What are the benefits of keeping a journal/diary?

back in the HS days, but since I got busier, I have found it difficult to find the time to do so. . . I now try to email messages/things to myself from my BlackBerry as I deem fit.. . . Maybe later on, I can just filter thru the messages the things I would like/need to look for.

1. I keep a short-hand diary for each of my kid’s developments and food habits and sleep habits and changes.
2. I keep a food diary for myself in order to maintain 1700–1900 calories/per day and to monitor that I consume enough protein.
3. I keep a hypothetical (yet to be put down anywhere) diary of my work experience (I work with new and interesting people every day…their stories must be shared).

I used to have about 7 hand written diaries – I read them now and laugh at myself. Then I kept a livejournal (and it ate my soul) for about 5 years – some of those LJ entries are classic, I am proud of them. I no longer write in a personal diary..being on fluther is kind of like that, anyway.

keeps your mind from overflowing on stress and kept in emotions… It’s not healthy to consistanly keep stuff cramped inside…. and you can make it into a book possibly later in life

For a week I logged every single thing I did during a day and the time in which it was done. It was quite amazing at the end of the week seeing how much time i wasted and how much more efficient i could be.

that said, im still a lazy time wasting mother fucker.

I am going to do just that and hopefully get clarification of my thoughts :)

I have 2 long running blogs at forums that are very personal recordings of my thoughts and quite nice to be able to read at times….

I have kept a journal for pretty much my entire life.

It gives me a lot of perspective when I read back over it. I see the patterns that I get into and it shows me what things I really value and dwell on.

The action of writing down my thoughts is helpful too. It helps me sort them out, organize myself, and get centered.

A diary can be disaterous if it gets in the hands of the wrong people. my journal is in my brain. when my brain faulters, no one gets hurts but me.

It’s a writing mine! I have writing journals from my highschool days. I do believe I wrote down enough “inspiration” to last two lifetimes! Thanks to those journals, writer’s block isn’t an issue for me. :)

You should ask @ninjacolin about the potential and possibilities of anything at all! I read somewhere that you should never put in writing that which you don’t want to have read. that said however, what kind of people do you associate with that a journal wouldn’t be relatively safe? I don’t pick up things and read them that don’t belong to me, and I have three kids. I value their privacy the same way i do my own.

I have journaled at various times in my life, and I have the journals to this day. They are about personal feelings, not necessarily about interpersonal relationships, so nothing in them would affect any relationship today.

I’m with @Trillian – Never put in writing that which you don’t want read – and never tell a secret that you don’t want spread.

:-)

I have a whole series of journals starting when I was 8 or so. I find it really useful to have a place to vent and to give voice to thoughts I don’t feel I can share with people. It’s also nice to go back and read them because I sometimes forget events or how certain things made me feel and it’s good to be reminded. Anyway, I’m generally just honest in my journals; not mean or anything unless I’m super pissed, so I figure if you read something you don’t like, it’s your damn fault for snooping.

I’ve become more cautious since my psycho ex did read one of them (and wrote a commentary after a particular entry), so sometimes I self-edit more than I’d like. I like to think I’ve dated mostly trustworthy people after that and only in my last relationship did I worry that she’d seek out and read my journals. I ended up not writing much about her until after the breakup.

I don’t have fear of journal detectives. The people who love me have always been delighted if I keep journals. Otherwise, I have to get my thoughts straight by talking to THEM.

Looking back on old notes makes me a) proud that I was that smart that long ago and b) relieved that I’m not that dumb any more.