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.

Favourite Links

Here are some of my favourite links about various topics I would certainly revisit. This page is therefore never finished, because it will be regularly updated. 

On writing

Trouw, 22 november 2025, Tijdgeest, Sterft het handschrift uit? ‘Het zou voor ons allemaal beter zijn als we wat vaker de pen pakken’

Trouw, Dagboeken worden populairder. ‘Op socials deel ik het ideale plaatje, in mijn dagboeken schrijf ik álles’

Philosophy of Stoicism 

Ryan Holyday, The Stoic Art of Journaling 

How to create a (mental) space conducive to writing?

There is a Dutch saying: een dag niet gelachen is een dag niet geleefd. Loosely translated: a day without laughter is a day not lived. A beautiful proverb I fully agree with.

In the context of writing, I’d like to borrow that proverb and say: a day you haven’t written is a day you haven’t fully lived. It may sound slightly dramatic, but it captures just how important writing is to me. In my previous post,  Writing for the Sake of Writing: How Writing Can Save You, I mentioned how writing helps keep my emotions balanced and my thoughts in check.

But while writing can be therapeutic and meditative, it can also be intimidating. Silencing your inner critic is challenging once it takes over. I still remember writing my thesis years ago — I was in agony! And yet, I miss it.

If you’re like me — someone who has an affinity for writing and is at the same time intimidated by it — then maybe you’ll benefit from creating a mental and/or physical space that is conducive to writing.

It is also important to note that having that writing space, whether mental or physical, does not guarantee motivation. Experience has taught me that motivation comes after I start working, not before. A writing space becomes useless if you simply sit there waiting for inspiration to descend from the heavens. Still, it is wonderful to have a space in your home — and in your life — dedicated to writing.

Writing for the Sake of Writing: How Writing Can Save You

The desire to be a writer—or more accurately, my desire to write—began many years ago. Even before I stumbled upon a book in a bookstore when I was in my early twenties. The title was Hoe Schrijf Ik Een Boek: Het Schrijven van Non-Fictie (How to Write a Book: Non-Fiction Writing) by Roy Martina and Willem Jan van Wetering. That book became fuel for an already burning desire to write.

As you may have noticed, the book is in Dutch. And Dutch is not my mother tongue. In fact, if we’re being precise, it’s not even my second language. That’s one of the main reasons I felt such elation and satisfaction when I finished reading it. I still remember that feeling vividly.

Finishing a book—and truly understanding it—brings a profound sense of accomplishment. So I often wonder: how would it feel to write a book and see it published? Will I ever experience that moment?

Whether I do or not, nothing can stop me from writing every day. Writing feels like an unrequited love. I love it deeply, even if it doesn’t always love me back. And I ask for nothing in return. How’s that for a metaphor?

Writing 10 Minutes a Day: Building A Writing Habit

 

One of the many reasons I started this blog is so that I can write every day. The goal is to build a daily writing habit, because for someone who claims to have an affinity with writing, I’m not actually writing enough.

And if I have hours to waste mindlessly scrolling through social media, I certainly can spare ten minutes to write thoughtfully. Therefore, having no time to write is not an excuse.

I completely agree with what Wendy Laura Belcher wrote in her book Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success:

“You are not too busy to write; you are busy because you do not write. Busy-ness is what you do to explain your not writing.”

It’s from this book that I learned it only takes ten minutes of daily writing to become a prolific writer — or in my case, a prolific blogger. In this blog, I’d like to put Belcher’s principle into practice.

Free Time Management — and Why It Can Be Quite Challenging

Time management is one thing, but managing your own time — the time when you’re not working — is quite another. For me, managing my free time is often more challenging than managing my working hours.

Structure is very important to me, and I think that applies to many of us. Without it, I tend to feel bored — and sometimes even anxious about trivial things. Work provides that structure.

That’s why I see my job as a crucial part of my life. It’s not only a source of income or achievement, but also a source of daily rhythm and purpose.

I work 40 hours a week, Monday to Friday — the standard 9-to-5 lifestyle. On paper, that sounds busy. But in reality, I still find myself with plenty of time to get bored. And boredom, to me, feels painful — a massive waste of precious time.