Find Your Journaling Style: 7 Beneficial Formats You Can Try Today
Journaling is a powerful tool that can help improve your mental health, increase your self-awareness, and achieve your goals. But people have a hard time doing it consistently because there are so many kinds of journals available to us. You may start with one format only to prefer you need another one. Before you know it, you’re hoarding a ton of journals half-filled and you don’t feel any better.
That’s why today, I’m sharing 7 journaling formats you can try, and the best part? You don’t need a new journal for each one. In my personal journal, I’ve used a ton of different formats, from bullet points to writing about my dreams and even writing a few to-do items.
You don’t need a separate journal for everything. In fact, while experimenting you should keep everything in the same place so it’s easy to go back and reference. Let’s look at some of my favorite journaling formats and how they can help your personal growth and exploration.
Daily Log: Keep Track of Your Day-to-Day Life
The daily log is the most basic type of journaling. It involves writing a brief summary of your day, including any important events or accomplishments. The daily log can help you stay organized and keep track of your progress over time.
Benefits of using a daily log:
It helps you stay organized.
It keeps you accountable to yourself.
It helps you notice patterns in your daily life.
For example, if you're a student, you might keep a daily log of your classes, assignments, and extracurricular activities. If you're a freelancer, you might keep a daily log of your work hours, clients, and projects. Or you may just want to brain-dump everything that happened that day as a general memory keeper using either full sentences or bullet lists. The ways to use this format are endless.
Gratitude Journal: Focus on the Positive Things in Your Life
A gratitude journal involves writing things you're grateful for each day. This can help you focus on the positive things in your life and cultivate a sense of gratitude. The gratitude journal is a great way to boost your mood and reduce stress. These lists can be as long or as short as you want.
Benefits of using a gratitude journal:
It helps you focus on the positive things in your life.
It cultivates a sense of gratitude.
It improves your overall mood.
If you're feeling stressed or anxious, you might start a gratitude journal and write three things you're grateful for each day. It could be something as simple as a cup of coffee, a warm blanket, or a kind gesture from a friend. No need to buy a separate journal for this. Simply put the date at the top of the next clean page and write the things you’re grateful for. You may even want to elaborate on why you’re grateful for them, but it’s not necessary.
You might also want to write a “Happiness List” somewhere in your journal, which is a running list of things that make you smile. This is great to look back on when you need a boost of confidence or just want to remember what makes you happy.
Dream Journal: Explore Your Subconscious Mind
If you're interested in exploring your dreams, you can keep a journal where you write your dreams each morning. This can help you remember your dreams better and gain insights into your subconscious mind. The dream journal is a great way to access your creativity and imagination.
Benefits of using a dream journal:
It helps you remember your dreams better.
It gives you insights into your subconscious mind.
It can help access your deeper creativity and imagination.
If you want to start a dream journal, keep a notebook or your journal by your bed and write your dreams down as soon as you wake up. You can record your dream in as much detail as possible, including any emotions, symbols, or themes that stand out. I’ll often use bullet points so I can rapidly log it faster and then turn it into longer reflective sentences after I do some research into the individual meanings. I’ve also written stories based on my dreams, so don’t ignore them!
Creative Journal: Use Journaling as a Creative Outlet
If you're interested in using journaling as a creative outlet, you can create a journal where you write poetry, draw, or collage. The creative journal is a great way to express yourself and explore your creativity without feeling like you need it to be perfect.
Benefits of using a creative journal:
It helps you express yourself creatively without perfectionism getting in the way.
It encourages experimentation and exploration.
It can be therapeutic and relaxing.
If you want to start a creative journal, you might use different colored pens, pencils, or markers to write or draw. You might also use stickers, washi tape, or other decorative elements to add visual interest to your journal. Be bold and experimental! Don’t let perfectionism get in the way. Use this space as your place to really let loose and not worry about the final product.
I’ve used this method to get unstuck. Sometimes throwing all my frustration into a drawing that I know will not be good—because I’m a terrible artist—helps clear any blocks I have related to my current project.
Reflection Journal: Process Your Emotions and Gain Perspective
The reflection journal involves, you guessed it, reflecting on your thoughts and feelings about a particular topic or situation. This can be a helpful way to process emotions and gain perspective. The reflection journal is a great way to gain self-awareness and insight into your own thoughts and emotions. You may not do this type of format consistently because it’s best saved for major life events rather than daily happenings.
Benefits of using a reflection journal:
It helps you process emotions and gain perspective.
It encourages self-awareness and introspection.
It can lead to personal growth and development.
If you want to start a reflection journal, choose a topic or situation you want to reflect on and write your thoughts and feelings about it in your journal. You might also ask yourself questions to prompt your reflections, such as "What did I learn from this experience?" or "How can I grow from this situation?"
Looking back on an old event is a great way to help you get used to sitting with the situation and writing about it. Then when new things happen that warrant a sit down with your journal, you’ve already tested the waters and know what you need to do.
Travel Journal: Document Your Adventures and Discoveries
If you're traveling, you can keep a journal where you write your experiences, observations, and feelings about the places you visit. The travel journal is a great way to document your adventures and discoveries while also preserving your memories from trips you take.
Benefits of using a travel journal:
It helps you document your adventures and discoveries.
It preserves the memories of your travels with more clarity.
It encourages observation and mindfulness.
If you're traveling, carry a small notebook or a journal with you and write your impressions and experiences of the places you visit. You might also include photos, ticket stubs, or other memorabilia to help you remember your travels.
This is the only time I’ll suggest having a separate journal because you may not want to chart around a normal size notebook when you’re exploring certain areas. That’s why I recommend using a small, thin pocket-sized notebook for quick thoughts and reflections. Something you can easily slip in your pocket or a small purse. You can then use the notes you put in there to write longer entries in your regular journal at a later time.
Bullet Journal: Stay Organized and Track Your Goals
The bullet journal is a type of journaling that involves creating a system of bullet points to organize your thoughts, tasks, and goals. The bullet journal is a great way to stay organized and track your progress toward your goals. This is obviously a shortened version of the bullet journal method. To learn more, I recommend reading the creator, Ryder Carroll’s book, or checking out the website.
Benefits of using a bullet journal:
It helps you stay organized and focused.
It encourages goal-setting and tracking.
It provides a flexible and adaptable system.
If you want to start a bullet journal, create a key that defines your bullet symbols (such as a dot for tasks, a star for important tasks, and a dash for notes). Then create an index, a monthly spread, and a daily spread to track your tasks and goals.
It’s important to keep things simple when you start bullet journaling, especially if you’re new to it. While it’s fine to gain inspiration from spreads you see on social media, don’t think that is every single person’s journal. My bullet journal is minimal in almost every detail because it’s what allows me to stay on track.
Journaling is a versatile and effective tool that can help you improve your mental health, increase your self-awareness, and achieve your goals. By exploring different journaling formats and finding the one that works best for you, you can tap into the power of journaling and unlock your full potential. Whether you're using a daily log to stay organized, a gratitude journal to cultivate gratitude, or a creative journal to express yourself, there's a journaling format that can help you achieve your goals and live your best life. And no one says your journal can’t include all these types of formats within its pages.
Have you tried any of the above-mentioned formats before? Do you prefer one over the other? Do you have a separate journal for each one? Are you going to keep them all together from now on?
