I have to preface something here. I’m not an expert. I don’t have all the answers. What works for me might not work for you. These are common benefits people look for and find through journal writing. It’s a look at how the Feel Think Do method helps with these things. Feel Think Do is designed to provide some basic mechanics. A structure to help keep things clean. How you apply these mechanics is up to you. This is why many people refer to Feel Think Do as a method. The physical journal is a just beautiful place to work through it all.
This piece is about the benefits of writing in a journal. Benefits are positive things. They are an improvement and a reward. But you have to work through a lot of crap to get to the benefit. You don’t improve your health by walking into the gym or saying you will eat healthy. You work your arse off, feel pain, don’t skip leg day, and maybe cut back on many foods you enjoy. With time, persistence, and resilience, you will see the health benefits. But it is probably going to suck along the way.
Writing is the same. It takes persistence. You will start somewhere, and it won’t work. You will adapt and find what works for you. This piece is about the potential benefits you can find in journal writing. Some will matter to you. Others… you won’t care. The benefits vary as much as the process. Below are many of the benefits people are seeking. You might not realise you want these things. You may not know that journalling is a tool that can help you.
It’s about how people find help and benefits by writing. It delves into how I use the Feel Think Do method to help express, define, and achieve these things myself. The reason for the design of the journal. What matters to me might not matter to you. Maybe we are both searching for the same thing, but look at them from different perspectives.
It’s not easy. But writing is simple. You won’t always write positively. If you do, you are probably doing it wrong. You are using your journal as a band-aid. Writing only what you think you should be writing. To find benefits, you will confront and struggle with things you’d rather avoid. But persistence overcomes. This is where you find the benefits.
Most people don’t write in a journal for the sake of writing in a journal. They aren’t looking for benefits to writing in a journal. They seek external (or internal) things in other aspects of life. Your journal is a tool. You achieve many things you want by writing about them. You create the benefits you seek in life by creating and applying them on the page of your journal. Writing helps the other things. Finding the other things helps your writing. It is a self-perpetuating habit.
Emotional Expression:
Journaling gives you a safe space to express emotions that might be hard to share with others—or even yourself. Your thoughts run a million miles an hour, looping endlessly, and journaling offers a moment of disconnect. It’s like a breath from brain to page, a way to break the loop. Negative emotional loops can spiral downward if you don’t get them out of your head—reliving uncomfortable situations and conversations, or avoiding truths because they’re hard to face. But those feelings won’t just disappear.
The same goes for positive emotions. You get caught in a high and ride it. Journaling about those moments is like keeping a record. It strengthens and affirms those feelings, giving you a place to understand and repeat them. It can also be something to look back on when things get tough, reminding you of those positive moments when you need them most.
Feel: This is your space to give voice to both the positive and negative. Let it flow without censoring yourself. Just get it out. Writing slows you down—your thoughts become more focused and you give them physical form. You can’t write as fast as you think, so the act of putting words on paper forces you to simplify, making the important things rise to the surface.
Think: Here is where you prevent future loops. Step back and ask yourself, “Why?” Why do I feel this way? Why does this person make me feel this? This space is for recognising, reflecting, and reacting in a way that helps you move forward. You can’t change the past, but by questioning, you become more aware. That awareness helps you prevent triggers and better handle similar situations in the future. For the positive, it deepens your sense of well-being and recognition.
Do: Negative emotions don’t fix themselves. Once you express them and understand their causes, it’s time to take action. Create simple steps to manage negative feelings. For positive emotions, understanding what caused them helps you replicate and expand on those good feelings. This is all about giving yourself the tools you need for the future.
Stress Relief:
We are rarely stressed by positive emotions. Writing is about getting things out of your head and giving them physical form. When you write about what’s causing you stress, it stops the internal arguments. Journaling can feel like venting to your best friend—once it’s off your chest, you feel lighter. The best part? Your journal doesn’t judge, roll its eyes, or give you crappy advice. You can vent for as long as you need, using any language you want. The act of writing, with its slower pace and limited space, forces you to focus on what matters instead of spiralling in circles.
Feel: Let it all out. Swear. Scribble. Rip the page if you need to. Call someone an arsehole without worrying about HR. This is your safe space to say everything you wish you could.
Think: Take a step back. Now that the emotion has settled, what’s causing your stress? Recognise the physical, emotional, and situational factors at play so you can be more aware next time.
Do: What simple thing can you do right now to handle the situation? How can you better prepare for future stress? Stress won’t magically disappear, but you can build a toolkit to help manage it from now on.
Self-Reflection:
Self-reflection is both beautiful and ugly, but it’s crucial for self-awareness. It lets you take a step back and look at your thoughts, feelings, actions, and experiences. You’re not in a bubble. Everything around you affects you, and while you can’t control everything, you can control how you react (with practice). Writing helps you slow down and puts things in perspective. How are you doing on the inside? How are you treating people around you? What are you doing well, and what could you do better?
Writing offers the space to get things out of your head and think about them. You don’t have to rush. Writing anchors your reflection. Once it’s on the page, you have time. Reflection doesn’t happen in a snap. It’s about taking a breath and thinking things through.
When you write for self-reflection, it opens up space for you to question, clarify, and expand. The more aware you become, the better you understand the role you play in your own life. Sometimes, you’ll cringe at what you see, but that’s okay. Now you know, and you can work on changing it. Other times, you’ll think, “Hell yeah, I did good.” That awareness helps you repeat the good stuff.
You don’t have to wait until night to reflect. It can happen anytime. If something comes up, jot it down: “I need to think on this.” Then, when you have a quiet moment, you can give it the attention it deserves. Self-reflection is key to becoming more aware of yourself and the world around you.
Feel: This is where you write your initial thoughts. What do you want to reflect on?
Think: Use this space to answer your questions. Reflect on what’s important. Keeping the space limited forces you to focus on the key points.
Do: Now that you’re aware, can you set it aside and move on? Is there a small action you can take? Focus on one simple thing you can do right now, whether it’s staying on this path or making a change. The first step is the most important.
Problem Solving:
Journaling helps you tackle challenges by organising your thoughts and exploring solutions. Whether you’re dealing with emotional issues, plotting a new business idea, or just making a To-Do list, your journal is the ultimate problem solver. Actually, you’re the solver, but your journal helps you sort things out.
Writing slows you down, and that’s something we all need. Our minds race and we get pulled in different directions, which doesn’t help in solving problems. Problems need time and focus. In your journal, you can explore possibilities in a way that your mind alone might not allow. Instead of fixating on the first idea that pops into your head or forgetting previous thoughts, writing lets you map out solutions and organise your ideas. Your journal is a tool for confronting obstacles and exploring actions.
Feel: This is your space for free-form writing. It’s not all about emotions; it’s where you jot down the problem without worrying about solving it. Just get it out, unedited.
Think: Here is where you dive into the problem. Identify and clarify what’s behind it or why it’s an issue. This is where you get to the core.
Do: Now, focus on writing tangible solutions. Most problems need more than one action to resolve. Start with your first step. What will set you on the path to a solution? If you’re creating a To-Do list, break tasks down to plan effectively and avoid forgetting anything.
Creative Boost:
Writing in your journal can ignite creativity and spark new ideas. Artists jot down inspiration while working on their current projects because they can’t stop and start fresh. Novelists capture new character ideas even when they’re deep into a chapter. Entrepreneurs note down grand visions without losing focus on their current tasks.
It’s not just for artists and entrepreneurs. Creativity thrives on exploring ideas, no matter what they are. When you explore an idea, you generate more ideas, creating a cycle of creativity. Your journal helps this process by capturing your thoughts and fuelling your creative practice.
Feel: Express and explore your ideas. Give voice to them and let them grow.
Think: Now apply logic to your ideas. Weigh the merits and flaws to determine if it’s worth pursuing.
Do: Turn your creativity into something tangible. Figure out how to bring your creative idea to life.
Goal Setting:
Journaling helps you set, track, and reflect on your personal and professional goals. Goals turn dreams into actionable plans. They can be big and intimidating, but with a goal, you can break it down into manageable steps.
Your journal turns your big dreams into goals by helping you reverse engineer your path. It allows you to start from where you are and figure out where you want to be. Small successes build momentum, and your journal supports this process by setting the goal, refining it, tracking progress, and holding you accountable. It celebrates your wins, helps you reflect on your journey, and guides you in deciding whether to pursue or let go of a goal.
Feel: Explore your dreams and goals. Reflect on how they affect you. It’s your space to understand how working towards a goal feels and to monitor your personal journey.
Think: Each page features 5 numbered Think spaces. You can use these however you like, whether tracking goals 1–5 or applying the Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Based (SMART) model. Goals are ongoing, so you can track and update them over multiple entries.
Do: Is where you create small, actionable steps. Each tick moves you closer to your goal. If Think is about identifying SMART criteria, Do is about putting those criteria into action.
Mental Clarity:
Putting your thoughts on paper helps clear your mind and focus on what matters. When everything is stuck in your head, the unimportant stuff gets mixed in and distracts you. But writing forces you to sift through the clutter. You’ve only got so much space, so over time, you start to focus on the important.
It’s like clearing out the junk drawer in your mind. As you practise, the messy thoughts become cleaner on the page, which shifts your mindset. You recognise what’s irrelevant and let go of it. This creates a positive loop where writing helps refine your thinking, making it easier to focus on what’s important.
Feel: Is your scratch pad, where you can unload everything that’s cluttering your mind. Over time, watch how your writing and language change. At first, it’s messy, but that’s how you sift through the noise.
Think: Among all the scribbles, what stands out? This is where you pull out the important pieces. What are the key ideas or patterns emerging from the mess?
Do: Mental clarity isn’t just about getting rid of the clutter. Now that you’ve found what’s important, what’s the next step? This space is for asking yourself more questions. Where do you go from here?
Improved Mood:
No matter where you’re starting from, journaling can improve your mood. If life’s going well, your writing becomes a space to reflect on, enjoy, and grow positive thoughts. But if you feel you’re struggling, journaling can help you work through those feelings. Writing in the negative can help you understand what’s weighing you down and help you move forward. It might not be easy at first, and you might need to force yourself, but over time, it gets easier. You control the words. And if some days you need to write “fuck fuck fuck coffee and chocolate brownies,” that’s okay too. Sometimes, the best way to feel better is to be silly and not take yourself too seriously.
Feel: There are no rules. Just write whatever you’re feeling, whether it’s good, bad, happy, sad, or angry. Your journal is a private space where you can be real. It’s easy to build on a good mood, but turning a bad mood around takes practice. The key is repetition. Look at the words you use. If you see something you don’t like, scribble it out and try a different word. Maybe even write the opposite. You control your language, and over time, that control can shift your mood. You don’t have to believe it right away, but sometimes just writing, “I am content” instead of “I am furious!” can start to change how you feel.
Think: Is where logic comes in. If you’re in a good mood, think about what led to it. What factors made you feel this way? Can you recreate them? The same process applies to a bad mood. What triggered it? Identifying common factors can help you understand your mental state better.
Do: Now, what can you do to keep the positive mood going, or turn a negative mood around? Maybe it’s as simple as writing, “After this, I’ll get on my bike, play some music, and go for a ride.” Once you’ve written it, close your journal and go do it. Simple actions make a big difference.
Memory Enhancement:
Writing about your daily events and thoughts helps boost memory and recall in several ways.
- Repetition: The more you write something, the more you bring it to the surface. You’re reinforcing that memory, strengthening it.
- Cutting out the fluff: With limited space, you learn to keep your writing concise. This trains your brain to focus on key moments and details, making it easier to remember the important stuff.
- Don’t forget things: Struggling to remember something? Write it down! If your mind feels overwhelmed, you can always flip back through your journal and remind yourself.
- Slowing down: Writing forces your brain to slow down. You focus on one thought at a time, helping you remember things more clearly.
- Be active: If you need to commit something to memory, write it down again and again. Repetition hammers it into your brain.
By journaling, you’re training your brain to filter out the noise and focus on the important facts. Over time, it becomes easier to recall memories because you’ve been practicing the process regularly.
Feel: Let the thought flow. Just get it out of your head and onto the page, no matter how messy it is.
Think: Take that thought and cut it down. Write it again, but this time focus on what’s essential. Start trimming the fluff.
Do: Now cut it down even further. Refine it to its core. Do this for five things, three times each. Or, take one thing and write it fifteen times. This repetition helps you reinforce the important details, strengthening your memory through positive practice.
Better Communication Skills:
Your journal is your silent friend. It won’t interrupt or derail your thoughts. It lets you communicate honestly with yourself, which is crucial before you can communicate well with others.
With limited space, you must refine your language. You can express things on paper that you’d never say aloud. We often create narratives in our minds that we believe to be true, but writing gives you a chance to step back, articulate, and reflect. You can ask yourself: “Am I being reasonable?” or “Do I need to call myself out?”
Writing allows you to communicate with yourself. Over time, this self-awareness helps you communicate more effectively with others. It’s always better to vent in your journal than to blurt out something that might cause damage.
Feel: Let it all out without holding back. No filters, no restrictions. This is your space to express every emotion as it comes.
Think: Now take a step back and ask yourself, “How would a reasonable person phrase this?” Reflect on why those words and emotions came out the way they did. What triggered that reaction?
Do: With the emotions now out in the open, what can you do to communicate this in a healthy way? How can you take what you’ve written and express it more constructively?
Mindfulness:
Journaling helps you stay present and mindful by focusing on your thoughts and emotions. Being mindful means staying in the moment, and writing is a way to do just that. Even in a busy place, when you write, it’s just you and the page. This practice centres you, blocking out the noise and letting you capture those moments of calm. Later, you can reflect on them when things get tough.
But remember, mindfulness isn’t about avoiding challenges. It’s not about writing just to check a box. Like everything in journaling, mindfulness is a tool. It can help you refocus when you’re feeling scattered, guiding you to concentrate on one thing and its positive effects. Be honest with yourself in your mindful writing practice. Use it to centre and appreciate, not to escape.
Feel: Take your time. Don’t force yourself to find something so you can say, “Today I Mindfulled!” Be authentic. Sometimes one thing fills the page. Sometimes it’s many things. Sometimes it’s nothing. And that’s okay. You don’t need to repeat yourself just to check a box. Write with sincerity, without holding back.
Think: You don’t always need to analyse mindfulness. But if you choose to, ask why something matters. Why are you grateful for it? Can you find this feeling elsewhere? Broaden your perspective. Sometimes exploring one thing can reveal connections to others already present.
Do: How can you bring mindfulness to action? What can you do to express this feeling outwardly, or even offer someone else a moment of mindfulness?
Emotional Healing:
Writing about your traumatic or challenging experiences can be a therapeutic step toward emotional healing. You face countless sources of pain: trauma, addiction, mental or physical conditions, work stress, and relationship struggles.These can swamp and overwhelm you.
It’s scary to confront these issues and let them out. But doing so is essential. Keeping things bottled up allows them to run rampant in your mind, festering and making it impossible to control. By writing what scares you, you bring those thoughts into the world. It’s like shining a light on the monster under the bed. This is scary as f***, but it also gives structure to your feelings. Once it’s on the page, it becomes real, allowing you to define it and start working through it. This is the first step toward emotional healing.
Feel: It won’t be quick or easy. You might want to run away or tear the page out and burn it. Let your pain and negativity flow onto the page. This is the raw, tough part. The stuff you don’t want to see. But each time you confront it and work through it, you’ll find it’s possible to face it again.
Think: Identify the pain, trauma, and emotions connected to your experiences. Recognise the events, people, or situations causing this pain. Detach from the emotion to understand the underlying causes. Write as if you’re advising a friend in a similar situation. This detachment helps you see and address the problem more clearly.
Do: Apply that detachment to yourself. Determine what you control and what you’re responsible for. Then own it. Take physical action. If needed, remind yourself of truths like “It was not my fault.” or “It was.” Emotional healing is a long process, but by writing, you start to get the problems out of your head, and healing can begin.
Personal Growth:
Journaling is a powerful tool for personal growth because it pushes you to look inward and reflect. There are two sides to this process. First, you need to acknowledge where you think you fall short. Write the things you don’t like about yourself or feel are holding you back. Growth can’t happen until you recognise what needs improving. Some might say not to focus on the negative, but how can you fix something if you don’t admit it’s there?
The other side is celebrating your improvements. You’re writing for a reason, and not every change has to be massive. It could be about optimising something you already do well. When you take steps to improve and succeed, call it out. Celebrate your progress. If that improvement gets you to where you want to be, great! Celebrate it and move on. If it drives you to do more, write again. Keep pushing.
What’s important here is knowing your “why.” It’s not enough to say, “I need to improve.” Understand the deeper reason behind it. What are you trying to achieve through this growth?
Feel: You write a lot about the things you want to improve, using blunt language to call yourself out. You face things holding you back and take ownership of them. Personal growth begins with self-reflection. Writing these thoughts down makes them real and impossible to ignore. When it’s only in your mind, you can dismiss or delay it. But on the page, it stares back at you. Your words hold you accountable.
Think: Go deeper. Don’t just think about what needs improving, but why you want that growth. Emotions might be the spark, but logic is the key to change. For example, it’s not enough to say, “I want to be a better person for my family.” You ask yourself why. Maybe you want to be more present for your kids because you work too much and feel you are missing how they are growing. Writing brings clarity. You’re no longer hiding behind emotions; you’re laying out the practical reasons. Growth means change, and change can be scary. But once it’s written, you’re accountable. You’ve put the intention out there. Now make it happen.
Do: Break it down into small, doable steps. You don’t make massive promises like, “I’ll never miss a family event again.” Instead, you commit to micro-actions. For example, “Next time there’s a family event, I’ll say ‘yes’ before I make an excuse.” It seems simple, but it’s not always easy. However, you’ve written it, and that holds you to it. When you feel like backing out, you can look at what you’ve promised yourself on the page. Every small action counts toward your growth, and when you follow through, you celebrate that. You didn’t just attend the event, you kept a promise to yourself. That’s progress, and that’s how you grow.
Self-Discovery:
There is a connection between everything you feel, think, and do. On the page, you can break things down, but remember that all these benefits have an interconnected relationship. When you focus on one part of your writing, you’ll uncover and reflect on other areas of your life.
When you question personal growth, you begin to discover who you are. Why do you want to grow? You’ll realise the things you thought mattered might not. Your true values might not be what you told yourself. Confronting trauma is a potent tool of self-discovery because it builds resilience. You’ll face things you’ve been avoiding, and that resilience will help you dig deeper and face even scarier things.
Self-discovery through journaling takes courage. You’ll confront tough stuff, but with that confrontation comes hope. Even when your mind throws negative shit at you, there’s still space to write about what you’re doing right. You’ll see the strengths you already have and nurture them for greater growth. Self-discovery and growth feed into each other, but you need a systematic approach. It won’t happen by magic. Now is the time to dig in and uncover who you truly are.
Feel: When you write for self-discovery, it’s not always negative. Sure, you’ll put the hard stuff on the page. The things you feel are missing or what you don’t want in your life. That’s painful and confronting, but it also shows the obstacles you’ll need to work through. Once you define an obstacle, you can do something about it. Positive writing reminds you of what’s already going well. It highlights your successes, lifting your spirit and reminding you that even in the face of challenges, there’s so much you’ve already achieved. Self-discovery is not only about what you need to change, but also recognising the progress you’ve already made.
Think: Now you strip back the emotions and look at things logically. What have you learned about yourself through your writing? What changes do you need or want to make? What strengths have you already discovered? These are tools you’ve always had. Tools that have helped you in the past and can help you again. You write them down in their simplest forms so you can use them to overcome future obstacles and reach your goals.
Do: Think of Do as your toolbox. What tools do you already have? What actions can you add to that toolbox? Now it’s time to put them into action. Writing your tools and how you’ll use them helps you focus on positive action. It’s hard to write about doing nothing. The only negative action of writing is not writing. Letting your thoughts stay jumbled in your head. By writing, you’re taking action. You’re slowing down, giving yourself time to discover what’s there, and preparing yourself to take the next step.
Anxiety Reduction:
Writing about your anxieties can be intimidating. The thought of writing about anxiety causes anxiety. Seeing them written can bring even more anxiety. But it’s done. You finish, take a deep breath, and realise it wasn’t as overwhelming as you thought. You felt anxiety, but you made it through.
It’s strange, but the act of writing, which can make you anxious at first, will reduce your anxiety over time. You’ll see that what you feared wasn’t as bad as you expected. Each time you write something new, the anxiety might still be there, but you’ve already done it, and you can do it again. Every time you face it, you prove to yourself that you have resilience. You’re building tools for the future with each entry.
Writing in your journal allows you to process your anxiety in private, giving you space to work through it. Once it’s on the page, it becomes easier to manage in the real world. You’ve worked through it once on the page. Now you can work through it again off the page.
Feel: If you’re an anxious person, you might never fully rid yourself of it. But you can reduce and manage it. Anxiety is a mix of emotions: a pinch of fear, a splash of uncertainty, a teaspoon of worry, and a huge dollop of indecisiveness. It boils into a physical, emotional, and mental mess that leaves you short of breath. Sweating. Looking for dangers you don’t know whether to flee from or fight.
Writing your anxieties gives you control. Words on the page are real. You form them. You can lock them in. Sometimes you might spiral, going deeper into your worries. Keep writing. Eventually, you’ll hit a point where you say, “enough is enough.” At this moment, look at the words you’ve used. What other emotions surfaced? What situations triggered your anxiety? What are the common themes? Once it’s on paper, you can break it down. Take a breath. It probably sucked to write it, but you survived. Now those anxieties are just ink on paper. They are no longer the monsters running wild in your head. You’ve reduced them to small words in a small book. How scary can that really be?
Think: This is how you reduce anxiety. You’ve written it down. Now analyse it. What are the triggers? What about that person, situation, or action caused this surge of emotion? Be tough. Put it under a spotlight and tear it apart. Anxiety often feels huge and overwhelming. But when you break it down, it’s like giving a cat a bath. It hisses, scratches, and looks ferocious, but once you dunk it in the water, it’s a bedraggled, subdued version of itself. Your mind can blow anxiety out of proportion, but when you look at the facts, it’s rarely as scary as you thought.
Do: Now you act and manage. All things interconnect. You’ve written about emotions, personal growth, setting goals, and trauma. You’ve discovered things about yourself, and you’ve armed yourself with small actions and successes. Apply the same here. Will you eliminate anxiety? Maybe not. But you made it this far and survived. Now you can step on its neck and say, “I survived you. You can’t stop me.”
Improved Focus:
Regular journaling sharpens your focus about what matters. When you write, you can reflect and ask, “Is this important?” If it’s not, let it go. Over time, this practice shifts your attention to the things that count. While your mind may feel infinite, the page has limits, and that forces you to condense big ideas into a small space. As you do this more, your language becomes sharper, and so do your thoughts. Writing slows you down, making you focus on the essentials. How do you express something big in the simplest way? The more you write, the better you focus. The more you focus, the better you write. It’s a self-reinforcing habit. You just need to put in the time.
Feel: When you start, your writing will be all over the place. It won’t be perfect, and that’s okay. Feel is where you let everything spill out until the page is full. When you look back, you’ll notice the fluff, the unnecessary details. That awareness will help you refine your writing next time, giving you more space for what matters.
Think: Now, you focus on what’s important. Think is where you sift through the emotions and extra words to find the core message. What’s there? By focusing on those key points, you not only improve your writing but also your self-awareness, mood, and personal growth. You’re teaching yourself to focus.
Do: Writing is already focusing you. What other actions help? Write them down: “I’m writing more slowly,” “I’m stopping to breathe and reflect,” “I’m cutting out filler.” These small physical actions show how you’re learning to focus through writing. Now, think about how you can apply these strategies to other areas in your life. Adapt and use them in new ways.
Track Progress:
Writing allows you to document your progress across different areas of life. It helps motivate you and gain insight. You can track anything; goal setting, productivity, emotional or trauma management, focus, mindfulness, and time management. By writing, you celebrate your successes and identify where you need to put in more effort. This approach is central to Feel, Think, Do. You can break everything down on the page, separating emotion, logic, and action to focus on what matters most right now.
Start where you need to start. Maybe today is about laying out the first few steps for a single task. Perhaps you’re managing multiple tasks at once. In that case, you can track and reflect on your progress for each, keeping it clean and organised. Each day, as you write, you update your progress, giving yourself a clear path forward. Whether it’s emotional, logical, or action-based, you’ll always have a starting point.
Feel: Dive into what you’re trying to achieve. If you’re starting, write about your big idea or dream. Once you’re on your way, document the emotional journey. Celebrate your wins and understand the obstacles you face.
Think: Track your mental progression. You can note facts about your obstacles and successes. As you move forward, you can question, expand, pivot, or reassess as needed. One of the best parts about Think is that you can look back at past steps, capture your current one, and leave space for what you need to track in the future. This structure keeps everything clean and organised.
Do: You turn thoughts into actions. Whether you’re laying out five steps for one task or tracking one step for five tasks, you can review your previous actions, document the present, and leave space for future actions. It’s about keeping things actionable and ready to move forward.
Encourage Positive Habits:
Journaling helps reinforce positive habits by tracking your actions and outcomes. Consistent writing not only develops the habit of journaling but also reinforces how to create positive habits. You can document your emotional ups and downs. Celebrate your successes. Refine your habits and build on them. You can analyse how positive habits affect you and replicate successful actions. Being aware of negative habits allows you to understand and work on eliminating them, replacing them with positive ones. You’re tweaking tracking, celebrating, and learning.
Feel: To change a negative habit, you first need to understand it. Negative habits come with emotions, and often we want to change the habit to escape the emotion. While starting with positive habits is ideal, gradually replacing negative habits with positive actions can help. Feel helps you grasp the emotional benefits of habits you form and practice daily. For example, if you’re exercising, you write about your mood, the struggle of starting, and how your mood improves with consistency.
Think: Building a habit takes consistent effort. You can’t just do something once and expect it to stick. By creating a positive writing habit, you’re reinforcing this effort and documenting your other habits. In Think, you track your progress, noting the physical benefits and looking beyond the emotions to understand how your habits are developing.
Do: Habits are a journey. Journaling helps you track and reflect on your journey. You can review past actions and plan future ones, applying what you’ve learned to improve. Writing small, simple steps allows you to focus on one thing at a time, avoiding the overwhelm of trying to change too much at once. This approach helps ground you in the present, making gradual progress and ticking off each step.
Improve Sleep:
Writing before bed helps clear your mind and makes it easier to relax and fall asleep. By jotting down the good and bad from your day, you’re emptying your thoughts and reflecting. You can also write tasks for tomorrow, so they don’t linger in your mind. One benefit of writing before sleep is giving your brain something to process while you rest. The brain-box night crew can go to work on your subconscious. Over time, this can train your mind to handle these reflections more effectively. This habit won’t change everything overnight, but if you stick with it, you’ll notice improved sleep and mental clarity.
Feel: There’s nothing worse than trying to sleep with a racing mind and tense body. Writing helps you release the day’s emotions, like taking a slow, calming breath. Writing about challenges gives you space to let them go, while writing about positive moments boosts your mood, allowing you to fall asleep with a smile.
Think: You can write to reflect on how things went well, or make a quick note for tomorrow so it doesn’t keep you awake. Writing helps shut down your busy mind, giving you the mental space to rest.
Do: Many people combine habits for better sleep—some meditate, write, and then rest. Others write, say a prayer, and sleep. You can even write your bedtime routine as a reminder and trigger to help you wind down. “Do” is about taking action, but if you’re ready for sleep and don’t need to do anything else, leave the space blank. That’s the beauty of Feel Think Do. It’s there when you need it, but you don’t always have to fill it.
First Thought: It’s worth noting the First Thought section. As writing improves your sleep, it’s worth paying attention to your first thought in the morning. Your brain works while you rest, and if you write and reflect before bed, you might wake up with a fresh idea or insight. Capture that first thought in your journal to track how your mind processes things while you sleep.
Time Management:
It’s a common misconception that you need a lot of time to journal. Time is one of the biggest excuses for not starting. But it’s not true. Writing is about getting out what you need, whether it takes 5 minutes or an hour. Some people write once a day in a special place, while others carry their journal and write when something pops in their head. The key is to be consistent and set aside some time to write. It takes a bit of discipline to get started, but that’s okay. You’re already building that discipline by forming the habit. The two go hand in hand.
Journaling helps with time management. If you’re working on a project, use your journal to plan. If you’re trying to be more active, list your activities and how long you’ll spend on them. Keeping things in your head makes it easy to procrastinate. But through writing, you commit to your goals. Instead of saying, “I’ll exercise tomorrow,” write the goal and set a time for it. By journaling about time management, you’re creating tools for better time management. You are taking control and holding yourself accountable. It all starts with setting aside a bit of time to write.
Feel: Time is something you might struggle with. Feeling like you don’t have enough or worrying that you’re wasting it. Maybe you’re great with time and want to understand why. Writing in Feel can help you work through these ideas. You can focus on specific time frames, or clear your mind of things that don’t matter, so you can use your time more efficiently. It’s your sounding board for how you’re using your time.
Think: Here, you can create a to-do list, a productivity planner, or analyse how you’re spending your time. Stepping back from emotions, Think lets you look at how effectively you use your time. You can explore goals and habits, identifying what’s working, what’s not, and how your use of time reflects those insights.
Do: This is where you lay out physical actions. You might write, “I’ll spend 3 hours studying,” or “I’ll read a book instead of watching Netflix.” Do offers a dedicated space to map out your day and allocate time for different tasks. Once it’s on the page, you can’t ignore it. Things might not always go as planned. Life happens. But writing it down holds you accountable. The more you do this, the better you’ll get. Over time, journaling will help you improve your time management, and better time management will improve your journaling.
These are a few of the benefits you will find when you journal. Not all of them will apply to you. You'll discover others not listed here. It's a personal journey.
These are the most common and often overlooked. Again, we can know all these things in our heads. But in our heads, they are easy to dismiss. Seeing it written here is no different from seeing it in your own handwriting on the page. If you are looking for any of the above in your daily life, starting a journal is the best first step you can take.