Eight Reasons That Bloggers Should Keep a Journal

Leonardo DaVinci was a very cool guy, and there are many things that make him such a fascinating character and an inspiration to so many. He was a polymath for one, meaning that he excelled in multiple areas, and in many of these he is responsible for incredible breakthroughs and ideas that were well before his time.

At the same time his interests also lay in areas that many of us find fascinating to begin with and that have inspired a lot of fiction and subsequent developments. Flying tanks? What’s not to like?

One of the things that really adds to the allure of this mysterious and genius figure was the fact that he kept journals that contained unfinished ideas and sketches for incredible designs.

This only adds to the mystery and shows what an eccentric and brilliant individual he was – always thinking of new ideas and always innovating.

And so I started keeping a journal myself, and now I can see what attracted DaVinci to them. As a blogger this has helped my site to a huge degree and I believe it can benefit anyone else who runs a website or works online too. Here are eight compelling reasons to start keeping a journal of your own.

You Can Write Down Ideas

Standing in a queue for the bank only to be hit by a brilliant idea for a new post on your blog? Having a journal to hand means you won’t waste this inspiration so you can write it down to come back to later. Make sure your journal is small enough to be carried with you easily.

It’s Like a Million Business Cards

Talking to someone about your website and think you could have a new loyal visitor on your hands? Don’t have a business card to hand? Well tearing a page out of your journal will allow you to give them the address so that they actually remember to go there. Likewise it can also allow you to note down their details for networking purposes.

You Can Develop Your Ideas

If you have an idea for your site whether it’s for an article topic or for a new design element, being able to put it to paper will allow you to develop it further by visualising it and taking notes. This is a great ‘thinking tool’ and one that will result in better innovations – like flying tanks.

Communicating Ideas

Going back to networking for a moment, being able to draw and annotate is very useful for communicating ideas or information and can save you a lot of time while allowing someone else to grasp an idea.

Practicing Your Craft

As a blogger you need to be able to write well and write often, and like any skill this is something you can improve with practice. With a journal you will be able to practice writing easily in a relaxed manner.

To Do Lists

A blogger has about a million things that he or she should be doing at any time, and this can be hard to keep track of. Making a to-do list enables you to organize your thoughts to ensure you work through everything in order and don’t forget tasks or put them off indefinitely.

It Can Protect Your Ideas

While you should seek to register a copyright or patent any ideas you think are going to make you rich, if you fail to do so in time, having your ideas and your working written down on paper can be useful for helping you to prove you had an idea first.

Tracking Data and Statistics

Keeping track of your earnings and your traffic statistics is important to make sure you keep making positive changes. Using a journal you can make a note of these all in one place that’s quick and easy to access and this way you can visualise otherwise abstract information.

Oh and if people discover it hundreds of years from now you might be recognized as a genius…

This post was contributed by Jeet from GetLinksPro, a fast growing SEO company. You can following him on twitter.

Image: Andertoons