🖊️ You Don’t Need to Be a Writer to Journal (Seriously.)

Jill Grumbache
6 days ago
5 min read

Let’s bust this one wide open: You don’t need to be a writer—or even like writing—to journal.

I hear this a lot: "I’m not a writer.”

"I wouldn’t know where to start.”

"I hated writing in school."

”I don’t know what to say.”

And I get it. Truly, I do.

Let me ask you a couple of things. Could you bend far in all those directions when you first tried yoga? Did you think you could do that 5k marathon before you even started walking on a regularly? Did you used to hate smoothies before you found the right ingredient combo for you? Did you miss using too much salt until your taste buds adjusted?

The things that are best for us often begin with resistance. But with practice, we grow stronger—until one day, we’re not just better, we’re surprising ourselves. Journaling is the same!

Journaling isn't about trying to be profound or eloquent or poetic. We even encourage you to throw grammar rules out the window. Full sentences? Pfff. Not necessary. Beautifully description words? Nah. Always being deep? Geesh - that's too much pressure.

And the very best part of journaling? There are no rules or right ways to do it.

So, what is journaling, then?

At its core, journaling is a place for thoughts, feelings, and observations to land. To give them all an escape route so you can get a break, or so you can sort them out, or so you can remember.

It’s a safe space to notice what’s going on. It’s a tool—not a talent.

And you don’t need to be “good” at it to benefit from it.

You don’t need fancy notebooks. You don’t even need to know what you’re going to say until the pen hits the page.

You just need to show up—with your messy mind, your busy heart, and your curious self.

Journaling isn’t about writing. It’s about listening.

You might be surprised, but loving journaling doesn't require liking writing.

That’s because journaling is less about crafting language and more about making space for release - it's about listening to your thoughts and noticing your feelings. It's about hearing what your body is telling you. It's also about space to:

Express your thoughts exactly as they are and without judgement
Get your feelings even when they don't make sense
Eventually notice patterns in your thoughts and feelings—and even your habits
Get curious about yourself & ask yourself questions
Give yourself a good talking to when you think you need it
Unload the weight of your worries and frustrations
Celebrate the good stuff
Make lists, put reminders, doodle mindlessly, add pics, jot down quotes, sketch, save tickets, paste birthday cards, keep notes from doctor appointments—and on and on.

This isn’t a literary exercise. It’s a quiet (or loud!) reflection, a pause amidst the chaos, a place for memories and to help you remember, a way to sort things out and make sense of them, and a life tool for both calm and clarity.

If you have thoughts, you can shape some ink. Think of journaling a best friend at the end of a pen.

Doing it might feel awkward at first, but that's okay. Over time, your ink will flow like a river—and your journal will help you feel more present, open, and grounded. It's proof you exist and are worth existing.

Real journaling looks like this:

Not convinced yet? Let me show you what some real journaling entries look like this (these include some from my own journal, too!).

“Today sucked. Nothing I wanted to do got done. I'll write another to-do list here. Tomorrow's another day. Another try."
“Why the hell do I keep saying yes to people? I'm frickin' exhausted.” I gotta start practicing how to say no. And get comfortable with it. Sigh.
“Feelin' disconnected. Unplugged. Far away. No focus. Don’t know why. Sleep, girl, sleep.”
“I just feel like crying all the time lately. I don’t know why. What's going on? Maybe I'll just let myself have a good sob fest."
Movie to watch—A Journey of 100 steps.
Reminder: get your curtains hemmed!
“At work, sometimes I miss myself.”
“Today, I drank coffee in the sun, and it made me feel human again.”
“Three things I’m grateful for: my daughter’s laugh, soft socks, and potato chips.”
My headline for this past month: Ball of Confusion!
I noticed the trees exploded with leaves today. I love green.
I miss my mom. Man, I could use a bowl of her turkey soup. That'd help.

See? Nothing fancy. Nothing profound. Just real. And real is more than enough.

You can even just make a list

Hate full sentences? Bullet points, baby. Bullet points.

Brain dump:

Stop being so hard on yourself - small steps=good steps
Felt anxious a lot but pushed through
Find something to help me fall asleep faster, maybe an app
Trust everything will okay
Don't forget to get flowers for Sunday. She likes carnations.
Go get new shoes for Sammy!
Work on confidence.
Butter on sale at Costco this week.
Check whose house book club is at next week.
Talk with Kevin, we gotta get a new fence ($$??).
Yes, you can eat chocolate chips out of the bag. Once in a while.

There are no rules. No points awarded. No one reading over your shoulder.

You get to be as fragmented, repetitive, silly, or serious as you need to be.

You get the benefits—No writing talent required

And here’s the wild part: the benefits of journaling don’t depend on how well you write.

The act of journaling has been shown to:

Reduce stress and anxiety
Boost your immune system
Support better sleep
Improve memory and mental clarity
Help regulate emotions
Increase self-awareness
Build resilience and inner strength

Even if your entries are three-word bullet points or spelling disasters—your brain and body still reap the benefits. Wild, right?

It’s not what you write that matters. It’s that you write.

If you’ve ever…

Written a to-do list to clear your head
Scribbled an angry letter you never sent
Doodled in the margins while your thoughts swirled
Opened your notes app just to get something out of your head
Written reminders all over your agenda
…congratulations.

You’re already journaling. You just didn’t call it that.

Here’s a simple way to start

If you’re still hesitant, try this 30-second invitation:

“Today, I noticed…”

That’s it. That’s the whole prompt. Write one word. Write one sentence, or 10. Make it a feeling, a color, a memory, a craving. Just begin. Not because you have something impressive to say. But because you matter enough to listen to.

Myths like this keep women silent

This belief—that only “writers” can journal—has kept way too many women from finding their own voice, discovering their own wisdom, tapping into their creativity, enjoying self-discover, and doing some healing.

Don't think that if it's not pretty or polished, it doesn’t count. Here’s the truth: the most healing journal entries often ramble and roam all over the place. They start somewhere and veer off in another direction. Weirdly, and maybe magically, you always end up going where you most need to.

The half-sentences. The scratch-outs. The words you can barely admit to yourself. I promise you'll find tiny (or big) truths that change everything once they’re finally shaped by a blotching pen tip.

Journaling isn’t about sounding good. It’s about having a safe place to be the real unedited you.