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Sometimes, our minds can feel like a mess. Life is full of decisions to make, problems to solve and responsibilities to keep on top of. It’s not always easy to identify the full breadth of our feelings or find a simple route through the winding path of daily decisions and obstacles.

No wonder that, for many of us, life catches up and leads to frustration, stress and burnout. In those moments when everything feels too much, it can help to find a way to release those thoughts.

It can sometimes be difficult to confide in another person, either because you don’t know who to speak to or you aren’t ready to share what’s wrong. Journalling is a fantastic starting point that can help to place your worries and feelings out in the open. By externalising your thoughts this way, it can feel as if you can finally lift the emotional weight of the worries, fears, annoyances and excitement you carry.

More than just a diary

Journalling is simply the practice of making a record of your thoughts and emotions. It doesn’t have to be a secret diary that structures your daily life into a best-selling novel.

Journalling comes in many forms, including:

• Keeping a regular mood log – even if it’s just a single emoji to summarise your feelings about a given moment
• Recording each immediate thought on your mind
• Forming a list of as many of the responsibilities you have and prioritising them carefully
• Creating words or phrases in unconventional ways, like cutting letters out of paper or with letter-shaped fridge magnets
• Noting down your favourite and/or least favourite part of a day or week that’s created mixed emotions
• Turning thoughts and feelings into metaphors, poems, songs or through other creative outlets
• Drawing, doodling or scribbling to record thoughts and feelings in a more abstract manner
• Respond to daily or weekly questions such as ‘what made me smile today?’

Journalling doesn’t need to be ‘good’. You don’t need to be creative. It doesn’t need to make sense.

The reality is that life is not always pretty or important, and to expect something glamourous or poignant to come from it is unrealistic and harmful. No matter what, how or why you journal, whatever you put into it will be real, relevant and valuable to you.

Where should I journal?

Many people might think of a private notebook, but journalling doesn’t have to happen this way. You might find it useful to journal:

• on scrap paper, a whiteboard or with other sustainable materials
• using different colours to express different feelings
• in a private folder on your phone’s notes app
• onto a Word or Google Docs document, or a dedicated notetaking app like OneNote or Notion
• creating voice notes or recordings of yourself speaking out loud
• through a website such as Type Into the Void, though be careful not to share personal or sensitive information for data protection purposes

Don’t feel pressured to be open with others about your journalling experience, or that you need to memorialise or revisit previous journal entries. Sometimes having private thoughts recorded in a physical or digital space that are never returned to can be enough to lift their burden.

If you need some help getting started, LU Arts offer a number of resources through journal tips and support materials on their website.

LU Arts offer an example journal that you might find helpful to use as a reference. Request a copy by emailing LUArts@lboro.ac.uk.

You can also access this Daily Thoughts template document provided by LUArts if you’d like some structure to help you get started on your journalling journey.