Putting pen to paper is a tool that can help reduce stress and process emotion—but first, you need to find the format that resonates with your soul.
Between yoga, running, and heart-pumping hip-hop cycling classes, there are plenty of ways to sweat out the stress. But for those seeking something a little less physical—meet journaling.
This tried-and-true practice of writing down your thoughts and feelings offers a safe space for self-expression. It can help you reduce stress, process emotions, realize patterns, and gain a greater sense of self, according to loads of research. And for many, it can be an ongoing self-discovery process akin to therapy.
But journaling isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience. The exercise can help you better navigate your everyday life—as long as you choose a format that resonates with your goals. Before you dive in pen first, try and determine your “why.”
“What do you need most right now?” asks mindfulness expert Case Kenny, host and founder of the podcast New Mindset, Who Dis and author of But First, Inner Peace. “What is an area of your life where you need clarity, some form of closure or guidance?”
Kenny recommends you ask yourself, Why should I journal? and evaluate your answer. Is it to help you become happier? More productive? To get your ideas onto paper instead of just floating around in your head? To track progress against a goal? Then, experiment with the method that works best for you. The only hard-and-fast rule to journaling, according to Kenny, is that it should always be done with tangible items, like a writing utensil and pad of paper. There’s just something about the physical act of writing that cannot be duplicated digitally, he adds. Here are the various styles of journaling. Read on to discover which works best for your current needs.
This method focuses on bringing awareness to the past, present, and future. It guides users to focus on multiple areas of life—goals, thoughts, inspiration, and mindful reflections—all at once. Kenny says the focus of bullet journaling is to help users become more intentional in their lives by allowing them to completely personalize what they use the journal for and how they organize it visually. Most bullet journals come with a dot grid layout that prompts users to fully customize how they organize their thoughts and divide them into sections, like to-do lists, meal plans, or agendas.
The perfect tool: Intensely pigmented, uni One Gel Pens come in 20 colors to help differentiate between everything you jot down. They come in varying point sizes (0.7mm, 0.5mm, and 0.38mm) to fit your preferences.
This open format of creative journaling allows one to draw, doodle, reflect, and write all in one place. The free-form expression can help you find and organize inspiration while moving past the artistic blocks. While it's especially invaluable for people in creative fields—like artists, musicians, and writers—it's also helpful for anyone approaching a task creatively (such as entrepreneurs and business executives).
The perfect tool: The Emott 10 Color Set of fine-liner marker pens delivers fade-proof vibrance with each colorful stroke, so you never have to compromise on your creativity when bullet or creative journaling. With that many choices, you can choose a color based on anything from your mood to the hour of the day.
Vivid dreams may be trying to tell you something, so before you get out of bed, grab your diary and start jotting down anything you can remember. Retaining the details of your dreams can help you better analyze their potential meaning and identify patterns. According to Kenny, this type of journaling is particularly great for anyone who is looking to incorporate their subconscious and dream state into their overall mindfulness and reflection practices.
The perfect tool: The precise tip of uni POSCA PC-1MR helps you capture surreal dreams in intense detail. These water-based paint markers also work on wood, glass, metal, plastic, ceramic, and leather, if you’re feeling inspired to move your dreamscape onto other mediums.
The simplest way to train yourself to be more optimistic and hopeful, while also reducing the stress in your life, may be gratitude journaling. This 10-minute-a-day habit can help you retrain yourself to focus on the positives in life. Kenny says the benefits of gratitude journaling last long after each session, because it trains you to have more empathy toward yourself and others, enjoy life’s small moments, and reframe how you look at the world around you. If you’re having a tough time getting started, use this simple prompt: “What is something you’re thankful to have today that you didn’t have a year ago?”
The perfect tool: In addition to being the perfect companion for bullet journaling, uni One Gel Pens are well-suited for scribbling notes of gratitude. Since they’re water- and fade-resistant, you can look back anytime you need a reminder.
This is the antidote to procrastination and feeling overwhelmed by an unorganized workload. Productivity journaling helps you create detailed to-do lists in an effective and prioritized way, so you can track your progress as you go about your day. According to Kenny, this method can help you become more self-aware. It's focused on output—usually in the form of work tasks and business checklists—and can extend to household chores and personal errands. If you’re new to tracking productivity, start with a prompt like “What are three things I want to accomplish today?” Break each task down into smaller, more attainable pieces to help reach your goals.
The perfect tool: The no-nonsense uniball 207 PLUS+ offers a smooth writing experience thanks to the gel ink and comfortable rubber grip. Its water- and fade-resistant finish will ensure your productivity tracking stands the test of time (so you can look back at everything you accomplished with pride).
Anxiety journaling provides a private space for you to face your anxious thoughts head-on instead of simply accepting them as truth in your life, explains Kenny. It can take a variety of structures—from following prompts (“What is making me feel anxious right now?”) to free-form (venting about anything in your life). It aims to help you identify why you’re experiencing these feelings so you can better train yourself to work through your anxious thoughts instead of letting them pile up unchecked.
The perfect tool: The last thing you need when you’re feeling anxious is the commitment of permanent ink. Instead, lean on a Chroma Mechanical Pencil for its precision eraser, contoured and comfy textured grip, and auto-advancing lead that won’t stop till you do.
Oprah Wants You to Lean Into Summer Joy
Happiness is Love, Full Stop
Growing Confidence Is About What You Tell Yourself
8 Health Benefits of Taking a Morning Walk
Now’s the Time to Focus on Self-Renewal
Turn Positive Mental States Into Lasting Traits
OpEd Founder Amplifies Diverse Voices in Media
Marie Kondo’s 5 Back-to-School Tips
12 Ways to Live a Fuller Life
My Childhood Summer Joy of Jumping Double Dutch
Daring to Pursue a Childhood Dream of Surfing
Our editors handpick the products that we feature. We may earn commission from the links on this page.
©Oprah Daily LLC. All rights reserved.