Write it Down: Journaling as a Tool for Personal Resilience

There are many strategies planners can use to process and respond to stress, but lasting resilience depends on consistent, long-term practices. Simple daily habits such as reflective and gratitude practices, slow productivity, or task sequencing can steadily strengthen our capacity to navigate the demands of the profession. Another strategy, journaling, is often discussed but frequently overlooked, despite strong evidence supporting its benefits.

Benefits of Journaling

Research on journaling has found that regular writing shows clear benefits for managing everyday stress and building resilience. In a study conducted in 2018, 70 adults who journaled three days a week for three months experienced a noticeable reduction in stress levels and an improvement in overall mood.

By lowering stress, a journaling practice will minimize work-related anxiety and, more importantly, the risk for burnout. Additional research highlights that among professionals in high-pressure fields, structured writing practices can help people cope more effectively and stick with the habit over time.

Journaling not only improves our mental health, but physical outcomes as well: research demonstrates that those who engage in a long-term journal practice report fewer doctor visits and improved immunity. Overall, this evidence suggests that writing is not just a reflective exercise but a practical approach to staying grounded and healthy in demanding professional environments.

Simple and effective

To better understand how journaling is a practical tool for resilience, Dana McAllister Armenteros offers a perspective grounded in both professional and wellness-focused work. As Corporate Wellness Director with The W Buchanon Group, she works with organizations to integrate mindfulness, lifestyle practices, and team-based wellness strategies that support employee well-being, engagement, and performance. Armenteros' expertise informs her view of journaling as a simple yet effective practice for processing complexity and maintaining clarity and focus in high-demand professions such as urban planning, where competing priorities are common.

We spoke with Armenteros about how journaling works in real-world settings, how planners can apply it in their daily work, and how to build a practice that lasts.

Understanding What Constitutes a Journaling Practice

DINA WALTERS: How do you define a journaling practice for professionals?

DANA MCALLISTER AMENTEROS: We define a journaling practice as a time to reflect and become aware of the situation as it is. Additionally, there are specific components that could be part of the daily journal, for example, gratitude.

How did your journaling practice begin?

AMENTEROS: I've always journaled from my teenage years until college, which was freestyle. Today, I focus on specific elements such as gratitude and meditation. A consistent meditation and gratitude practice can help rewire the brain and help you learn to respond rather than react.

What are some benefits you have personally experienced from journaling?

Personally, my life has changed based on awareness: learning the best time for me to commit to a journaling practice — in the morning. It allows me to document the daily disciplines, as well as in addition to lifestyle change, I've become more patient, aware of myself and the circumstances around me, and to give myself grace. The days I forget to journal, I no longer seek perfectionism and simply notice the awareness of patterns so that I can choose change. Sometimes, I realize that I am doing too much, for example, and therefore, I can make that change.

For someone who has never journaled, what are some ways to get started?

Keep it simple. The journal can be an assessment of the day and/or preparation for the day. It can also be based on gratitude for at least one thing to write about when you get up in the morning. I would also recommend having a quiet place free from distractions. For some, getting a beautifully colored journal might motivate, but it is not necessary.

Keep It Fun

Urban planners work in complex, high-demand environments; how do you recommend planners maintain a journaling practice without it feeling like another item on an already long to-do list?

Make it fun, perhaps by decorating the journal cover. Additionally, this is the time to refuel your cup. The other aspect is building a community; if an entire department is working with their journal, such as a gratitude list, then it is a lot easier for the rest of the team to do it.

Are there risks of over-reflection or analysis paralysis?

Moderation is always the key; additionally, and oftentimes, it is helpful to seek mental health professionals when needed. Balance is very important. I like to start with gratitude in the journal of reflecting for one minute and write down everything that I am grateful for, then that changes the perception of the situation that is occurring at this moment.

How do you incorporate insights from journaling into daily professional life?

Gratitude — our world is heavily based upon external and material things. When we can tap into our gratitude, it transforms throughout all of our lives. And it also assists with creativity.

Are there any other benefits this practice can offer that might not be immediately obvious?

A journal practice is an inward dive that allows us to see life as it is; there are many structures that can be implemented with journaling.

What is the true superpower of keeping a journal practice?

The true superpower is connecting with the truth and living gratitude with people that you come across throughout your day. Meditation and gratitude help us tap into our parasympathetic nervous system, resulting in cooling down and finding peace. They also help us learn to respond as opposed to react and connect with a higher power greater than ourselves.

When we are experiencing the weight of our professional responsibilities, taking on a journaling practice can feel like one thing too many. It does not need to be complex or burdensome, however. There are many resources available for beginning a journal practice, including digital tools to help you get started.

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