My Top 5 Favorite Journals
My top 5 favorite journals
As you most likely know, journaling is one of my most favorite ways to take care of myself, tune in, and learn about what’s most on my heart. I’ve been an avid journal-er since my very first bright pink Lisa Frank unicorn journal and I’ve collected them as gifts for as long as I can remember. While my frequency in writing regularly fluctuates, it’s something I continue to come back to and find respite in. I’ve found that I often have the answers I’m looking for and that there’s a wiser part of myself that already knows.
Here’s a list of my current favorite journals:
Practice You- This is a beautifully crafted and deeply thoughtful guided journal. It offers the opportunity for creative expression through writing, drawing, and thought provoking questions and embeds a mindful presence throughout it’s various sections. I often use/recommend this journal to people I’m working with in therapy as it can be a beautiful therapy companion. Because some of the questions promote deep inquiry and attention to difficult experiences and possibly raw moments/relationships, I also encourage moving through this journal slowly, and with the support of a therapist if it feels too challenging. While it’s my very favorite journal, I believe the timing in using it is really important. Lastly, it can be really interesting to respond to the same journal prompts multiple times and explore what’s changed and transformed.
Today I Affirm- Alex Elle creates the most introspective journal prompts and guided questions to move towards better self awareness and transformation. This journal has three different sections including guided prompts, list prompts/exercises, and notes to self. The list section inspires critical thinking about our stories and needs and helps us to make space for multiple realities and ‘holding both.’ This is a great option for someone experimenting with journaling or wanting a more facilitated process. I also regularly encourage use of this journal in the therapy room and have found it to be a safe and well-paced way to explore healing and transformation.
Growing in Gratitude- This is another favorite guided journal created by Alex Elle. This is perfect for someone who is wanting to develop a gratitude practice or shift their attention to the abundance and goodness that exists in their life. This journal is simple and consistent and can be a useful way to start or end the day. The repeated guided prompts help the writer to focus on what’s good, and align the direction of their day with an intentional heart.
Promptly Journal (not pictured)- This is my most recommended, beautifully crafted journal for new and expecting moms. The prompts are unique and have helped me to capture my experience with motherhood/birth and precious prized moments of my daughter’s first few years of life. Finding the time to write and reflect as a new mom can be difficult, so I loved how straightforward the prompts were and how easily the journal doubles as a scrapbook. Their website also offers a collection of journals to meet all experiences related to motherhood and parenting including miscarriage, adoption, and child history. I love their mission to be inclusive of capturing all experiences related to children and parenting.
Personal Journal- At the heart of this, all you need is a good old fashioned piece of paper and pencil to reflect inward. I personally prefer handwriting, but computers and phones are also easy to access ways to turn towards yourself. I keep both a personal and brainstorming journal in my backpack at all times and pull it out when an idea, reflection, or life lesson presents itself to me. I think journaling can be one of the most useful practices to gain clarity, uncover deeper understanding about ourselves, and process experiences we are going through. While we may try and convince ourselves that thinking about a certain topic will have the same outcome, putting our words to paper in a coherent way- instead of free floating words in our mind- can have significant utility and therapeutic benefit.