# Effortless Journaling ![rw-book-cover](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51cdgbjhz5L._SL200_.jpg) ## Metadata - Author: [[S.J. Scott and Barrie Davenport]] - Full Title: Effortless Journaling - Category: #books ## Highlights - Your journal is your companion, your therapist, your best friend, your teacher, your punching bag, and your personal historian all rolled up in a simple book. ([Location 65](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=65)) - The key to success with a journaling habit is embracing it as a daily routine (like brushing your teeth) rather than an optional activity. ([Location 81](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=81)) - It’s the day-in, day-out consistency that makes the journaling habit so valuable. ([Location 83](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=83)) - Learning to write in cursive is shown to improve brain development in the areas of thinking, language and working memory. Cursive handwriting stimulates brain synapses and synchronicity between the left and right hemispheres, something absent from printing and typing. ([Location 124](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=124)) - 1. Journaling relieves stress and helps you cope with traumatic events. ([Location 136](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=136)) - 2. Journaling helps manage depression. ([Location 151](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=151)) - 3. Journaling helps manage anxiety. ([Location 163](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=163)) - 4. Journaling promotes self-reflection and self-awareness. ([Location 174](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=174)) - 5. Gratitude journaling improves health and well-being. ([Location 186](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=186)) - 6. Journaling reduces blood pressure and boosts the immune system. ([Location 195](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=195)) - 7. Journaling improves physical and psychological health for cardiac patients. ([Location 199](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=199)) - They found as little as three to five 20-minute writing sessions improved both the physical and psychological health of these patients based on health outcome measures such as number of doctor’s visits and hospital days, blood pressure control, lung and immune function, pain, anxiety, and depression. ([Location 202](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=202)) - Gratitude journaling is an excellent bedtime ritual that puts your mind at ease and reminds you of the positive parts of your life. ([Location 213](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=213)) - 9. Journaling helps you achieve your goals. ([Location 215](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=215)) - “those who wrote their goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not write their goals.” ([Location 223](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=223)) - 10. Journaling helps you close open loops. ([Location 224](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=224)) - an uncompleted task will bother you—up until the moment when you make a plan. ([Location 233](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=233)) - 11. Journaling awakens you to opportunities. ([Location 237](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=237)) - 12. Journaling helps you overcome fears to take more action. ([Location 244](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=244)) - 13. Journaling improves your intimate relationship. ([Location 252](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=252)) - Journaling helps you process intense emotions to address the core issue that’s bothering you. ([Location 254](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=254)) - 14. Journaling helps you remember and take personal inventory. ([Location 262](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=262)) - Journaling is a chronicle of your life—both your interior world and the experiences and happenings of the day. Having that permanent record of your life allows you to see how you have evolved as a person. It also allows you to revisit memories, which are so often flawed, in the black-and-white transcript of your concurrent experiences, affording a more honest interpretation of life events. ([Location 265](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=265)) - 15. Journaling improves your writing and communication skills. ([Location 268](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=268)) - Writing in a journal also clarifies your thinking and improves your communication. ([Location 271](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=271)) - Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and engaged in whatever you are doing in the moment. ([Location 286](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=286)) - Here are four ideas for developing your journaling practice as a mindfulness activity: 1. Create a peaceful journaling space. ([Location 313](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=313)) - Visit Pinterest and type “writing spaces” in the search bar for some creative ideas for your journaling nook. ([Location 319](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=319)) - 2. Minimize distractions. ([Location 322](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=322)) - 3. Begin with a short meditation. ([Location 328](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=328)) - 4. Stay aware, and take notice. ([Location 343](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07K8WDFPY&location=343))