In the 16^th century journal keeping was so conventional that journals were called “common place books.”Today most people use journals only when something important or particularly memorable happens to them, especially when they’re feeling sad or angry. A sounding board, a calm companion, a repository of secrets and experiences, a journal also provides solitude for reflection. Now let’s explore some other reasons to keep a journal:

• Travelogue. “All of my life should be lived like travel,” a writer once wrote, “such avid attention to detail.” Try keeping a journal when you go on a trip. The act of writing spurs us to be more observant, making places come alive in our memories.
• Dream keeper. Dreams are wispy as smoke and as easily forgotten. Keep a journal by your bed to record your reveries. It’s handy at 4 a. m. when you’re still sleep-befuddled after a vivid dream of a flying-trapeze vampire.
• Common log book. In this day of texting and e-mail,, when was the last time you scribbled a note to a friend? Shared among your closest friends, a journalist is a more intimate way to keep in touch.
• Idea book. Document a hobby, research or a special interest like gardening or renovating a house. Stick flowers and swatches with your notes and ideas.
• Notebook-planner. Brainstorms make your to-do- lists, jot down ideas, set goals and business plans. You’ll discover the most practical everyday uses for the blank pages.
• Creative outlet. Many writers and artist find journals essential to their art, and so can you. Paint or draw on the blank pages. Record images that might trigger poetry as a trove of ideas and inspiration, journals actively encourage our creativity.
• Electric inventory. File your favorite quotes or words, songs, puns, conversations overheard, anecdotes, newspaper, clippings, illustrations, anything you find worthy of note.
• Collection holder. Stamps, souvenir, photos, whatever your pleasure, your collection finds a home in the blank pages of your journal.
• Memoir. Years later you’ll be able to reread your journal and remember who you were, how you’ve grown and changed. And your kids will get to know a different side of you.
• Simply as a correspondence to one’s self. A friend of ours keeps a grateful list, another writes scattered musings when she’s bored. Write freely without self-censorship, confide without reservation-journals turn our attention to little things that matter, give us a deeper appreciation of life. Best of all, it’s private. No matter how embarrassing or banal, no one need ever read it but you.