#44: How Journaling Can Impact Your Mental Health

The benefits of journaling and how you can get started

Author

Ben Johnson
May 11, 2025

Hey Friends,

Happy Mother’s Day!

I’m sure many of you have heard that journaling can have various benefits.

But, I’d guess that most of you either have never done it or don’t do it regularly. This week, I’m going to highlight some of the benefits you get from regular journaling and how you could start implementing it into your routine.

Weekly Action Point

📖 Read 5 pages from a physical book before bed. 📖 

This week, I want you to try shutting off your phone and reading a physical book for just 5 pages every night before you go to bed.

It can be fiction or nonfiction, doesn’t matter.

But I think that there are a ton of benefits to not scrolling on your phone right up until you go to sleep.

The key here: set your alarm and put your phone on Do Not Disturb, and then don’t look at your phone again. Read your 5 pages (or more if you feel like it) and then go to sleep.

Benefits of Journaling

Journaling is a mental exercise that I feel would benefit everyone, however I also feel that it’s an extremely difficult habit to pick up.

It’s tough to get into journaling consistently because it’s not super exciting and doesn’t provide anywhere near the stimulation that scrolling on our phone does.

Journaling can be used in many different ways, but here are 5 general benefits that you could see:

1. Progress Tracking

Journaling can be used to track the progress you are making in the habits or goals you set for yourself.

You can log things like workouts, foods you ate, and financial goals to see an easy picture of where you are at now vs. where you were.

Sometimes, if we don’t make an intentional effort to track the progress we’re making, it can get lost.

If you have goals and don’t feel like you’re progressing, it’s extremely discouraging and can lead you to give up.

Journaling gives you an easy and clear way to track your progress.

2. Improve your self-awareness

When you’re writing things down, you will be more aware of how you are feeling about certain things.

You might be able to give yourself some insight as to why you might be feeling happy, sad, anxious, nervous, etc.

You’ll be able to recognize patterns in your mood and behavior and, more importantly, understand why you do things the way you do.

Improving your self-awareness is an awesome tool for generally improving your happiness and satisfaction in life. If you don’t understand why you are feeling sad or anxious, for example, how are you supposed to do anything to change it?

3. Supports mental clarity

Getting your thoughts out of your head and physically writing them down is a great way to clear your mind.

It can help relieve anxiety and stress.

If you are someone whose mind is always racing or you feel like you are always thinking, writing down your thoughts is an awesome way to slow down your brain.

Writing out your thoughts is like giving your brain a reset and can stop the never ending spiral that you’re on.

4. Improves Accountability

If you told yourself you’re going to do something, be it fitness, your career, a relationship, or anything else, you’re more likely to do it if you write it down.

Serious about making something happen?

Start writing down how you are doing and what progress you made towards your goal that day, and you’ll be amazed how much easier it will be to succeed and actually do the thing you told yourself you were going to do.

The hardest part of any goal or habit, in my opinion, is holding yourself accountable and doing what you said you were going to do.

Most of the time, when we set a goal, we know generally the things we should be doing to get there. Start journaling and holding yourself accountable for doing them.

5. Encourages gratitude and a positive mindset

Journaling can be an awesome way to celebrate small wins or things that went well that day.

Taking some time to focus on the things that went well during the day and writing them out is an awesome way to improve how optimistic you feel.

You’ll notice more of the good things that happen to you and be bothered less by the bad things.

It can help you feel proud of yourself for small wins, which is huge for building consistency over the long term.

How do I start Journaling?

For me, getting started with journaling was overwhelming, which is why I pushed it off for so long.

What am I supposed to write?

How much am I supposed to write?

Is there a certain way I’m supposed to be structuring this?

These are just a couple of the questions that were going through my head.

And the short answer to all of them: it doesn’t matter.

Journaling can take many forms, there isn’t any one right or wrong way to be doing it.

Maybe one of the five benefits I listed resonated with you more than the others.

You don’t have to journal with the intent of getting all 5 of those benefits. You could just go after one that you feel would have the biggest impact on you.

I think when starting with journaling, your best bet is to keep it simple. You don’t need a ton of super complicated prompts and things to follow.

The 1-1-1 method from Sahil Bloom is an awesome place to start. In this method, you very simply write down:

  • 1 win from the day

  • 1 point of stress/anxiety

  • 1 point of gratitude

This should take you no more than 3 minutes and can provide huge benefits. Especially when starting the habit, make it easy for yourself.

Just like you shouldn’t go from zero exercise straight into going to the gym 6 days per week, you shouldn’t jump into journaling going from zero to 30 minutes a day right away.

Setting huge, lofty goals right away is setting yourself up for failure. Try starting with this method or any other method that will take you around 3 minutes.

Ben’s Best

Here is a take on the viral ground beef/sweet potato/cottage cheese bowl that I thought looked delicious. Haven’t tried it yet, but definitely will be soon.

🎙️ Podcasts I loved this week:

That’s all I have for you. Have an amazing week!

Ben