Diaries are a record of entries which describe what happened over the course of your life. A diary is a place where you can be honest with yourself, describe what you have observed and sound your thoughts about things that happened in life. It is also a place where you can speak with ease, reflect, and dream. You can simply note down anything you want with words.

What is a diary entry?

Diary entries are a collection of pages in a diary. The diary entries are usually organized according to the date and time of when it was written. Depending on the diary types, each entry holds contents ranging from thoughts, emotions, reflections, dreams and so on. You can even subcategorize the entry's content in your diary! For example, subcategories of a dream diary can be: lucid dream, nightmare etc. Diary entries come in different forms, mainly written texts, pictures, audio and even a mix of different mediums.

Tips for Writing a Diary Entry

1. Date your entries

Diaries are commonly written to be kept for a long period of time so, noting down the dates would help you to find your entries in future.

2. Use "Dear diary" formula

Start your diary entry with “Dear diary”. It never gets old!

3. Choose a topic

Having a topic for your diary entry is just like having a direction or theme for your writings. The topics can be anything that you wish to discuss.

4. Be sincere

Diaries are something that only you will read, so don’t be afraid and write what you honestly feel.

5. Ask yourself questions

While you are writing the entry, never forget to reflect on the activities and thoughts in your mind. Ask yourself questions like "how was my day?" and "how am I feeling now?".

6. Add photos & audio

Don’t limit yourself by only writing your diaries in words! Be bold by adding photos and audio files into your digital diary. Remember: A picture is worth a thousand words! Photos can be a good way to express yourself if you're simply too lazy to write. If there is a song that has been playing in your mind repeatedly, why not add it into your diary entry and write about it?

7. Make it a self-care habit

The more frequent you write entries in your diary, the more you will enjoy and learn from them. Plan and set a time of your self-care day to write a diary entry and try to stick to it. A good tip would be to use the reminder feature in Journey to notify you of your next journaling time.

Diary Entry Prompts

Having trouble starting on a journal entry because you have no idea what to write? Perhaps you could give one of the prompts or diary template a try to start off your first entry!

• Write about something or someone that caught your attention
• Write about something interesting that happened today.
• Write about what you did today which make you a step closer to your goal.
• Ask yourself “What if… “ happens, would it help you to make the situation better?
• List the things that you need to do but have yet to do so. Then, rank them with its level of importance and/or urgency.