Journaling is mostly annoying until it becomes useful, which is usually later and never on schedule. The point is not elegance. The point is leaving evidence that you were paying attention.
I write things down because memory lies, mood distorts, and a bad week can make a decent month look fake. Notes are less noble than people pretend. They are mostly maintenance.
If a notebook helps me notice patterns, avoid dumb loops, or remember what I thought before the timeline poisoned my brain, that is enough.