What is journalling — and why do people do it?

Journalling is the practice of regular, intentional writing as a tool for reflection, processing and wellbeing — as distinct from diary-keeping (recording events) or creative writing.

The main types

• Gratitude journalling: recording things you are grateful for. Most researched type with strong wellbeing evidence.
• Reflective journalling: reviewing the day, week or period with structured prompts.
• Morning pages: unfiltered stream-of-consciousness writing to clear mental clutter.
• Bullet journalling: a planning and tracking system using a specific notation method.
• Therapeutic journalling: processing difficult emotions and experiences, sometimes used alongside therapy.

The evidence

Expressive writing (writing about difficult experiences) reduces stress and improves immune function in multiple studies. Gratitude journalling increases subjective wellbeing in randomised controlled trials. Reflective journalling improves learning retention and decision quality. The evidence is strongest for consistency — irregular journalling shows weaker effects than regular practice.

Start with our free gratitude journal page or daily journal template.