When Ronald Reagan was elected the 40th President of the United States, he adopted a remarkable daily ritual:  Despite the intense demands on his time and the extreme pressure of his work, he decided to keep a daily handwritten diary.

In this journal, Reagan dutifully recorded his innermost thoughts and observations—a highly personal account of key moments in American history and the small joys of White House life from the perspective of someone with a front row seat.

But to Reagan, each diary entry represented something more:  The creative act of composition, he once remarked, gave him great clarity.  It helped him organize his thoughts and develop his ideas.  It helped him maintain an even keel amidst the chaos around him.  In many ways, the thoughtful discipline required to write regularly not only helped Reagan record history, but also helped him to shape it.

For the rest of us who probably won’t have our every word scrutinized by historians, regular personal writing still has important benefits.  Mental health professionals, for instance, have used journal writing to help patients reduce stress, identify self-destructive patterns, and cope with depression.

Regular writing has also been proven to impact physical health.  According to a series of studies conducted by University of Texas researchers, the act of writing about traumatic experiences, repeated over the course of several days, resulted in stronger immune systems and lower blood pressure.

And for high school and college students who haven’t yet figured out what academic fields they are most interested in—let alone what they want to do with their lives—regular personal writing can help clarify options, identify opportunities, and offer perspective.  Plus, as students write more frequently and with greater ease, they can’t help but become more skilled writers, too.