Yes, journaling! As someone who has a monkey mind, I swore by its life-changing benefits. Journaling helps me organize my thoughts and emotions, showing me what I should do next. It is also a conversation with myself that has taught me to enjoy life, love, and take care of myself. I journal for various purposes, including self-discovery, manifestation, and ideas playbook. In this post, I will share fun and easy-to-start journaling ideas for beginners, along with 50 helpful journal prompts.
What is journaling?
Journaling is the practice of keeping a record of your experiences, ideas, thoughts, and emotions. This can be expressed via words, drawings, and pictures.
You can journal the past, present, and future. You can document what you see, hear, smell, touch, feel, and think in your journal. It doesn’t need to make sense to anyone else but you.
Why journaling?
I had been journaling on and off for the past few years until I started reading the book “Calling in “The One”: 7 Weeks to Attract the Love of Your Life” in 2023. Despite the cringy title, it was packed with daily actionable steps through journaling. 90% of the prompts are not related to romance it are focused on self-discovery. I truly enjoyed the prompts and religiously journaled for seven weeks.
Did I find my significant other after reading the book and journaling? No, but I found myself in another eternal love – self-love. Throughout the seven weeks of journaling, I finally stopped waiting for someone to show up and love me unconditionally. I started loving myself the way I wanted to be loved.
“Keeping a journal will change your life in ways you’ve never imagined.”
— Oprah Winfrey
Based on my experience and what I’ve heard from those who journal, the benefits of journaling are quickly experienced. Here they are:
Know yourself better
If you are not clear about who you are, it is difficult to know what you need to do to become better. The seven weeks of daily journaling have helped me discover myself – my limiting beliefs, deepest insecurity, and desires. I reflected on myself and took steps to align myself with who I wanted to be. Continuing journaling is one of the actions.
Know the Why
Journaling is very helpful if you are trying to navigate through your options, thoughts, and emotions. It can be about picking the project that you should work on next, working on emotions, deciding your career pathway, and many more.
You start by asking the initial ‘why’. Why this blogging project? Why am I feeling this emotion? Why social media manager? Then follow up with another ‘why’ question, each time delving deeper until you reach a point where you can’t answer anymore. Through journaling, you can uncover what truly matters to you. This in turn empowers you to live an intentional and authentic life.
Unblock your mind and stimulate creativity
This is extremely helpful to people who have multiple interests and passions. Just like how Leonardo Da Vinci noted down all his observations, notes, and ideas in his notebook Codex Forster, you can pen down all the ideas you wish to explore. Through journaling, you can witness how these concepts expand and evolve. You roam in the world of imagination without the stress of perfection, leading to deeper thinking and enhanced creativity.
Dealing with negative emotions and traumas
If we experience something painful or traumatic yet we don’t release it, we end up reliving it in our minds over and over. According to this research, talking about our unhappy memories brings a sense of relief. For people who struggle to vocalize their feelings, journaling is a great alternative to help them vent all their insecurity, fear, and pain. You can process and even confront them, and soon you will find them dissolved one by one.
“All the noise in my brain. I clamp it to the page so it will be still.”
— Barbara Kingsolver
Paper vs. Digital Journaling: Which one is better?
There’s no set way to journal, it is all about what you are comfortable with. You can do it on paper or apps. You can also choose between typing it out or handwriting down your thoughts. Keep in mind to lower the bar for daily journaling, so that you can build it into a habit.
Paper journaling: You need only a notebook and a pen. It doesn’t matter if it is a bullet journal or a blank notebook, it’s just a canvas for you to jot down what’s on your mind.
Digital journaling: For those who prefer logging their entries via mobile app, you can use these journal apps – Day One, Grid Diary, and Journalistic. You can also do it with the classic note-taking approach on a desktop via Google Docs and Notion.
As you know, handwriting offers better memory retention than typing. So, if you want to enjoy this benefit and the convenience of digital journaling, you can get a digital journal or planner. I’m journaling using my digital planners with Goodnotes app on my iPad, along with an Apple Pencil. For those who are keen, please check out this guide on how to get started with digital planning.
Hybrid: This approach requires you to have a source of truth which I will recommend to be an app like Day One. What you need to do is capture your paper journal as pictures and upload them to the app. Then you will have your logs in the app together with your notes from paper journals.
4 tips to start journaling and stay consistent
Here are four journaling tips for beginners that’ll help you stay consistent:
- Make it easy
You can do it anywhere and anytime. You don’t need a beautiful bullet journal to start. You can begin journaling with the ugly notebook that your school or employer has given you, or the Notes app on your phone. Lowering the bar to start a habit makes it stick better.
- One sentence a day is better than nothing
Even though you write a sentence of “I was upset today and I didn’t know why.”, it is still a win. As someone has said, “Don’t wait for motivation; just start with something. Something is better than nothing.”
- Make it fun!
We all can recall the one habit we tried to build but it flopped because it was boring. For example, I wanted a low-impact workout yet I’m not interested in just mat exercise, so I signed up for reformer pilates! With the reformer machine and other tools like a box, jumpboard, balls, weights, etc., I now have varied routines to keep myself interested for a very long time. Hence, the habit was formed.
When you are journaling, don’t stick to just one routine if you are getting bored. Rigidity is the killer of creativity. Feel free to switch up the theme or prompt. Methodologies and prompts can be helpful, but if they suppress your expression, you have to let it go.
- Tie it with a keystone habit.
In Charles Duhigg’s book, The Power of Habit, he discusses the idea of keystone habits. If you have not noticed already, the trajectory of our lives is based on our current habits. As William James wrote in 1892, “All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits.” If we want to change our future, we need to start changing our routines – replace the unwanted ones with good habits.
However, not every habit is created equal. Certain routines — keystone habits — lead to a chain of actions that have a positive impact on us. In my case, my keystone habit is reading daily during my commute, this introduced me to life-changing concepts and methodologies which I then applied to my daily life. And then it leads to multiple good habits like insatiable learning, journaling, meditating, and working out 1-3 times a week.
If you have a keystone habit, already you can couple journaling with it. It will be easier to groom it into a habit.
15 journaling ideas for beginners
Journaling has something to offer everyone. In this section, we will explore 15 journaling ideas that you can begin with based on your interests, goals, and preferences.
Morning journal
What could be a better time than morning for journaling when our mind is clear? I always journal after my morning meditation. I jotted down the intuitive messages that I got during meditation and wrote down a few things I’m grateful for that day. The morning journal is to help you kick start your day with clarity and higher vibration.
One of the popular morning journals is Morning Pages – three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. As the creator Julia Cameron said, “There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages”, Don’t stress about writing perfect sentences. They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for you only.
However, it is perfectly fine if you cannot write three pages from the beginning. It takes practice, and don’t compare yourself with others who are seasoned journallers. Remember tip #2 above – one sentence a day is better than nothing.
Evening journal
It is evening and you have gone through a lot throughout the day, it is time to reflect and wind down. In your evening journal, you can do a short recap of what you have experienced, and appreciated, and what could have been done better.
Celebrating the small and big wins in the day will help you gain confidence. Writing down your worries, fears, and sadness helps to soothe your negative emotions so that you can sleep better later.
Self-care journal
With the rising awareness of self-love and self-care, this journal couldn’t have been more relevant than before. Self-care is more than just mask pampering, gel nails, and high tea with besties, it is the product of self-discipline in taking care of yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually.
In your self-care journal, you will reflect on your day and think of how you can show up for yourself despite the challenges. Other than self-awareness and personal growth, you also reaffirm yourself with self-love and affirmation quotes. I love putting such cute quotes stickers on my digital planner, it made my day.
When you see how far you have come while reading your journal, that’s the moment of contentment that will empower you to do more for yourself and others.
Ideas journal
Ideas journal is the perfect journal if you are looking to cultivate your curiosity and creativity.
For those who have multiple interests and passions, The Scanner Daybook introduced in the book Refuse to Choose is the place to capture your ideas and also tangents that pull you off the ideas. How it works is to get a blank, no-lined notebook and start putting down every idea you have under the sun that you wish to explore.
Want to build a resort that serves all kinds of ice cream with wellness retreats? Keen to embark on the business of selling fried bananas at a nearby stall? You write them down, tape them with notes and pictures, and roam in the world of imagination. Your idea journal gives you a free ticket to experience how these concepts might happen in real life, and how they expand and evolve. As Brian Ledger has said,
“A journal can offer you a place to be someone, anyone, who you want to be.”
You find yourself capturing the ideas at its best moment when you are the most enthusiastic and inquisitive. If you want to take the ideas to reality, go ahead, or you can just let it stay on paper – you’ve had a good time at the least!
Art journal
Similar to an ideas journal, an art journal focuses on the expression of feelings, thoughts, and imagination through art. There are no rules.
When it comes to art journals, the paper matters. You have to choose the paper that is suitable for your art style. For instance, if you want to play with watercolor or any wet medium, you’ll need an art journal with thicker paper that doesn’t bleed. Based on my experience, 300gsm is the minimum if you want good craft.
On the other hand, if you’re planning to sketch a doodle or use acrylic paint, you can get an art journal with thinner pages.
Manifestation journal
Manifestation has become just a hyped trend but most don’t understand what it truly means. It might sound like magic, but there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. As Roxie Nafousi said,
“You manifest what you subconsciously believe what you’re worthy of receiving.”
At its core, manifesting is self-worth, and a manifestation journal can aid you in determining and reshaping your self-worth. Through future scripting, you write as if you are who you want to be already, with gratitude and positive affirmation. Once you are in the state of being, your new energy will attract people and circumstances that are now aligned with who you are.
Keep note that not everything you write down in a manifestation journal will show up in your life as you want it to. It is like a wedding proposal, you want it to be a beautiful surprise. So, get rid of the control and welcome the blessings with an open mind.
Meditation journal
Meditation is a mindful and spiritual practice that takes a lot of patience as only sometimes you are going to encounter an other-worldly experience. It is more of a routine that keeps you grounded and ready for a new day every day.
Hence, keeping a meditation journal to document daily practice sessions can motivate you to keep sitting in silence and provide you insights about how best to continue. I journal after every meditation session and I write down how I feel before and after, the intuitive messages that I receive, and what I’m grateful for in life. This meditation journal has kept me going on meditation almost every day of the week.
Gratitude journal
“We’re a nation hungry for more joy: Because we’re starving from a lack of gratitude.”
– Brene Brown
A good life happens when we start to appreciate what we have. Having a gratitude journal can help you improve your ability to appreciate the small things or ordinary moments. Those are what make up most of our daily life.
Start writing down up to five things for which you feel grateful every day. Be specific and elaborate on them as much as possible till you are filled with gratitude from the bottom of your heart. We can always choose to be grateful and appreciate our lives at any moment – don’t wait to be happy.
Prayer journal
You don’t need a prayer journal to build a good relationship with God but having one surely helps. While praying in the head, it’s not easy to focus on the conversation with God. You might be distracted by the notion of what should be lunch later, the embarrassing moment where you farted in public two hours ago, the last thing on your to-do list today, and many more.
In the journal, you could have sections like prayers, confessions, Bible verses, gratitude towards what God has done through you, etc. When you are writing in your prayer journal, distraction fades away. You can talk to God with enhanced focus and feel more connected to God. This helps you build a habit of spending time with God.
Fitness journal
Getting into a healthy lifestyle with regular workouts and a balanced diet takes a lot of self-discipline. Keeping track of your progress is so important to avoid slacking and motivate you when you hit a plateau. Hence, you need a fitness journal.
With this fitness and nutrition journal, you can set your goals, log your number of reps, and your dietary patterns, and celebrate the pounds you shed down the road. Other than tracking, you can spot patterns from it and tweak your routine to challenge yourself further. Next time when you hit the gym room, don’t forget to bring along your fitness journal!
Healing journal
We have all been through heartbreaks and traumas that left scars on our hearts, and some still impact how we live now. It’s a constant journey to heal ourselves from what hurt us so that we can live liberally. There are a few kinds of healing journals, such as anxiety and depression journals, shadow work journals, breakup journals, and inner child healing journals. You may also build your healing journal through writing with journaling prompts for healing.
As we journal and fill the wounds with compassion, we lift the weights on our shoulders and rise beyond the challenges.
Relationship journal
Relationships need constant effort, but with most people trying to cope with life day in and out, many have forgotten it. A relationship journal is a great way to nurture the flame and strengthen your relationship.
A few ideas on what you can do in your relationships journal:
- Find the common values and beliefs
- Celebrate the milestones: Anniversary, owning a house together, first trip, etc.
- Ask the hard questions and take action steps: Is there anything that makes you feel hurt? How can I love you better this month? Were you happy with how things went this month?
- Gratitude for what the other has done for us
- Build fun rituals
Regardless of whether you are in a new or decades-long relationship, a relationship journal helps you and your partner get closer and become more aligned. And who would say no to a better sex life?
Travel journal
If you are like me who loves traveling but has a pretty bad memory, you need a travel journal! It helps you keep track of the highlights, stories you have heard, and memories you made during the trip. Other than just recording your travel experiences through words, you can include your itinerary, travel tickets, maps, photos taken, reviews and ratings of restaurants and tourist spots, and many more.
Feelings/Emotions journal
Emotions come and go, but if you find yourself stuck in particular negative ones, it’s time to act on them to avoid a detrimental impact on your health.
In your emotions journal, you write about your emotions and the circumstances that trigger them. By peeling the emotions layer by layer, you can help identify the root cause of it. Keeping an emotions journal can help you manage your emotions better, but if the situation gets worse, please seek professional help to avoid mental health diseases going untreated.
Dream journal
Do you have dreams that are bizarre and interesting that you wonder what they mean and how they might be connected to your waking life? A dream journal can help you keep track of your dreams and dissect their meanings. The more you record it, the better you are at retaining the details of your dreams.
30 helpful journaling prompts for beginners
After you have decided which journal to go for, here are 30 journaling prompts that you can pretty much apply in any journal you have picked:
10 journaling prompts to know more about yourself
- Describe yourself in 10 words or less.
- Who are you at the core?
- What’s your passion, and how did you discover it?
- What in your life has given you the greatest fulfillment?
- If you knew you wouldn’t fail, what would you do?
- What do you need to stop doing?
- If you only had two years to live, what would you most want to accomplish?
- If you could go back 10 years and spend 5 minutes with your former self, what advice would you share?
- How do you advocate for yourself?
- What is your take on love?
10 journaling prompts for manifestation
- Write down your ideal life which is aligned with who you are.
- I will achieve [goals] because I’m currently working on [fill in what you are doing to activate the goals].
- What are your top priorities? Do they stem from your life purpose, the family’s expectations, or societal pressure?
- Imagine your significant other sitting in front of you, what would you two be talking about?
- Write down the body parts that you dislike and why you think so, replace the hatred with gratitude of the body parts.
- I’m blessed by the Universe and I’m lucky because [put down good things that happen to you]
- Recall the envy that you had and write down how you could turn them into inspiration.
- Are you anxious or desperate about the things that you are manifesting? Think of how you can practice non-attachment to allow space for new opportunities.
- How much would you rate your self-worth? How could you improve your faith in yourself to receive what you want?
- I am confident that the person I am waiting for will find me because [things you have done to love yourself more and be ready for love].
10 journaling prompts for creative writing
- Write about a character who wakes up one day with a superpower.
- Explore the ideas of parallel universes, What would you be doing in those universes?
- Create a short story that begins with the sentence: “The old, dusty book sat on the library shelf, its pages whispering secrets to anyone who dared to open it.”
- If you had $150,000 to spend in 24 hours or less, how would you spend it?
- If you could have dinner with anyone currently alive, who would it be?
- If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be?
- What if you could switch places with someone for a day? Who would you choose, and what would you do living a day as him/her?
- What if you could talk to any animal? Which animal would you choose, and what would you ask them?
- Write a 300-word fantasy story about you being a hero.
- You find a door in your room that never existed before.
Alternatives to your journaling
Journaling is a great way to help improve the quality of your life but it is not the only way. Check out some of the alternatives below if you are not a fan of writing:
- Planning: Project management and note-taking apps like Trello, Google Calendar, Notion, etc.
- Tracking: Habit tracker apps, such as Productive, Done, and Habitify. Mood tracker apps like Daylio and Emmo.
- Ideas dump: Instead of writing, you can bookmark links and add notes via apps like Notion, Evernote, Google Docs, Goodnotes, etc.
- Healing: Therapy, and meditation
Other journaling resources
Here are additional resources if you want to know more about journaling and personal experiences from content creators and authors who have journaled for years:
- I Journaled Everyday for 90 Days. Here’s What I Learned by Ali Abdaal, my favorite productivity guru
- Does Journaling Actually Work? (Journaling 101) by HealthyGamerGG
- The Journalling Techniques that Changed My Life by Struthless
- 5 Life Changing Journaling Habits from the Stoics by Daily Stoic
The bottom line
“Your journal will stand as a chronicle of your growth, your hopes, your fears, your dreams, your ambitions, your sorrows, your serendipities.”
– Kathleen Adams
Journaling is personal. It is more than just a log of your past; it is a sacred practice for your mental and spiritual growth. The compounding benefits of journaling have helped me and many others live more intentionally, leading to improved health and contentment.
If you are starting to journal today, don’t overthink it – let your thoughts flow. Good luck!
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