Journaling

Is Putting Pen to Paper Really Good for Us?

There is something slightly old-fashioned about journalling.

A notebook. A pen. A few quiet minutes. No notifications. No tabs open. No one waiting for a reply.

And yet, in a world where we are constantly consuming information, journalling seems to be having something of a comeback.

YouGov’s UK Health & Wellbeing tracker found that 8% of UK adults currently journal, while a further 20% said they had tried it in the past. commercial.yougov.com A separate YouGov poll found that 7% of adults in Great Britain keep a journal or diary regularly and another 11% do so occasionally. YouGov

Among younger people, the habit is even more visible. The National Literacy Trust found that almost three in ten children and young people aged 5 to 18 kept a diary in 2022, with many saying they used it to express thoughts, feelings, ideas and creativity. National Literacy Trust

So what is journalling actually doing for us?

And perhaps more importantly, are we doing it because it genuinely helps - or because somewhere along the way we were sold a very beautiful notebook and told it would transform our life?

What actually counts as journaling?

There is no official format.

• A journal can be a traditional diary where you record what happened that day.

• It can be a notebook full of thoughts you would never say out loud.

• It can be gratitude lists.

• Goal setting.

• Morning pages.

• A mood tracker.

• A list of things that are currently taking up too much space in your head.

• It can even be three sentences written while waiting for the kettle to boil.

That matters, because journalling sometimes becomes unnecessarily intimidating.

You do not have to begin with:

Dear Diary...

You do not have to write beautifully.

You do not need expensive stationery.

And you certainly do not have to create the kind of colour-coded page that looks ready for Pinterest.

At its simplest, journalling is just taking what is happening internally and putting some of it somewhere external.

That alone can be useful.

Why writing things down can feel different

Most of us carry an extraordinary amount inside our heads.

• Work.

• Children.

• Money.

• Relationships.

• Deadlines.

• Appointments.

• Things we need to remember.

• Things we wish we had said.

• Things we wish we had not said.

• Decisions we are avoiding.

• And sometimes the same thought simply goes round and round without getting anywhere.

Writing forces us to slow the thought down.

A vague feeling of everything is too much might become:

I am actually worried about this meeting.

Or:

I have said yes to too many things this week.

Or:

I am not unhappy with my whole job. I am unhappy with one particular part of it.

That distinction can be enormously useful.

Because a feeling becomes easier to work with once we can name it.

What does the research actually say?

This is where we need to be slightly careful.

Journaling is often talked about online as if the science is overwhelming.

It is not quite that simple.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials looking at journalling for mental health found a small-to-moderate benefit overall, but the researchers also highlighted substantial variation between studies and limitations in the evidence. They concluded that journalling may be useful as an adjunct to other evidence-based support rather than a replacement for it. PubMed Central (PMC)

Research specifically into expressive writing - writing openly about stressful or emotional experiences - is mixed too.

One more recent meta-analysis of 31 experimental studies involving more than 4,000 participants found a small but significant reduction in depression, anxiety and stress symptoms over longer-term follow-up. PubMed

But earlier reviews have found much smaller or even non-significant effects on physical and psychological health. PubMed Central (PMC)

In other words:

Journalling can help some people. It is not magic. And it is not therapy in notebook form.

That feels like quite an important distinction.

Sometimes the benefit is simply clarity

Not every useful habit needs to cure something. Sometimes journalling is valuable because it gives you somewhere to think.

• That might mean writing before making a decision.

• Reflecting after a difficult meeting.

• Getting worries out of your head before bed.

• Processing a transition.

• Noticing patterns in your mood or behaviour.

• Putting words around something you have not yet worked out how to say to someone else.

Positive forms of writing - things like gratitude journalling, writing about positive experiences or imagining your “best possible self” - have also been studied. A recent systematic review found the most consistent benefits were around wellbeing and positive affect, while effects on anxiety, stress and physical health were less consistent. PubMed

So journaling may not transform your life overnight. But it can make your internal world a little easier to see. And sometimes that is enough to help you make a better next decision.

Who journals?

Probably a broader mix of people than we imagine.

• Writers have always done it.

• Artists do it.

• Athletes do it.

• Founders do it.

• People in therapy do it.

• People who hate therapy sometimes do it.

• Teenagers do it.

• Parents do it.

• People going through grief, divorce, career changes, illness or major transitions often find themselves reaching for somewhere to put their thoughts.

• And increasingly, younger adults appear to be rediscovering analogue writing as an antidote to screen-heavy lives.

Ryman reported a 20% year-on-year rise in notebook sales in 2025 and linked part of that growth to Gen Z interest in journalling, mindfulness and writing down goals. YourWorld

Whether we call it journalling, reflection or simply scribbling things down, there seems to be something appealing about having one place where our thoughts do not have to perform for anyone else.

How to journal “properly”

The slightly annoying answer is that there probably is not one correct way. But there are ways to make it more useful. The first is to remove the pressure to write something profound. A blank page can feel strangely demanding. So start smaller.

Try:

What is taking up the most space in my head today?

Or:

What do I need right now?

Or:

What am I avoiding?

Or:

What went better than I expected today?

You can write for five minutes.

You can write one paragraph.

You can write bullet points.

Research on expressive writing has often used short sessions of around 15 to 20 minutes over several days, rather than hours of endless introspection. PubMed Central (PMC)

That is reassuring.

You do not need to become Virginia Woolf before breakfast.

Write honestly, not impressively

Your journal is not a LinkedIn post. It does not need a lesson at the end. You do not have to turn every difficult day into gratitude. You do not have to find the silver lining. Sometimes the most useful sentence might simply be:

I am really angry about this.

Or:

I do not know what I want.

Or:

I am exhausted.

The point is not to produce good writing. It is to notice what is actually there. And this is where journaling can become useful in coaching too. When somebody has written honestly about what they are experiencing, patterns often start appearing.

• The same frustration.

• The same boundary being crossed.

• The same fear.

• The same thing they keep saying they want but never make space for.

Writing can make those patterns harder to ignore.

The easiest way to do journaling badly

Turn it into another performance metric.

“I must journal every morning for 30 minutes.”

“I missed Tuesday, so I have failed.”

“My journal is not aesthetically pleasing enough.”

“I need the perfect prompt.”

No.

If the habit that is supposed to reduce stress becomes another thing you feel guilty about, we may have slightly missed the point.

Another potential problem is using journaling only to rehearse the same negative thought repeatedly. There is an important difference between reflection and rumination. Reflection tends to move somewhere.

• What happened?

• Why did that affect me?

• What can I do?

• What do I need?

Rumination tends to circle.

• Why did they do that?

• Why am I like this?

• Why does this always happen?

Again.

And again.

And again.

Research distinguishes reflective thinking from maladaptive brooding, with rumination linked to poorer wellbeing in a range of contexts. PubMed Central (PMC)

So if you finish journalling feeling more wound up every single time, it may be worth changing the way you write.

Try moving from “what happened?” to “what next?”

A really useful structure is:

What happened?

How do I feel about it?

What is within my control?

What do I need next?

That final question matters. Because journaling is most useful when it creates awareness that can eventually lead somewhere. Not necessarily into action immediately.

• Sometimes the action is rest.

• Sometimes it is acceptance.

• Sometimes it is a conversation.

• Sometimes it is realising that you need more support.

But it helps prevent writing from becoming endless replay.

When journalling can be particularly useful

• Transitions are a big one.

• Starting a new job.

• Returning after parental leave.

• Grieving.

• Ending a relationship.

• Becoming a carer.

• Moving house.

• Going through illness.

• Changing careers.

Periods like these can create a lot of thoughts that do not fit neatly into normal conversation. Journaling gives them somewhere to land. It can also be useful before difficult conversations. Write what you want to say. Then write what you actually need the other person to understand. Those are often different things. It can help with decision-making too.

Not by magically telling you the right answer, but by showing you what you keep returning to.

And when might it not be useful?

There are times when sitting alone with difficult thoughts is not necessarily the best tool.

If writing about a traumatic experience feels overwhelming, destabilising or leaves you significantly more distressed, stop.

You do not have to push through simply because somebody online said journalling is healing.

CALM’s guidance similarly notes that expressive writing is not helpful for everyone and suggests starting with something manageable rather than forcing yourself into the most painful experience you have ever had. calm.org.uk

Journalling should also not become a substitute for professional support when that is what you actually need.

A notebook cannot diagnose you.

It cannot provide clinical treatment.

It cannot intervene if you are struggling significantly with your mental health.

There are times when the useful thing your journal reveals is:

I need to talk to somebody.

That is valuable information too.

Your journal does not have to be positive

There is a strange pressure around modern wellness culture to make every habit optimistic.

• Three things you are grateful for.

• Five affirmations.

• Your dream life.

• Your highest self.

Those practices can absolutely be useful.

But sometimes life is difficult.

You are allowed to write that down too.

Interestingly, research comparing positive writing with expressive writing suggests the two approaches may work somewhat differently: positive writing may be more helpful for mood in some populations, while expressive writing may prompt more cognitive processing. PubMed Central (PMC)

Perhaps the most useful journal contains both.

What hurts.

And what helps.

What is difficult.

And what is still good.

What needs to change.

And what you would like to keep.

The five-minute MOCO journal

If you have always liked the idea of journalling but never actually managed to maintain it, forget the beautiful leather notebook for a moment.

Try five minutes.

Write these four things:

Today I am carrying…

Whatever is occupying your head.

Today I noticed…

Something about yourself, another person or your day.

Today I need…

Rest? A conversation? Movement? Help? Space?

Tomorrow I will…

One thing. Not ten. One. That is enough.

Maybe that is the real appeal

We spend most of our days responding.

• Messages.

• Emails.

• Children.

• Colleagues.

• Notifications.

• Deadlines.

• Other people's needs.

Journalling creates a tiny pocket of time where nobody is asking anything from you.

• You are not producing.

• You are not replying.

• You are not performing.

• You are simply noticing.

• What am I thinking?

• How am I feeling?

• What matters?

• What needs attention?

For a habit that requires little more than a pen and a piece of paper, that is quite a lot.

Journaling will not solve every problem. It may not suit everyone. And the evidence suggests we should be wary of presenting it as some kind of universal mental-health cure.

• But it can create clarity.

• It can help us identify patterns.

• It can give difficult thoughts somewhere to go.

• And sometimes it can help us hear ourselves a little more clearly beneath all the noise.

At MOCO, we spend a lot of time helping people navigate change.

And perhaps that is why journalling fits so naturally.

Because before we can decide where we want to go next, it helps to understand where we actually are.

Sometimes that begins with nothing more complicated than opening a blank page and writing the truth.