A Guide to Journaling

If you're looking to begin or shake up your self care practice, journaling is one of the best places to start. It's free (minus the cost of a notebook or whatever phone/computer you're already using), and journaling has been connected with incredible positive effects on the body, like better memory, sleep, communication skills, and even a better-functioning immune system. 

Why? When you journal, you begin to organize the events of your life externally, and you can make sense of the things that have happened to you. This external processing frees up your brain from having to spend energy processing or holding on to these experiences. Think of journaling like setting down a heavy burden. It won't necessarily make your problems go away, but if your brain learns it doesn't have to bear quite so much weight, your body will benefit as a result.

Buying a blank notebook is always kind of fun...but then the empty pages stare up at you, and it can be hard to know where to start. Many people find it easier to create or reflect within a set of constraints, or by working from a prompt. Here are several journaling structures you might consider: 

Morning Pages

In Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, she describes morning pages as three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness (no set topic), to be completed right when you wake up. Think of the words on these pages as “brain drain”—don’t try to sound smart or say anything profound.

Noticed List

Writer and artist Mari Andrew describes this journaling practice as a list of things you notice throughout the day, both external and internal: things that anger you, annoy you, delight you, make you resentful, make you swoon, make you act out of character. Things to give thanks for, apologize for, things to commit to memory. Honor the whole of your internal experience instead of choosing what looks best from the outside.

Four Square Journaling

Cartoonist Lynda Barry’s journaling technique is to divide your page into a grid of four squares: DID, SAW, HEARD, and DRAW. In the “DID” square, list seven things you did that day. For “SAW,” list seven things you saw or noticed. In the “HEARD” square, write a snippet of conversation you heard during your day. In the “DRAW” box, make a little doodle.

One Line a Day

Journaling by writing only one line a day allows you to distill things completely. Write down one thing from your day you want to remember. This can be something that happened, something someone said, something you read, an image, a lyric, a thing you’ve been mulling over.

Logbook

Writer and artist Austin Kleon describes his logbook technique as a simple list of things that happened in your day, kind of a reverse appointment book. Who you saw, what you read, what you watched, what you listened to. This is a good way to start the practice of journaling without the pressure of diving into your feelings or capturing every single thing every day. You’ll be amazed at what a short list of mundane details can jog in your memory when you look back later.

Gratitude Journaling

A practice that feels essential for some and cloying for others. Time to find out which camp you're in. For this journaling technique, write down three things (the more specific the better) for which you are grateful.

Highs & Lows

It’s probably quite easy to remember the worst thing that happened to you today. It’s the problem you’re chewing on, the incident that still makes you boil with rage, the worry that’s keeping you up at night. Put it down on the page. But then also take a few moments to jot down the day’s best thing. Don’t limit yourself to “things that happened.” Today’s best thing could be that you got a promotion or celebrated the birth of a child, of course. But today’s best thing could be the way the light shone on the train window. The song you heard in an internet video. A show you watched. A pastry you ate. A conversation with a stranger.

Art Journal 

While most of the techniques detailed above are focused on writing, there’s no reason why you can’t adapt any one of them to a visual-only format. One line a day becomes one image a day (Is it a doodle? A collage? A sketch? A photograph?). Highs & Lows could be colors, images, or lines representing your day’s highlight and struggle. You can use your art journal to play around with new techniques you’d like to try in your other creative work. Or you can try out a prompt for art making each day (we have a list of 20 to get you started, and we share new prompts on our Instagram every week or so!). 

Journaling Apps

If you’re more interested in seeing how technology could kick start your journaling practice, there are tons of different apps out there to get you started. Here a few that piqued our interest: 

(Recommendations for paid apps are not affiliate links—we just think they look interesting!)

Grid Diary - Build a custom grid with headers like “today’s wins” or “health and fitness” to make journaling quick and personalized. (Free version available; paid version $2.99/month.)

Five Minute Journal - The app sends you timed journal prompts. In the morning, it asks you three questions grounded in gratitude and intention-setting. In the evening, it sends you two questions for reflection and planning. ($4.99/month)

Dabble Me - If the idea of one more app makes you groan, you might try Dabble Me, a journal that works entirely over email. Once a day, it emails you a reminder to journal. Reply to the email, and you’re done. (Free version available; paid version $3.00/month). 

Daylio - If writing’s not your thing, what about a journal that’s entirely graphic-based? Daylio captures your mood and activities for the day, then allows you to track the metrics over time. (Free version available; paid version $2.99/month). 

Instagram - Hear me out. I’ve been using Instagram as a visual journal for...well...11 years? If you like the idea of photography as a medium for your journal, you can even create a new account (private or public) and tailor your captions to the type of journaling you’d like to do. 

Want to try out some of the journaling techniques in this post? Download our free Self Care Workbook, which walks you through a seven-day plan (with templates!) for finding the journaling technique that works best for you. In the workbook, you’ll also find other prompts and activities to help you individualize your self care practice, plus a list of resources (including journal and art prompts) you may find helpful. 

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