A gentle guide to starting (or returning) to journaling
Journaling can be a lot of things. It can be a means for self-reflection or an outlet for your emotions. It can be a way to track your goals and dreams or be a keeper for your favorite memories, which you can look back on at the end of every year. (Something that journaling enthusiast and crafter Nica Cosio does.)
The benefits of journaling also abound. Several studies have shown how it’s good for us. Journaling or being able to put our feelings, thoughts, and experiences (both the mundane and the momentous) on paper allows us to support our mental and emotional health. It can help regulate our emotions or reduce our anxiety. For Nica, in her previous Meet the Makers interview, her journals allow her to end each year, “happy and grateful,” which then, she says, makes it easier for her to be more hopeful.
If this year has been tough, if you need more reason to hope, less time being anxious, or if you just want to be able to look back at your life without the need to look at your social media feed, journaling is the best way to get started. Here are a few things to remember when you want to begin keeping a journal or to restart the journaling habit again.
Let’s start with the essentials:
Before you begin, remember that your journal is your safe space. It doesn’t have to look Pinterest worthy and shareable in social media—t’s just for you, nobody else. This means any good old notebook and pen will do. And when you do want to build on the habit and explore ways to make it more fun, here are our recommendations.
Journal or notebook
Somebody once said that if your brain has thousands of tabs open, journaling allows us to close a few of those tabs. We wholeheartedly agree and if you need to open anything new, how about these journals? Handmade Coptic Journal, P349 (A6) and P699 (A5); Handmade Kraft Notebooks with printed covers, P189 each (A5)
Pens
As much as there are all sorts of notebooks you can turn into journals there are just as many pens you can use to write, draw, or decorate all those blank pages. Kuretake pens, P69 each; Zig Brushables, P139 each
Let’s make it fun!
Washi tape
The decorative Japanese paper was such a phenomenal hit for crafters everywhere when it launched almost two decades ago that it has become an arts and crafts staple. Used for journaling and scrapbooking, washi tapes come in so many different designs that you can use to create borders, add as embellishments to your journal pages, or even give you reading prompts! Reading prompts Washi tape by Everyday Explorers Co., P199; Happy Haul washi tape by Sunny Stoic Studio, P179; Sydney, Australia washi tape by Paper Diet x Meow Project, P299
Stickers
Another way to spice up your journal? Stickers! When Nica shared journaling tips here, she shared her love for washi tapes and stickers. Aside from raising the cute quotient of your journal pages, it can also help tell a story, particularly when you’re feeling stuck or you don’t know what to journal about. Journal + Planner Sticker Sheet by jpellustrates.ph in Paper Notes, Autumn Days, Book Lovers, and The Woods, P119 each; Pantone stickers by Artsyology, P99 each; Daily Icons sticker sheet P179 and Alphabet Stickers (3 sheets) P300, both by Everyday Explorers Co.; Paperaicashop handdrawn stickers, P79; Sticker keeper, P359
Paper & Collage materials
Keeping a journal doesn’t mean you have to be “creative” or “artistic.” If you want to simply write to process something difficult, update on your goal, or write a few lines about what you’re grateful for, it’s okay. If you want to add a little pretty piece or something colorful to make the page pop, there are different materials you can use. Remember, nobody’s there to judge your journal. It’s just for you. Dried flowers by Kasa Ko, P149; Assorted paper (abstract) by Kasa Ko, P129; Assorted mini cards (nature) by Kasa Ko, P89
