Let’s start with the difference between keeping a diary and journaling. A diary can be a useful way of recording and organising your day. You can also reflect on what happened, but a journal can go a little deeper into your mental and physical state. 

It gives you somewhere to make sense of your life, work through what is happening and use your own thoughts as a guide. These benefits of journaling for men are more important than ever in the digital era. 

Sometimes life throws us those curveballs, and we are removed from our comfort zones. An upheaval like moving to another city or another continent can disrupt our everyday connections with friends, acquaintances, family and colleagues.

It means starting all over again and building a new network. Maintaining ties with close friends and family over long distances takes effort, and starting again socially in a new place can take even more. Some people are more reticent than others and struggle with social connections. They may experience self-doubt. I know I did when I moved halfway around the world.

So, what does journaling have to do with sorting out your life?

Quite a lot.

Research into writing and reflection suggests that putting thoughts and experiences into words can help us process difficult experiences, clarify our thinking and focus on goals. Journaling can also give you a place to record small wins, reflect on what isn’t going right and formulate a plan of action, one step at a time.

Whether it’s friends, family, a relationship, finances, personal development or something practical such as getting fitter or changing an unhealthy habit, a journal can become a useful tool for working out what you want to do next.

Express your thoughts in your journal, formulate a plan of action, see where you fell short and where you met the mark and adjust.

The secret to progress is being adaptable.

Examples of famous thinkers and creators who kept notebooks or journals reach way back in history. Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks contain observations, ideas and sketches, while other well-known figures, including Charles Darwin, kept extensive written records of their thoughts and work.

Journaling involves writing down your thoughts and feelings to gain clarity. We have an enormous amount going on in our minds every day, and it can be difficult to keep track of everything that matters.

Putting the main ideas you want to work on down on paper gives you something you can return to. You can look back, see how you are progressing and decide what needs to change.

Why should a man keep a journal?

There can be a particular value in having a private place to put difficult thoughts into words.

Men can face social expectations to appear strong, self-reliant and in control, and those expectations can sometimes make it harder to talk openly about emotional difficulties. That doesn’t mean every man behaves this way, of course, but if you’ve ever found yourself saying “I’m fine” when you’re anything but, you’ll know what I mean.

In Australia, men continue to die by suicide at substantially higher rates than women. The reasons are complex and involve many factors for men's health, but reluctance to seek help and difficulties with emotional disclosure can be part of the picture.

A journal isn’t a replacement for professional help or for talking to people you trust. But it can provide another private outlet. A place to put feelings into words, identify a problem and start thinking through possible solutions. Journaling helps create self-awareness.

Writing doesn’t magically solve a problem. What it can do is take some of the noise out of your head.

When worries keep chasing around in our minds, getting them down on paper can help us see them more clearly. Once you can see what is bothering you, you can start working out what you can actually do about it.

Sometimes the solution has been sitting there all along, but we are too wrapped up in the problem to see it.

Writing it down can be the first step.

So, what are the real benefits of journaling for men?

1. It’s a healthy outlet

Let’s start with the small stuff.

When we write, we can organise our thoughts and identify what we are really feeling, rather than simply reacting to what the world expects us to feel, say and do.

Psychologist James Pennebaker became well known for research into expressive writing, in which people write about significant or stressful experiences. Some studies have reported benefits from relatively short writing sessions, although the research is more nuanced than saying that any form of journaling automatically improves health.

That’s an important distinction.

Expressive writing research generally involves a specific exercise: writing about significant thoughts and feelings connected with a stressful or traumatic experience, often over several sessions. Ordinary journaling can be much broader.

You might write about your hopes, fears, frustrations and blocks. You might try to understand why something made you angry, why a particular situation keeps bothering you, or what you want to do differently.

It’s fine to start by getting the anger out onto the page. It can feel cathartic.

But then move on.

The useful question becomes: What am I going to do with this?

Research into expressive writing has produced mixed findings over the years, so I wouldn’t promise that writing will fix your physical or mental health. What it can provide is a structured opportunity to reflect, process an experience and put your thoughts into words.

Men may sometimes find this particularly useful if they don’t have many opportunities to talk openly about what is going on.

When we’re worried about something, thoughts can keep chasing around in our heads. Getting them down onto paper can help clarify them.

And once they’re clearer, you can start working on them instead of living in an endless buzz of worry.

2. Staying productive

Without a To Do list, we can end up doing other stuff that probably isn’t a priority.

In your journal, put three things to start with: one that’s a bit difficult that you try to clear first, a medium item and an easy item.

Once you’ve handled the hard one early in the morning, the rest can feel a little easier.

When you put your tasks, goals and intentions in one place, you can check back on them regularly to see how you’re shaping up.

The best part? It isn’t another screen with the risk of getting distracted.

Don’t forget to set yourself a reward once you’ve achieved your To Do list. Something you can really look forward to.

No cheating. Every item has to be ticked off.

Start small.

3. Being realistic about goals

Some people write down 15 or 20 things to do in a day, but realistically there are only so many hours.

Hone the list down to the things you can genuinely achieve. Five meaningful tasks completed is a lot better than 20 tasks staring back at you at bedtime.

The whole idea is to stay motivated rather than stress yourself out.

At the end of the day, you want to be able to compliment yourself for what you achieved rather than go to bed worrying about everything you didn’t get done.

Small wins for long-term gains.

There is good reason to write goals down and revisit them, but be careful with the exaggerated claims you sometimes see online about goal-setting research.

Psychologist Gail Matthews studied the relationship between written goals, commitment, action planning and accountability. Her work found that writing goals down was only one part of the picture; participants who combined written goals with action commitments and accountability performed better.

That’s worth remembering.

Writing down “I want to get fitter” is a start.

Writing down “I’ll walk for 30 minutes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and I’ll tell a friend how I went” is a plan.

The physical act of writing can also make your intentions easier to revisit. More importantly, your journal gives you somewhere to check whether you’re actually doing what you said you would do.

Now, we’re not only concerned with goals.

We also need to keep in mind what we already have and express gratitude for what life has brought us.

4. What are the good things in your life?

Too often we focus on what we don’t have and forget about all that we do have.

Use your journal to write down the things you’re grateful for: being able to see, having had the benefit of an education, being able to hear and appreciate music, having a home, having a partner, loving parents, supportive siblings. The list is endless.

Sure, some things may be missing.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t recognise what is already good in our lives.

And here’s the trap: we often compare ourselves with people who appear to have more than we do.

The problem with comparison is that we rarely see the complete picture. Someone else’s money, career, possessions or social-media feed tells you very little about what is happening behind closed doors.

Those who appear to have everything can still be dealing with grief, relationship problems, anxiety, illness or personal trauma.

So why write down what we’re grateful for?

Because gratitude practices have been associated with improvements in psychological wellbeing, positive mood and other measures of mental health. Research into physical-health effects is more mixed, so it’s better to regard gratitude as a useful practice rather than a miracle cure.

When we sit down and write in our journals, we are deliberately paying attention to the good things in our lives.

Week by week, we can identify the things that help us enjoy life and the things that help us deal with the negatives.

That’s worth doing.

5. How do I create time to start journaling?

Life can get pretty hectic, but if you don’t look after your physical and mental health, you’re not going to be able to handle everything else, are you?

It’s a no-brainer.

Schedule time for journaling and physical exercise, whether it’s the gym, surfing or a run on the beach with your dog.

Give yourself a little time to sit back with a coffee or a beverage of choice, listen to some music or read a few pages of a book.

You deserve it.

Then you can get back to all the rest of life’s have-to-do’s without resentment and with a renewed sense of wellbeing.

As far as journaling goes, there’s no word count.

Write what you feel you can manage in the time you have. Some days you’ll really get into it; other days your entries will be brief.

That’s fine.

The important thing is that journaling becomes a habit you can realistically maintain.

It can take as little as five minutes to write down how you’re feeling, what you want to prioritise, what your triggers are and what makes you feel grateful.

Remember, many of the things we take for granted are not available to everyone.

An indoor shower. Water on demand. A flushing toilet. Internet access. A safe place to sleep.

Become aware of what you do have and take a few seconds to register that appreciation.

6. Check in with your journal for a mood boost

You may be thinking, Yeah right, but it’s not as crazy as it sounds.

With a busy day and problems constantly competing for attention, taking a few minutes to check in with your journal can help you pause, identify what you’re feeling and remind yourself of your priorities.

You may come away feeling calmer or more organised simply because you’ve stopped long enough to work out what’s going on.

And even if the journal doesn’t solve the problem, you’ve given yourself a few minutes to think instead of simply react.

That’s valuable.

7. Journaling, stress and physical wellbeing

I know what you’re thinking:

This is now getting a bit far-fetched.

But look at it this way.

We live with stress from all sorts of sources... like world news, taxes, payments, jobs, family relationships, trying to raise kids. The list can be endless.

Stress can affect the body, and prolonged stress is associated with changes in systems including the stress-response system and immune function.

But let’s not make journaling into something it isn’t.

Writing in a journal isn’t an immune-system treatment, and we shouldn’t promise that it will stop you getting sick.

What journaling can do is help you pay attention to the behaviours and circumstances that affect your wellbeing.

Track your exercise routines. Note appointments with your optician, dentist or doctor. Record how much sleep you’re getting. Keep an eye on habits that you want to change.

So, you set yourself a fitness goal on the 1st of January... you know the good old New Year's resolution list that doesn’t get looked at again until you’re due to make next year’s list.

Instead, break the goal down into weekly, achievable steps and journal what you actually did that week.

No stress if you couldn’t meet the goal.

Just be aware that you may need to put in a little more effort in the following weeks to get back on track.

8. Brain Training

Teachers know that writing things down can help students learn and remember information.

There is something useful about having to process information and put it into your own words rather than simply reading it and hoping it sticks.

Looking back at your journal entries can also help you remember what you were thinking and feeling at a particular time.

Writing helps you sort things out logically.

Instead of going with a gut decision, write down opposing lists of the pros and cons of a situation and then work towards a solution.

The first answer that springs to mind isn’t necessarily the best one.

Your journal gives you somewhere to slow down, think things through and see the situation from another angle.

Start journaling and see the difference it creates in your life.

There’s no time like right now.

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