10 TOPICS TO INSPIRE YOUR JOURNAL
July 18, 2017I consider myself quite the collector of cute notebooks and journals. I just can't help it! I see one, I fall in love, I buy it, and then it continues to sit on my shelf and gather dust because I cannot for the life of me come up with anything creative to fill those pages. I will openly admit now that I'm not the most artistic person. Drawing, painting and other mediums are definitely not my calling in life, however if there's one thing I've learned it's that you don't have to an artist to be able to express yourself creatively. Your journal doesn't have to look like those colourful, seemingly chaotic but very clean looking journals that fill Pinterest boards and have thousands of notes on Tumblr. It can be writing based and centre around whatever you want it to! Today I'm going to share with you ten different prompts and topics to help kick-start your journal journey.
1. DOCUMENTING YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
First and foremost, your journal is personal to you, and you don't have to share it with anyone else if you choose. Journals can be extremely important to track recovery progress for those of us who suffer with mental health issues, and I've found that sometimes expressing myself through writing or even scribbling all over a page can help ease off some of my frustrations about issues that cause me to slip into a darker frame of mind. With that being said, it's important to allow yourself space to breathe too, and journaling doesn't have to become an obsessive process. I only use mine for mental health purposes when things are particularly bad or really good, and the other pages are filled with lighter, happier creations. I definitely couldn't be without my journal when it comes to helping keep track of how things are going internally.
2. TRACKING YOUR GOALS
This is the main reason I use my journal. I love setting different goals for myself be they monthly or yearly, and I love nothing more than being able to tick them off at the end of that time frame! I also like to write down mini goals for the day or really lovely things that happened to me throughout the day too. It's important to make a note of the positive as well as the negative. Yellow is my go to colour for any posts about positivity, there's nothing better than having a bright and sunny journal to flick through.
3. "LETTERS TO..."
4. LISTS LISTS LISTS
I am big into lists and planning, although it really doesn't make me feel any more organised as a person! I like to write my lists out on a separate piece of paper and then stick them into my journal once I've completed everything. They can be about anything from shopping lists, blog post ideas to books you want to buy - literally anything! I love making lists that centre around "10 Things I Love About ____" and in my old journal I created a spread dedicated to Autumn where I stuck leaves onto the pages and then wrote the lists on a separate lined page and stuck it in. You can be as creative as you like!
5. PICTURE COLLAGES AND MOODBOARDS
Collages and moodboards made entirely from cut out pictures have always been some of my favourite things to make. Even when I was a child I used to cut out pictures from my mum's magazines and stick them onto a big A3 sheet and see what I could come up with. You can choose anything to centre your collage around, emotions, people, a quote and you can use pretty much any material you have lying around. I still like to cut out pictures from magazines, but I also like to use old pages from books and doodle over the top. Take to Pinterest and print out pictures that you love and see how you can incorporate them into a collage!
6. DREAM DIARY
I rarely remember my dreams so this is an idea that's totally lost on me, however if you're a vivid dreamer who thinks about their dreams even after they've woken up, then maybe this one is for you. You can simply write them down and keep track of them to see if you have the same dream again, or if you're feeling super creative you can doodle a scene from the dream that you just can't shake off.
7. DAILY PLANNER
If you're the patron saint of organisation then you probably already have a daily planner that you religiously use to keep on track of everything you have to squeeze into a day. Going down this route with your journal can be really helpful for those of a more disorganised disposition, especially if you're the type of person who remembers something suddenly but forgets it write it down. Getting a small, A5 paper journal that you can take everywhere with you would be a great idea and it will definitely become your best friend.
8. DOODLES GALORE
For those of you who are self-confessed artists then doodling away in a journal is probably your idea of heaven, but even those of you without an art degree can take part in creating a few cute and quirky doodles. I am not an artist at all, but I love a good doodle even if mine aren't exactly MoMA standard. Seals, plants, mandalas (really terrible ones) and twisty shapes are my favourite things to doodle and the more you do it, the more you'll feel comfortable doing it. Stick a plain piece of coloured paper or write in a "stream of conciousness" i.e write down every thought in your head and don't stop until the page is full, and then doodle all over it in a black marker! Those are some of my favourite pages to look at.
9. PLAYLISTS
I adore making playlists and adding new music to all of them, and I love trying out how different songs sound together. Write down your top ten songs ever, make a playlist based on songs that give you a cosy feeling inside, create seasonal playlists or make a note of all your favourite cheesy hits!
10. WHATEVER YOUR HEART DESIRES
What's important to remember is that your journal is yours and you can put whatever you want into it! Stick in every ticket you've bought in the last month; buses, trains, cinema, sports events, concerts. Create a journal board based on a film that made an impression on you. One of my favourite pages in my journal is one dedicated to Pan's Labyrinth. I drew around my hands and elongated my fingers to mimic the hands of The White Man, then I wrote down some of my favourite quotes around it. You can create a spread full of pressed flowers you've picked up from different gardens and make a note of what they are. Keep track of your lipstick collection and swatch new colours every time you buy another. Your journal doesn't have to be serious and full of copious pages of text, it can be fun and reflect your personality through little original ideas. So the next time your creative urge strikes, but you feel totally uninspired, hopefully some of these ideas will spring to your mind and help you create something amazing. As I mentioned before, your journal doesn't have to be a masterpiece and it doesn't have to be something you slave over 24/7. As long as you're happy with what you've created then that's all the matters, and if you've never journaled before I hope this may have inspired you to start!
Thanks for reading,
Rachel
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