To know me is to know I love my routines and all the little things I do for myself each day and week to help me feel my best. One of those happens to be writing. I normally make time to write for a few minutes every morning before I open my computer. I’ve usually worked out or walked to the lake, got morning sun, eaten breakfast, tidied up, all of that. This is what works for me and I’ve been doing it consistently since August of 2021. My sister had given me a plain lined notebook and it was at that time that I committed to writing for myself.
That was a really pivotal point that led to my entire life changing.
I filled every line on every page and even made use of the back cover. It laid perfectly flat when opened and there was just something about the paper and the way my handwriting looked on the pages. The notebook itself didn’t have any branding, simply a number on the back cover. I did some digging when it came time for a new one and was devastated to learn they were no longer being made. I was able to track down a few that were still sitting on the shelves at Target and went on to fill up three more of those notebooks and they hold some of the most delicate moments in my life. (Update: I’ve since found an entire Reddit thread for others who love the notebook as much as I do. Going to start collecting signature to send to Compendium in hopes of getting them to produce these again.)
THE BEST DAILY JOURNAL
A friend of mine gifted me a Papier “wellness” journal at the end of May and I came to love the prompts to start my day. I check in with myself on sleep, activity, intentions, how I plan to take care of myself, and so on. I happened upon the same journal (that was marked way down!) while shopping around the Renegade Craft Fair a few weekends ago and knew it was a sign to keep going with this layout. The journal comes in so many cover options or you can personalize one for free (I did this for a plain lined notebook of theirs, before I realized just how much I loved the prompts…will be using that for to-do lists and what not).
The pages inside the Papier wellness journal were recently redesigned and they’re so much more robust now! The notebook includes a morning and evening check-in section, energy level and sleep log, space for a restful moment and movement, and connection (a big area I’m working on in my personal life). But probably my favorite update is the removal of “meals” and the addition of “nourishment,” which encompasses so much more than simply what you eat!
I really can’t recommend this journal more. If you decide to order, you can get $10 off here! I love the new journal I just got in the mail…I added the “health creates wealth” hehe.
MENTAL HEALTH JOURNALS
I started using The Anti-Anxiety Notebook from Therapy Notebooks in December of 2021. It’s not something I use everyday and I’m probably only 1/3 of the way through it now. I generally pull it out when I have a particularly big “thing” looming over my head–usually causing me to be indecisive or anxious about making the “right” choice. I’ve also used it when I’ve been at my absolute lowest, spiraling with my physical and mental health and my god, if those pages could talk. I’m not sure this is something you’d want to do all the time, but there have been a few occasions where I’ve found myself reading back through what I wrote and it’s been so encouraging to see the progress I’ve made and has often provided me with a little boost of motivation to keep going.
I can’t speak to their other journals, but they also offer:
The Therapy Journal – I’ve been toying with the idea of adding this to my stack for my “homework” in therapy, especially now that things have shifted a bit and I’m doing a little more exploring! I like the idea of keeping things somewhat separate from my morning writing and little recaps (daily vs more robust thoughts).
The Build-a-Habit Guide – This looks like it would pair nicely with the book Atomic Habits–a huge contributor to the shift in my thought process when it came to building routines that feel good for me! I also highly recommend The Creative Act: A Way of Being and The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain, if you’re looking around for some inspiration as we head into the last quarter of the year.
I’ve had The Five Minute Journal for years now and to be honest, I struggle with remembering to fill it out in the evenings and it ends up feeling like a lot of wasted space. It’s all preference, so if you want something to bookend your days and don’t have a lot of time, this could be a good option for you!
