By S. Adila
Edited by Harith Syafiee
Have you ever thought about picking up a notebook and a pen and writing anything your heart desires? Or collecting scraps to stick them into your book as silly, little, cute momentos? Even better, print out your favourite idol or character and dedicate a spread to them! There are many benefits you could gain through journaling. It might not give you any direct impact, but it’s a suitable hobby that you might want to consider practising in your life. Enough with the boring intro; let’s take a look at the 4 reasons why you should consider journaling!
1. Easy to practise
I know how most people avoid doing things that are time-consuming or need a lot of energy or money on the table. Rest assured, journaling is extremely easy and doesn’t weigh on your pocket or require physical effort. All you need to do is have a notebook and a pen, and you’re ready to go! To make things more interesting for you, I recommend trying all types of journaling to get a taste of each so you don’t have to waste your time doing things that don't suit your liking.
2. Spark creativity
We have used almost 90% of our brain capacity to absorb facts and theories every single day and practise how to write a good answer for our assignments or exams, which are strictly academic without any room for leniency. But through journaling, you can explore yourself on a deeper level. Get to know what’s your style and let your brain light up with creativity to create one spread after another. We will never know what we are capable of producing unless we try, and journaling is a good solution to test your right brain into work!
3. Stress reliever
Stress is students’ friend and foe. Intertwine in an unshakable knot, but one can try to control their stress level. Through journaling, you can put your mind and body at ease because you’re not forcing yourself to do it but rather treating it like an escape from reality. Once you start to write or focus on the layout and colour scheme of your spread, you’re momentarily detached from the responsibilities weighing on your shoulders. And the stress-free little bubble is crucial once in a while. A journal a day will keep the stress away!
4. A healthy hobby
What does journaling have to do with health? Don’t get flabbergasted; it’s true! Like the other reason above, journaling helps you release pent-up stress, but that’s not all. Practising journaling can minimise your screen time. We are too accustomed to grabbing our phones or any devices and watching digital entertainment in our everyday lives, and by far, it’s not a good lifestyle!
Your eyes are straining, and your body, more or less, would be affected by the amount of digital content you watch per day. Through journaling, you’re dissociating yourself from the media world and taking time to appreciate your hands and eyes while writing your entry or making a spread. Take a break from all your devices, and instead, see the beauty of what your mind and hands could do while resting your eyeballs from all the screen lights!
Journaling is a fun hobby once you start it. There’s no rule to be followed or pressure from anyone. You can just let your mind speak for once and let your creativity flow. Nonetheless, it’s not a waste to try something new in order to find our passion or a simple hobby to kill our precious time. Hopefully, all the reasons above are enough to convince you to get an empty book and stationery to start your first-ever journal. Good luck!
Comments