Becoming a prolific diarist

Queen Victoria is not only one of the most illustrious monarchs in British history, she was also a prolific diarist. Experts estimate that she wrote, on average, between 2,000 and 2,500 words a day throughout her adult life.

A powerful and famous monarch I am not, but like Queen Victoria, I am—although not nearly as prolific—also a diarist. I started keeping a journal as an adult, during a period when I was struggling with a personal crisis.

Journaling helped me get through that crisis, and it still keeps me balanced and focused as I navigate daily challenges. My journal is a friend who does not judge, and a therapist who never sends me an invoice.

Despite what many might think, diaries are still very much alive today.

In our digital age—where pen and paper are being replaced by keyboards, and writing by typing—it’s easy to assume that keeping a diary is something from a bygone era. Writing your thoughts, feelings, and daily experiences seems more at home in the Victorian age than in our own.

Why bother writing in a diary? It’s cumbersome and time-consuming, and your pen will never keep up with the narratives of your life. And now, with social media, we can document our daily lives and express ourselves instantly—right?

With this in mind, and with journaling seen as an outdated practice, I often felt alone as a diarist. And because journaling is deeply private, nobody talks about it. I certainly don’t. No one knows that I keep a journal except my partner—who knows it exists, but never its content.

Until I stumbled upon a text by Floor de Booys in the Dutch newspaper Trouw. The article, titled Dagboeken worden populairder (“Diaries are becoming more popular”), was a delight to read. I felt genuinely relieved to learn that there are many others—more than I ever expected—who, like me, seek refuge in their diaries. It felt almost like an “imagined community”: you don’t know these people, yet you feel connected to them.

Why do I keep a journal?

The author of the article and her interviewees mentioned several reasons why they started and continue to write in their journals. Their reasons mirror my own motivations.

De Booys, for example, describes journaling not as a chore but as a compulsion. I feel the same. I cannot not write. Recording my thoughts and emotions has become an almost obsessive need. In other words: I write for the sake of writing.

There is something deeply relaxing about putting my thoughts onto paper. And I don’t mean blogging or typing into a document—I mean writing the traditional way: by hand, with a pen. That simple act makes me feel more connected to myself.

The process of writing is meditative and therapeutic. It soothes me. It helps me organize my thoughts. When I want to understand what I really think or feel, I write. It also helps me keep my emotions in balance.

You have no idea how much journal writing has saved me.