In the last few years, journaling has taken up a storm by allowing us to connect with a productive analogue activity. Whether you are expressing yourself artistically, taking a moment to be more mindful or finding a way to organise your day, there’s a style of journaling for everyone and it’s here to stay. Let’s explore the ABCs of creative journaling and how you can start your own journal today.
Aspirations and goals
First, decide why you want to start and what you want to achieve by owning a journal. Are you using it to be more organised? Or to express yourself creatively? Or to slow down and practice mindfulness? Or to motivate yourself to reach your goals? Once you figure out your reasons for having a journal and what you’d like to include in it, your direction will be more clearly defined which can help you decide how to use it. By all means, your journal can be a one stop shop for anything you can think of - don’t limit yourself to one reason!
Be prepared with materials
Being prepared to use your journal can make the whole process more streamlined which means finding the right materials to start with. To begin your own journal, the two things you really need are a good quality journal and a pen! Easy.
A good starting point is to begin with the Tombow Creative Journaling Kit which already includes coloured brush pens, a highlighter and pencil with an eraser. If you’re using your journal to study alongside your schoolwork, you might want to look at a Creative Study Kit, or maybe you’re a keen artist and want to sketch ideas with the Urban Sketching Set.
My personal favourites that I use daily are the ABT Dual Brush Pens to add colour, Fudenosuke Brush Pen for brush lettering and the MONO Drawing Pens to doodle!
Create your pages
It’s time to start slowly building up your journal now. Think about the pages that would best suit you and if they are pages you’ll use annually, monthly or daily to help you structure your journal.
I’ve listed some potential page ideas if you’re stuck for ideas - pick and choose as you like or add and adapt your own depending on your own lifestyle!
Organisation and Productivity Journal Ideas
- To do lists - write your daily to do lists, appointments and tasks
- Monthly calendars - visualise your whole month with a monthly calendar
- Weekly/monthly goals - set small achievable personal goals for yourself
- Expenses - understand your expenses by tracking what’s going in and out each month
- Meal planner - plan your meals out for the week to easily make a grocery list
Goal and Motivation Journal Ideas
- My goals - write aspirational goals for personal life, health, career, finances, family, academic, social, fitness etc.
- Habit tracker - track a habit you want to improve on to see your progress e.g. water, sleep, exercise
- Savings - write your aspirational savings goal and fill this out as you reach each manageable step towards it
- Motivational quotes - letter or collage an aspirational quote to motivate yourself each time you open your journal
- Workout schedule - keep track of your workout to make sure you’re hitting your fitness goals
Artistic and Junk Journal Ideas
- Travel log - dedicate a page to each of your travels by compiling your memorabilia and illustrating your journey
- Recipe pages - illustrate your favourite recipes that you want to remember
- Memories - print off photos and create a scrapbook-style page of a fun memory
- Brain dump - start with a blank page and express yourself by drawing or swatching or scribbling or writing thoughts
- Things I love - spend an evening writing down all the things you love until your whole page is full
Gratitude and Mindfulness Journal Ideas
- Daily reflections - reflect on how each day went by writing what went well, what could be improved, how tomorrow could be better
- Weekly affirmations - practice gratitude and set the tone by starting each week with a positive affirmation
- Gratitude each day - every day, write down a highlight or one thing you’re grateful for
- A letter to my future self - write a heartfelt letter to your future self and open it back up in a year
- Vision Board - visualise your goals or mood by collaging photos and quotes
Design and develop
Now let’s get creative! The most fun thing about owning your own personal journal is being able to inject your own individual style into it. Is your style bold and bright using ABT Dual Brush Pens? Are you minimal and neutral using MONO Drawing Pens? Maybe you like an artsy scrapbook style using the MONO Glue Tape? Or will you doodle and create your own calligraphy with Fudenosuke Brush Pens? Whatever your style develops into, your journal is the perfect place to create and practice.
Encourage yourself to continue
You’re officially journaling! The next and last step is just to keep up the journaling and adjust your approach as and when you need to. Treat your journal as a safe space to experiment, make mistakes and show your inner thoughts!