Journal writing is a great tool - but it’s not perfect.
Once the domain of gawky teens and absinthe sipping members of the literati, journaling has gone mainstream in recent years. Whilst it is difficult to know exactly how many of us are scribbling away on a daily basis, the $18.8bn growth expected from the global notepaper market between 2020-2024 suggests it’s a fair few.
The act of regularly committing our thoughts, feelings and life events to paper is a mainstay of burnout prevention - up there with meditation and yoga. And with good reason.
Journaling has been clinically linked to a healthier mind. Benefits include a reduction of stress and anxiety, easing symptoms of depression, and even an increase in an individual’s IQ.
The body is also getting in on the action. Expressive writing has been shown to improve immune function, increasing your chances of fighting specific illnesses like asthma, AIDS and cancer. A study in New Zealand even suggests that journaling can help heal physical wounds faster.
This all sounds superb, and indeed it is. A tool that can so effectively and provably reduce the symptoms of burnout is worth making a song and dance over. If anything, it should be given more of the limelight: step forward audio journaling.
Audio journaling - the act of verbally recording thoughts, feelings and life events on a regular basis - has the power to supercharge the burnout busting benefits of pen and paper.
Excuse me, Miss? I just don't like writing
The therapeutic joy of pouring your pent up inner voice into a notebook draws many to traditional journaling. It’s an invaluable way of processing the raucous maelstrom of thoughts cavorting through our minds on a daily basis.
This written approach is hugely useful for many, but not for all. For those more in tune with their visual or auditory sides, the prospect of filling a blank page with prose is more likely to conjure uncomfortable memories of double English than relaxatory bliss.
If that sounds like you then the ability to record a journal with your own voice is a game changer: an introduction to the burnout preventing benefits journaling offers without the ball ache of grammar rules.
Do you have a pen and paper I can borrow, Sir?
But let’s say you loved double English. Maybe, god forbid, you even loved grammar. All writers, casual list makers and professional authors alike, know how it feels to be spewing with inspiration, ideas or emotions.
When those moments do happen, the need for an outlet isn’t necessarily matched by the immediate availability of stationary supplies. Standing on a train platform or driving a car on the way to work is not the time to whip out a notepad and start bashing out the next War and Peace.
Making an audio recording, however, is possible in many situations where writing is not. The ability to vocally document what is going on within your mind, almost in real time, can supplement your written journal in a way which fits around the unpredictable hecticness of your daily routine.
Same same but different
Practicalities aside, the written word and recorded voice are two differing approaches to the same thing.
Common to both is the idea that by relaying an experience we are better able to process it, and, therefore, make it mentally graspable. This in turn cultivates greater emotional intelligence, speeds up emotional recovery, and encourages a stronger sense of self.
Whilst the evidence suggests written journals are an extremely effective tool for doing this, that’s not to say it’s the best journaling experience out there. Vocally articulating your thoughts captures perspectives that written sentences cannot.
The tone of your voice, its intonation and volume, the natural pauses you insert, all reveal nuances about your state of mind which do not come across on the page. As therapeutic as writing it down can be, saying it out loud can bring you closer to a truer representation of your internal monologue.
Whether you’re a veteran diary writer or a journal virgin, audio journaling is a fresh, accessible approach which can support your journey to a happier, more resilient, burnout-free, body and mind.
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About the Author:
Robi O’Cleirigh is a writer, keen traveller and long time journaler based in London, UK. When not keyboard bashing or jet lagged he can be found pounding the tarmac in the futile pursuit of running PB’s and exploring a passion for history.
