Journaling is a written account of your thoughts and feelings as you navigate everyday life.

The beauty of journaling is that there’s no right or wrong way to do it. It’s a deeply personal experience that can take many forms.

One day, journaling could look like a diary entry, similar to the ones you may have written when you were a teenager. The next day it can be a list of things that bring you joy or a list of goals you want to achieve.
Developing a journaling habit can help you work through your emotions, especially when you’re feeling anxious or sad. It can also help you grow, become more self-aware, and gain meaningful insights.
For these reasons, journaling is one of the best self-improvement tools.

Having said that, it’ll come as no surprise that some of the most successful people in the world, including Richard Branson, Warren Buffet, and Arianna Huffington have kept journals throughout their lives.
Each person is different. You might want to use your journal to reflect on your behaviors, while your friends might want to keep track of their daily habits. Being clear about the intention of your journal will help inform the type you decide to start keeping.

Here are five common types of journaling to get you started:

1. Daily journaling
The contents differs from other types of journaling as you focus on sharing what you did and how you felt about it each day.

2. Visual journaling
Visual journaling is mostly made up of images. Each entry uses drawings to tell your story. Experiment with different types of drawings to see which works best for you.

3. Stream of consciousness/free writing journaling
With stream-of-consciousness journaling, you write down thoughts as they flow through your mind.

4. Gratitude journaling
Starting to write a gratitude journal can be highly beneficial. Even adding a few bullets for things or people you are grateful for has benefits.

5. Bullet journaling
You may have seen a bullet journal and wondered how to use one. Instead of lines, they have evenly spaced dots to guide your entries. Bullet journals are highly customizable.