Journalling is no new idea, but I wanted to just talk about it here for a little while. Because if you are like me, a child of the 90s, then I’m sure you have journaled at some point and loved it. When I was growing up, I journaled all the time, with “medium point” Bic ink pens of all different colors in 1-subject notebooks. That was the formula. I practiced my handwriting to perfection so my journals would be beautiful to go back and read. Those days were so fun.

Skip forward to now, and I still love journalling. But journalling has changed a lot and expanded in so many ways, on to so many other things. Most of the journalling methods I am going to discuss here, I have tried. There are only a few that I haven’t tried, but I am not opposed to. This list is in no way encompasses all of the methods of journalling, only the ones I am aware of and that interest me. If you have ideas for more journalling methods, please share them in the comments. I would love to hear about them.

So, let me first start with a little back story on my beginnings of journalling or keeping a diary. It started one summer at my Granny’s when she gave me my very first Diary. It was red; almost looked like upholstered fabric covered. But it was the actual diary that came that way. Every night, my Granny and I would write in it about the fun things we did that day, like shuck corn, mow the grass, go swimming, sewing (I would cut up scraps while Granny sewed), or shopping. It was the highlight of my days other than the activities Granny and I would do throughout the day. I remember her sitting in the bed next to me at night before we would say prayers for me to quit biting my nails, we would write in my diary. I even wrote in my diary that I am trying to quit biting my nails. (The verdict today: I quit biting my nails and they are long and I have to use nail clippers every week to cut them! A big deal for a previous nail-biter). My first diary entry was when I was 9 years old.

When I was in 7th grade is when the journalling I discussed in the first paragraph really started. It began to become a daily ritual I looked forward to. One of my teachers had a journal, or at least I thought it was, with the “medium point” Bic ink pens and the 1-subject notebooks. So, yes I copied her idea. But it got me to writing, and really made me love the practice over the years, even as an adult.

When I got into high school, and was a runner in Cross Country and Track, I would write in a journal everyday before a meet. Only I wouldn’t write what happened that day. I would write what I wanted to happen, what I wanted to do at the meet. I wrote self-motivational words to myself. Running is really a solitary thing, especially long distance running, and self-motivation is key. My best races were when I would write before a meet what I wanted to do. It was all mind over matter. In today terms, or millennial terms, that would be writing to your “future self”.

Still to this day, I will write motivational to myself a lot. I have found that that is one of the best ways to get out of your own way. Many times, you are the one standing in your way. This little ritual is so helpful if you are struggling in any way.

Well, that was a lot of back history on my journalling journey. But journalling has always been very precious to me, and so revisiting it was very enjoyable. But now on to the different types of journalling I have tried & a few I haven’t tried (I will specify which ones I have tried and haven’t tried).

Journalling Methods

Writing about your day or chronicling your day. This is pretty much the most basic way to journal. To document your day. Nowadays, many people document their days with videos or reels, but to capture your very personal moments you don’t want the world to see on social media, the old fashion journal to write about your day. How you feel about what happened that day, fears you may have, issues going on in your life. Many times, through writing out your feelings and thoughts, you can come to a good realization or understanding and feel better about a situation. Use your journal as a way to sort through issues. Tried it!
Writing prompts. I like this one because I love a good writing prompt. Although, I can probably write about anything. Writing prompts help to expand your thought process, or help you to think about something in a way you hadn’t thought about before. They can also be really fun, and make you see just how creative you can be. Lavendaire always has great writing prompts. Tried it!
Slam Book. This was big in the 90s if you are a kid of the 90s like me. But then they got banned at schools. Technology took its place, and so these are a thing of the past. But in a way, they were like a journal that got passed around with all your friends, where you would write your favorite color, fave band, fave jeans, and on and on. I loved them. Tried it!
Bullet journalling. This has become so popular over the years and has really evolved to encompass so many different page spreads. You can make your own planner; daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. You can track your finances or bills to pay each month. Along with exercise, books read, and pretty much whatever you want to put in the BuJo. If you are a list maker, this is ideal for you, because all of your lists can be in one central location–in the BuJo notebook. (The BuJo was created by Ryder Carroll. I got her book at a used book store last month, so it is on my reading list for this year). Tried it!
Book journalling. I recently found a book journal at a thrift store and bought it. Thought I would try it. It has a 2 page spread where you can put when you read the book, the title, author, a brief synopsis, and what you thought about the book. Kinda cool. Tried it!
Bible journalling. Back a few years ago, I bought a Bible that you could journal in, and an accompanying book about Bible journalling. I bought the colored pencils and all. Did I do it? Nope. I didn’t want to mess up my Bible. Now I am not at all against it. If it is for you, then by all means, do it. It just isn’t for me. Didn’t
Morning pages. This is a method I heard about from Aileen from Lavendaire. She had read about it in a book she read and did it every morning. I believe it is where you write 3 pages stream of consciousness. I would love to learn more about this and possibly try it sometime. Didn’t
3-5 things your are grateful for. Believe it or not, I originally heard about this from and Oprah show where she was interviewing Sarah Ban Breathnach. I was entranced by Breathnach. Then I got her Simple Abundance book and devoured it. I started the 3-5 things I am grateful for after that episode of Oprah. So crazy. Not sure when that was. Tried it!
Coloring books(journals). Did you ever think that coloring books for adults would actually be a thing?! Well, it is. Coloring was one of my favorite things to do as a kid. I always wanted harder coloring pages. Well, some of these adult coloring books are really detailed and hard. I love it! But it can be a form of journalling through coloring, and very therapeutic. I highly recommend this for the fun and nostalgic factor, along with the therapeutic factor. Tried it!

Well, there you have it. A little about me, and a few journalling methods that you should definitely try. Let me know if you do try them, and also if you have any another journal ideas.

*photo credit