The impact of journaling is 3-fold. There’s the immediate release of emotions, followed by the shocking reality check, and finally, the desire to take action. I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned through journaling and how it helps to boost productivity.
I didn’t understand the impact of journaling until I wrote my very first blog post. 30 Unmarried and Childless started as a diary entry… To serve no other purpose but to release what I was feeling at the moment.
After writing it, I read it back and was shocked. I mean, I wrote it, I knew what I said, but reading it back made me think to myself…. Airess, wtf.
Anyhow, it sent me down the rabbit hole of self-discovery and ultimately helped me to birth The Nerd Bae. I spent that entire night googling how to start a blog and… here we are… almost four years in, still 30-something unmarried and childless- but that’s beside the point.
The point is, I have my dream career, solid connections, and my own little corner of the internet.
I learned a ton about myself after releasing those emotions and felt overwhelmingly compelled to take action.
The immediate release of emotions:
Yall, it’s really that serious. It’s the first step you should take when you have the desire to be more productive.
Honestly, the only way to really express how important it is to do your mental check-ins every day is by drilling in the fact that so many of us unknowingly suffer mentally.
Depression and Anxiety Statistics
And it’s nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s definitely something to recognize and understand the impact it has on productivity.
I’ve experienced depression to the point where I literally did not want to get out of bed. The only thing that helped during that time was journaling.
I was able to take a look back on my days and identify what was going on that was holding me back from doing the things I say I want to do in my life.
Or, have you ever been so upset with your partner that it was hard to focus on anything else and get stuff done?
Whew…definitely been there before. Write it out and tell your partner how you feel in a note to yourself if you’re not ready to address them. Just release it and let the weight come off your shoulders. Then, return the focus to what’s important.
The reality check:
Here’s the special part of journaling. When you realize the delusion of your emotions. The only way to identify this is by reading your thoughts after you’ve released them.
Add more drama by reading aloud- do this to intensify the reality check.
One of two things will happen. You will either feel completely validated in how you feel and become inspired by your own thoughts, or you will have a [insert your name] wtf moment.
Your thoughts and emotions hit different when said out loud, trust me.
This reality check is important for a few reasons:
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- Puts things into perspective in terms of productivity, you’ll realize why your stuck
- Allows for an out-of-body experience to view yourself more objectively
- Gives you the opportunity to course correct
To be productive, you have to be real with yourself. Understanding what your mental blockers are and having the ability to mitigate any risk of them keeping you from being productive is the thing that will get you to the next level.
The desire to take action:
This is where the magic happens. And where the impact of journaling for productivity serves us the most. After you’ve released your thoughts and had the chance to review and make observations, you are now ready to be productive.
Provided that you’ve gained clarity of what you want and what’s stopping you from getting from A to B, you are now mentally prepared to tackle the day and week. By this time, it’s likely that you are more motivated to get things done.
Journaling helps your brain to create more avenues to increase dopamine and serotonin levels. You will absolutely have a mood booster thus increasing your desire to be productive.
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