and doodle on scrap pieces of paper. But we like to keep the art we make, especially if it's really good, to look back on and track our progress. Using a journal as a place to keep these loose drawings is a perfect way to keep track of them and even use it as a place to have notes or details to accompany your drawings.
Vision Journal
We've all heard of vision boards, and this is just a more convenient, accessible version of that. I believe that journals are a way to keep track of growth and development, and that reasoning works just as well here. You could use your journal as a vision board to make a list of goals, wishes, and things you desire, as well as add to it or continue it for as long as you want. Unlike a vision board, it doesn't get filled up fast at all, and you can keep adding to your goals and reach for better things constantly. And at the end of the year, you could go back and see how much you've accomplished.
Notes
Another sensible idea- a notebook! This is how my cousin uses one of her notebooks. Every time we go to a religious talk or inspiring lecture, she pulls out her notebook (which seems to have accumulated endless wisdom over the years) and uses it to take notes.
Diary
And the most common of them all- a diary! A way to vent and let out your feelings and to just have a place to say everything you may not have someone to tell it to. After all, it's important to be able to let out and express your emotions, and a diary is a great way of doing so.
