The Right Journal for the Job
Journaling is a powerful practice for managing stress, developing more mindfulness, and improving focus. I have consistently journaled since 2017 using various flavors of Bullet Journaling. This simple system combines mindfulness and productivity with short-form journaling. Way better than long-form; it takes away the pressure to chronicle your every thought, word, and action during the day. Instead, you are quickly logging just the important bits to make sure they get addressed or to index and return later.
Over the last 5 years, I’ve tried many different journals to hold my tasks, events, goals, and reflections. These are my favorites, each with a slightly different purpose depending on the type of journaling practice you’re pursuing.
The Blank Canvas
I always have this one in my “Saved For Later” shopping cart. The LEUCHTTURM1917 is my all-time favorite blank journal. The A5 size is small enough to carry around but provides a large enough writing space. I use the dotted version as it lends to my Bullet Journal methods. I love the quality of this notebook, the pre-numbered pages and index, the labels for archiving, and the double bookmark ribbons. This blank notebook provides me with so much flexibility for whatever thought, note, tracker, or doodle I can imagine. The hardcover is also key for journal durability, holding up to all hazards as it is stuffed in a bag.
The Structured Planner
Wellmore created a journal that is so good it’s (almost) a replacement for a therapist. The planner includes weekly mindfulness practices, suggested exercises, goal setting, and reflection. The weekly spreads are undated which is an excellent feature when you go on vacation and want to forget that calendars exist. Also an A5 size, so the planner spreads are adequate, but there is not a lot of room for free note-taking.
The Quick Capture
I purchased the Promptly childhood history journal to document my daughter’s milestones and am so pleased with this gorgeous journal. The questions for each milestone are quick and easy, with plenty of space to capture extra thoughts if I so choose. It makes me giddy thinking about handing this over to her when she turns 18, with all the love and memories captured since her birth. Adding photos does make the journal a little bulky, but well worth it. This company also makes many other types of themed and blank journals. I hope to add their travel journal to shopping cart in 2022!