What Journaling Is Teaching Me About Creativity

My journaling autobiography + five lessons I've learned

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Unsplash

Over the past few years, journaling has become an essential part of my life and creativity. It had been just that for many years, but I nearly stopped in my late 20s. I guess I was too busy watching The West Wing over and over again on DVD to write down my hopes and dreams. (One hope was that Josh and Donna would get together.) 

I've kept diaries or journals off and on since I was six years old. My first diary was a squishy plastic one with a lock and key. I dictated my entries to my mom, who would patiently write down the details of my day as if I were a royal sprawled on a velvet chaise lounge, and she was my secretary. When I hit the mature age of seven or eight, I moved on to an equally mature diary: a pocket-sized hardcover in pink with ballet slippers on the cover. Did I care about ballet? I did not, but it didn't matter. This diary was perfect. I still have it, and I still love it. One entry was about my undying love for Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell, so things got pretty juicy in its tiny pages.

The first journal I filled out completely was a black spiral notebook with flowers and peace signs all over it. I got it at Claire's, that tween store at the mall where I used to get jewelry and cases for my large Nokia cell phone. It used to be my favorite store, so it seemed only right to have a journal from a place I loved so much. At the time, I was reading the California Diaries series by Ann M. Martin, a spin-off of The Babysitters Club books. I'd never read books written in diary format before, and they inspired me to write in my journal more often and also inspired me to start writing poetry. (Thanks, Ann!)

As I moved into my teen years, journaling became about processing the immense feelings of adolescence. I felt all the huge emotions teenagers feel, and my journal became a place to write through them. Sometimes I was let down that I didn’t have more angst. Still, teen Andrea had a lot to say and was a tad pretentious, but I love her anyway. 19-year-old Andrea was very concerned because she didn't have her entire life figured out. 36-year-old Andrea still doesn't, but things are going well so far. (Thanks, fully developed brain!)

I followed a similar pattern until my mid to late twenties when I nearly stopped journaling. I became busier since I was working full-time, but part of the reason I stopped was that I didn't believe my words mattered that much. I didn't think my life was interesting enough to document. I entered a creative slump that took a while to overcome.

Around 30, I became interested in planning. I'd used planners before, but only for a short time. I saw people on social media using stickers and fun washi tapes in their planners. It looked like a fun hobby, so I got a planner, raided the Michael's sticker aisle, and got started. I've kept this up for several years, and I only recently realized it's a form of journaling. I use my planner more for memory-keeping than actual planning, and it's been a gift to look back at old planners to see what I did on a particular day or to celebrate a specific event. 

Another type of journaling I started recently is book journaling. I write about everything I read online, but I wanted a paper version of my reading life to look back on, too. Keeping this journal gives me such joy. Like with my planner, I use fun stickers, tapes and pens. I never met an office supply I didn’t like, so using these tools makes my heart happy. I really have to cool it with the sticker purchasing, though. I cannot be left alone as I browse the Etsy website.

In the last couple of years, I wanted to get back into more traditional journaling. I still keep and love my planners, but I craved a return to a notebook and pen. That brings us to now.

I want to share five lessons I've learned from getting back into the journaling habit. Some are so obvious that I can't believe I didn't learn them sooner, but others were more hidden and involved some contemplation. I hope they’re as helpful for you as they have been for me. More than anything, I hope this post inspires you to pick up a pen and write.

You don’t have to be perfect.

This is the second year I'm keeping a book journal. I took a lot of time considering how I wanted to set it up and what I wanted it to include. I watched about 394 YouTube videos of people setting up their journals against the backdrop of dreamy instrumental music, and I envied their ability to do calligraphy and draw a straight line. But I persisted, and I created my pretty basic reading journal. It has some ink smears. I drew a reading tracker with different boxes to color in when I finish a book, and the boxes are a bit misshapen and uneven. I wish I would have chosen a different color palette. All of that is okay, though. It's imperfect and messy, but I love it anyway.

Something can be more than one thing.

Last year, I took an online journaling class with Laura Tremaine. In it, she talked about four types of journaling, including list-making. I love making lists and do so frequently, but I never thought of it as journaling. In my view, journaling looked like this:

Dear Diary,

Today I saw Zack Morris on TV. Also, I feel existential dread in my soul.

It turns out that journaling can be anything you want it to be. I list my favorite things throughout the year in my phone's Notes app, including TV shows, meals, events, makeup products, and more. That's journaling! I write down the highlights of my month in my planner. Journaling! Don't let your creativity be constrained by holding too tightly to one definition.

Your life is worth documenting.

As I brainstormed this post, I got out my old journals and read a few entries. I loved looking back on my thoughts at 10, 17, and 20. I wish I had kept writing during those years when I didn't feel as if I had enough to say. Your life does not need to be exciting, daring, or extraordinary. The fact that you're alive and moving through the world is reason enough to document your days. You’ll be so glad you did.

You are your first and most important audience.

I have several old journals I used just for poetry and song lyrics. Most of what I wrote is stuff I would never share with the outside world, but I needed to write it. Before I can share a poem here on Substack, I have to write a few not-so-good ones. Before I can create an online space of which I'm proud, I have to determine what I value and what I want to read. I read my work before anyone else ever does. I'm my first audience, and I'm the one who needs to believe in the work's merit. I don't feel good about it if I'm not creating work I want to read. I want to be engaged and make myself proud on the blank page before I have anything to share with an outside audience. I do my best work when I aim to impress myself before anyone else.

Being creative is fun.

As I get older, the more I realize the need to take fun and play seriously. My old journals are full of brooding and introspection. There are many entries about what I could do to improve at x, y, or z. Sometimes, I wrote about something fun that happened, but I usually spent my time writing about serious stuff or stuff that felt serious at the time. Journaling doesn't have to be severe and reflective all the time. It's a creative act, and creative acts should be fun. They should add joy to our lives. Creativity should allow us to play. Beautiful work can come from joy and silliness.

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What part of this post resonates with you? What’s your journaling story? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading!