Journaling is a wonderful way to document your essential oils, recipes and important facts about your oils. Just like when a person writes out their thoughts and feelings as a way to get to know their inner self, journaling about your essential oils can help you develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for your oils.
Benefits of Journaling
Our brain is divided into regions that process visual, emotional, auditory, verbal communication and so on. Each region of the brain processes this information differently. Though we all have our own special ways of learning, when we take notes, something incredible happens. Written notes and even drawings are processed by a part of the brain that handles spatial tasks and utilizing this part of the brain enhances memory retention.
Experts agree that pen and paper is actually the most effective method for understanding new concepts and retaining that information. This is because most people can type faster than they can write. When documenting digitally on a laptop, a person tends to document notes verbatim. A person who writes information in a notebook or journal has to work to summarize and filter relevant information in their own words which increases the ability to recall information.
Journaling Methods
Journaling is very popular right now and there is no right or wrong way to go about it. You might decide to use a notebook, 3×5 cards, a 3 ring binder, or even Google Docs if you really want to go digital. Or you can also use Plant Therapy’s Essential Oil Organizer and Journal. You might decide to decorate your binder or journal, doodle or draw pictures of the plant that the essential oil came from or just keep things simple by adding written text.
Your journal should be an expression of who you are and should encourage you to spend time learning about and exploring your essential oils and the plants they come from.
Supplies Needed
- Paper (Journal, Notebook, 3×5 cards, Sketchpad or Plant Therapy Essential Oil Organizer)
- Pencils, markers, colored pencils or art supplies if desired
What to Journal?
With supplies in hand, you can begin your journaling! You may consider adding the following to your essential oil journal:
- Common and botanical name
- Safety concerns (KidSafe, Pregnancy Safe, Nursing Safe, Pup & Pony Approved, Max dermal dilutions, contraindications)
- Purchase information (shelf life, lot #, company purchased from, purchase date, bottle size)
- Properties of the oil and what you would use it for
- Personal thoughts and experiences with the oil
- Key constituents and their individual properties (serious enthusiasts may even want to reference studies)
- Interesting facts about the oil
- Perfumery note
- Recipes
You can keep things as simple or detailed as desired. The important thing is to have fun. Journaling opens up so many possibilities to expand our knowledge and express our creativity while creating a treasured resource that you can refer to time and time again.
To join a community of fellow essential oil enthusiasts, be sure to check out our Safe Essential Oil Recipes (SEOR) Facebook Group.
References
1: Wax, D. (2018, January 03). Writing and Remembering: Why We Remember What We Write. Retrieved from https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/writing-and-remembering-why-we-remember-what-we-write.html
2: 3 Scientific Links Between Handwriting Your Notes and Memory. (2016, August 03). Retrieved from https://redbooth.com/blog/handwriting-and-memory
