How to Keep a Diary and Stick to It

Co-authored by Hyungbum Kang, MA, MSW, LCSW, MAC

Last Updated: March 5, 2023 References Approved

Keeping a diary or journal is a great way to express your emotions on paper and treasure experiences. Years from now, you'll wonder what you were doing years ago. A diary will remind you of the good - and bad - times you had in your past. A diary can also help vent out anger and frustration as well as excitement. It is a great way to express your feelings and pour out your heart when you're sad or when you just need someone (well, something actually) to tell your innermost thoughts to. Many of us started writing journal one time or another but never kept it up. We started during a difficult time and simply abandoned writing when things got better. It doesn't have to be that way. Writing a journal can also be to record happy memories.

Method 1

Method 1 of 1:

Keeping Your Own Diary

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Make sure your diary reflects your personality. Some of the ways people personalize diaries are:^{[1]
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- Adding scraps, like movie ticket stubs, receipts, flower petals, etc.
- Gluing in photographs
- Making sketches and drawings
- Writing poems
- Choosing a quotation or a goal of the day
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Write in some basic information about yourself on the first page. You could include your name, your age, your best friend, your occupation or school grade, and a few of your hobbies and favorite things. Sometimes people include a "reward if found" note, just in case it gets lost.

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Start your first entry by labeling the top with the weekday and date, the time, and possibly where you were when writing that entry. Write your entry as if you were talking to your best friend, or even to yourself, with enough detail to remind you what was going on at that time. Remember that things may be different in the future.^{[2]
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Don't be afraid to even give your diary a name. Pretend it is a real person, not a non-living object. This one day may become your best friend!
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Write your frustrations and celebrations, but also write everyday things about your schedule, your friends, and the things you like to do. People forget things they think they will always remember, and these everyday things will be very meaningful to you later. Try to write positive in there too. Being positive can help you in the darkest of times.^{[3]
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- Use your diary to journal about changes in your emotion so you can work through them easier.
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Start again if you have a break from writing. If you do skip a day, days, or even weeks, don't worry about it. Just start in again from the current day. Obsessively trying to catch up with all your past events is the quickest way to lose interest a diary. If you're still remembering something weeks later that you didn't write about, it will come up again in your mind later and you can write about it then. Don't worry if you skip a day, week, or even a month. No one's keeping score.^{[4]
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Read your old entries every so often and see what you think now in comparison to then. But do this when you are in an accepting mood of yourself! It does not help to be mean and judge your former self and then throw away your diary in disgust. Be nice to yourself and treat your old diaries like letters from your former self to your present self. More importantly, see how much you have grown and learned from your experiences. At the end of the day, that is the true beauty of a diary, of your own personal and emotional growth as you strive to better yourself every day.^{[5]
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Make sure you hide it too. It's a personal diary so it needs to be safe! A hollow book is a good place to hide a diary.
- You can also hide your diary in other places like between the mattress and the bed frame, stuck up under a table/chair, in a video case, in a shoe packet, or in your jacket.

Community Q&A

Question

Do I have to be honest with my diary even if I think someone will read it?

Community Answer

You can do whatever you want with your diary, but it seems a bit pointless to write dishonest things in one. The purpose is supposed to be to have a place where you can put your real thoughts and feelings, including ones you wouldn't share with anyone else. Whatever works for you, though! You may want to check out How to Hide Your Diary.
Question

Can I insert photographs?

Community Answer

Yes, you can.
Question

Why should I keep a diary?

Community Answer

The many purposes of a diary can include being used to write letters to those you can't contact directly (ex. God, a parent you never knew, an imaginary friend, etc.), or to keep track of day to day happenings, such as what happened at school, work, or just life. It can be used to confide in, to write secrets or feelings in, ideas for your future, or to preserve memories. You get to decide what you use it for.

Warnings

Don't worry about grammar and proper spelling. You're here to write out your thoughts and feelings - not to write a perfect best-selling novel.

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Write down everything! Censoring your own thoughts means that you are not honest with yourself.

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Be yourself. You don't want to look back on your life as other people.

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Don't copy off others, this is your diary so make it your style!

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Try to be neat so that you'll be able to read what you wrote in the future. You never know how long you'll keep your diary.

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Make sure your ink doesn't leak through the paper!

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Don't write a bluff be true to your diary/journal

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Make sure you know where your diary is at all times, especially if there is important/embarrassing information in it! If it has some ultra-top-secret information, get a lock or get a diary with a lock and then hide it. Be careful not to drop it somewhere and forget about it.

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Write in pen only. Pencil might fade away.

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Things You'll Need

A Nice Notebook: A plain or decorated notebook to use as your diary.
A Favorite Pen: ballpoint, gel, and fountain pens are great options to look into. They can have barrels and ink in a variety of colors.
Page Decorations: Photographs, tickets, acid-free stickers, cut-outs, a favorite collector's card, ribbons, pressed flowers, acid-free printer paper, and anything else
A Lock and Key, a mini combination lock, a locking case, or a very good hiding place for your diary
A Special Spot where you can comfortably go to focus and write. Some people actually set up a designated place in their homes for this!