Journaling has become a bit of a modern-day buzzword for encouraging us to process our thoughts and feelings, take a bit of time to exercise mindfulness, and create something we can treasure and reflect back on. People journal for all kinds of reasons. It can help people become better organized, and to remember things like inspiring quotes, friends’ birthdays, what to buy from the grocery store. Bullet journals have become incredibly popular and there are many social media accounts dedicated to showcasing the most creative uses of bullet journals, using them almost like works of art as opposed to living, breathing working journals.
Journaling is encouraged for anyone suffering from anxiety, depression or the effects of trauma because writing down our thoughts, feelings and fears can help us to confront and process them. But, journaling can be useful for even more than this, and supporting students in enhancing the quality of their work and their productivity levels is another way in which journaling can be useful.
Here, we look at 5 reasons why journaling the old school way is important for students, and some of the best journaling pens to get started on your journaling journey.
Why Journaling important for students
More meaningful and personal
Students spend a lot of time writing things down, whether it’s an essay or a report on a computer, or it’s an exam paper, or rough notes when carrying out research. Setting aside time and tools to write something for themselves is a luxury not many students afford. It’s like driving a bus for a living. You spend all your day on a bus so the last thing you want to do when you get off work is get back on a bus! But, writing for personal pleasure is hugely beneficial, especially for students who are processing a lot of information every day.
A journal, especially one that may be bound in beautiful fabric, is special and meaningful. The thoughts that are written down inside it are personal, not necessarily study-related, and they can be kept as a memento from an important period of their life. If this is a particular goal, a classic journaling pen would be the fountain pen.
Helps to better process thoughts
Writing by hand requires us to be more focused, as it is something we don’t engage in very often. This can result in the exercise prompting a more mindful approach, slowing the brain down and allowing it to rest. We tend to be more considered when writing by hand as it is not as easy to erase an unintended word or sentence, so we focus to get it right first time. When our brain slows down, we develop greater clarity, which is hugely beneficial to students.
Journaling is useful for reflection and discussion
When we write on computers, the output tends to be “final.” We tend not to submit half-written or first draft essays to our teachers—we submit the final, best version of our work. Journaling provides us with a space where the result of our writing doesn’t need to be polished, because it’s for our eyes only. It can be messy, authentic, colorful, vibrant, scribbly, doodly, whatever helps us get what we need out of the process. Our journals can be used for drafting ideas, sketching diagrams, creating mind maps—the documenting of background thought.
Journaling improves mental health
As mentioned above, journaling is often recommended for people who suffer from anxiety, depression or the effects of trauma, because the very act of writing down the fears, thoughts and feelings we are experiencing, gets them “off our chest” as it were and helps us to process them. Students are common sufferers of anxiety because there is a lot of pressure in the academic environment to succeed. Journaling can help them to process their fears and release them.
Journaling can boost memory
The practice of writing down thoughts by hand can exercise the part of our brain that is responsible for storing and processing memory. Because the process of writing by hand is slower, our minds are required to work differently to remember and focus on what we want to write. This slowing down and the change in focus exercises our memory muscles.
Now we’ve looked at the top 5 reasons why journaling is good for students, what is the best journaling pen to use? Because students are running from lecture hall to classroom, a robust edc ink pen is the best option. A stylish ballpoint pen in stainless steel would make a perfect pen for journaling. And who, knows, the right pen might make studying way more enjoyable!
