There is something magical about writing. When you are journaling, it's almost like as soon as you write it down, the sentence you are composing is going to have one of the following effects:
Keeps a snapshot of the present moment
If you make this a daily habit, your daily logs will become great memories you can read back. You will be glad to read again things you would have not remembered, others that will make you feel proud or silly. Thoughts that will bring you joy or make you excited again. It will then help you to reflect on yourself and life in general as you can observe all the changes that happened since.
Slows down the time
I love this ritual when you are by yourself and take a moment to just write what is on your mind. You are being in your own space, and let your thoughts flow. When time is pressing, this little writing break just feels like meditation and a relaxing moment for you to be aware of your senses, feelings, and thoughts.
Therapeutic exercise
As described previously, journaling allows a moment of self-awareness. This also helps you put all your feelings out of your head and get your thoughts together. When something negative happens to me, I have noticed that after writing it all down, I tend to feel much better and lighter in my head. The negative thought is somehow not torturing my mind anymore. Most of the time it helps me get some distance from the negative emotions, and eventually let it go.
Creativity booster
Whether you write for fun, for others, or for yourself, it gives you the occasion to be creative with the wording, the writing styles, or even the format. You can add some visual elements to bring the experience to a whole other level.
Manifestation
Have you ever written something down, and the words you wrote become reality? This can relate to the law of attraction. When you write your intentions, desires, and dreams, or simply make a statement about yourself, you subconsciously gravitate your focus, actions, and energy towards it. Of course, you still need to put your words into action but along with visualization and speaking it out loud, writing everything down will help you have more clarity, and make a strong statement about whatever you have written. When you read it, see it, hear it, and deeply process it over and over again you should feel a boost of motivation to make it happen. When I was telling you writing has magic powers 
Need some journaling inspiration?
If you made it here, then I hope it means you could find some good reasons to start journaling more often. Now, If you don't know where to start or you are looking for new ways of journaling, here are some ideas:
Express your feelings
As described above, one of the main ideas behind journaling is to express your feelings. When you have no clue what to write about, then maybe think about a feeling you would like to replicate in your life.
For example, when was the last time you have impacted someone else's life? Describe the situation, how it happened, and how it made you and the others feel? What happened after? Are you still in touch? How can you replicate and impact more lives?
Now let's say you have never impacted someone's life, then write about how someone else has impacted yours or others.
This will help you find some inspiration and start to think about ways you could also make someone else's life better.
Gratitude
This exercise is one huge favorite! If not done daily, it should be practiced at least once a week to keep your feet on the ground.
When we know that life is unpredictable, all the good things that happen to us, that work in our favor, and that make our life better shouldn't be taken for granted. We should be constantly thankful, acknowledge, and show appreciation for this positive outcome. Some people write daily 3, 5, or even 10 things they are grateful for. Others, at the end of the week, recap their highlights. It does not have to happen only for big circumstances but also for some daily accomplishments, even for a small detail, as long as it made your day, should be recognized.
Make a statement
Another powerful one! Write about yourself. This will allow you to re-discover and explore your inner self. What are the things you enjoy in life? The things you don't? The more you know about yourself, the stronger and healthier you are mentally for you and your loved ones. You can also make a statement about your business plan or your goals so you can always go back when you need motivation. The statement should be about your reasons why you decided to start to achieve this goal. To make it even more vivid, you can also incorporate a vision board to help you visualize your end goal.
Your positive vibes book
Collect in there quotes, write moments, and describe people or anything that makes you happy. Combining it again with some pictures and colorful tones, you made yourself a Feel Good book. Whenever you need an energy boost, grab the book and feel yourself reenergized!
"To remember when" Letters
This is not really a To-do list but this is a life/time-saving letter or memo you create yourself to remember when... [something happens] and you describe how you should react, the attitude and mindset you should adopt when this situation occurs again. Similarly to the positive book mentioned above, you will read it back whenever needed. This should save you some mental time to repeat the same mistake and to worry again for weeks about events that made you feel terrible. If you would like more details or ideas about this great mental hack, please leave a comment below.
The idea box/notes
Don't forget to just drop some notes, or thoughts on things that inspire you at the moment. The ideas will be explored later on when you have a bit more time to reflect on it.
Diary
This is the basic format of journaling. You can write every day a few lines about the highlights of the day. Doing this exercise will also trigger the need to make your life special and make every single day count 
Tracking progress
On the topic of daily logs, why not start to record and track your progress? When tracking progress, you put measurable numbers behind the action so you can clearly assess and be satisfied with all the improvements made. It will make you feel good when you get closer to your target. Eventually, when you get the rhythm of actioning it daily, it will become a natural habit anchored in your lifestyle. The best example would be working out. Don't forget to add realistic goals to not get discouraged. Do not skip rewarding yourself when the goal is achieved 
Have you heard of Bullet Journal?
There are multiple ways to start journaling. You have the classic agenda/notebook. You can use apps or create your own blog as well. But we also have a new booming comer: the bullet journal (also called "BuJo"). What makes it different from a notebook are the small dots instead of the traditional lines. The concept is a mix of planner, notebook, or diary... you can basically create the content that matches your needs. you can keep it simple and minimalist. For the creative ones, we can add some visual touches, artsy doodles, colorful motivational quotes, etc... This journal is supposed to make you feel good and help you organize your life as it suits you best. Plus, the fact that you create your own categories and take the time to draw/design the pages, makes it a perfect relaxing moment for you.
For the curious, in this section of the blog, I will share some thoughts and will also post some random diary logs of my expat adventure.
Happy Writing!