We’ve all been there: You opened a new notebook, massaged the spine of the book carefully, activated your particularly ink-laden pen, and wrote the date at the top of the page.
And yet… nothing comes. How do you journal when there are simply too many thoughts to capture, debate, and translate onto the page? This may seem like an impossible task.
But your therapist – and most mental health researchers – argue that keeping a journal is a great way to manage anxiety, reduce stress and even deal with depression.
So how do we take this seemingly elusive self-care practice and make it something that makes you feel more organized, in tune with your feelings, and aware of your daily behaviors?
By asking someone else to do the hard part, that’s how it is!
There’s no shortage of self-care planners and guided journals on the market, and while we also love collecting blank notebooks, these recommendations might be the best approach when you need a little more direction on the page.
We’ve compiled a list of the best self-care planners and guided journals to help you develop a routine that’s true to you without feeling overwhelmed by a blank page.
By the way, some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase after clicking on a link, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. THANKS!
By the way, you might also like these self-care resources: 101 self-care ideas | The best self-care apps | Self Care Quotes | How to practice proactive self-care | How to cheer yourself up | How to Create a Self-Care Kit | Self-Care Affirmations | International Self Care Day | Self Care Gifts
The best self-care planners and guided reviews on the market
The Self-Care Planner
Well, this one seems self-explanatory, but Simple Self’s Self-Care Planner is the ultimate planner to help you prioritize your own well-being. Each semester planner includes prompts for:
- Meal planning
- Gratitude
- Aptitude
- Mood
- Sleep
- Goals
- A personalized six-month self-care plan
The planner is designed with thick white paper, a hard cover with foil lettering, and a spiral binding for the highest quality daily ritual.
Be Untamed: The Journal (How to Stop Pleasing and Start Living)
We are big fans of Glennon Doyle – and its guided journal companion to his best-selling “Untamed” is no exception. Filled with references to the book and journal prompts to help you think about Doyle’s thoughts, you’ll find a number of sections that help journal users overcome their cultural and personal beliefs and find healing and peace.
Some sections include:
- Be still and know
- Trust yourself
- Let it burn
- Build the new
- Meditative coloring pages
Recovering the Pleasures of People Around the World may be available in hardcover or spiral bound format.
→ Buy “Become Untamed: The Journal”
Unsolicited Advice Planner and Journal
Adam J. Kurtz fans likely know the artist and designer from his handwriting wisdom on Instagram, or perhaps his original Creative Journal 1 Day at a Time. Now you can check out his planner and journal of unsolicited advice, which he calls: “A planner that won’t make you feel bad about yourself.”
Unsolicited Advice is a dated weekly journal filled with:
- Reminders
- Instructions
- Realistic optimism from Adam himself for his recording and his impatience
While you’re writing down your next big idea in the spiral planner, check out Adam’s. stickers And pencils for a complete experience.
→ Buy the Unsolicited Advice Planner and Journal
Journal of Radical Permission: A Daily Guide to Following Your Soul’s Call
Co-created by Adrienne Marie Brown and Sonya Renee Taylor, the Journal of Radical Permission is an invitation to embrace who you are without imposing narrow disciplines or self-criticism.
Based on the philosophies of radical self-love, emergent strategy, and activism for fun, the journal is divided into six key practices:
- Technology to perfect your body
- Self-worship
- Loving your shadows
- Mutual worship
- Alignment of life
- What emerges?
Explored through daily prompts, each practice centers on curiosity, surrender, grace, and contentment; leading you to more pleasure, healing and self-love all around.
→ Buy the Journal of Radical Permission
Self-Care Blueprint: A Guided Workbook for Feeling Good
A smaller (and perhaps less intimidating) approach to journaling in the name of self-care is the Self-Care Master Plan workbook. The compact book is a personalized set of topics and prompts to help you create a set of “how-to’s” for life’s ups and downs.
Each postcard-sized page includes a list or topic for you to fill out yourself, such as:
- Things I like to do
- People I like to see
- Powerful songs
- Things to do when I feel sad or exhausted
- My powers
The best part? Each page is easy to tear off so you can display it when you need a little extra help.
The positive planner
Anything bright yellow and has the word “positive” in its name is probably right up our alley! This 12-week planner and journal is an essential for your self-care practice.
The Positive Planner is packed with features that help you manage your life and well-being in a whole new way, including:
- Meal Planners
- Shopping lists
- Daily intentions
- Mood trackers
- Easy to color illustrations
The journal has a simple hard cover and contains many carefully designed pages for everyone. stationery store lovers to explore.
The anti-anxiety notebook
A staple that you’ve probably seen in many Instagram aesthetic photos, the anti-anxiety notebook originated in Therapy notebooks brand, a team of experts whose mission is to provide everyone with proven mental health tools.
The Anti-Anxiety Journal includes cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to guide you through new thought patterns in an easy-to-use journal. The prompts help you reframe and reset when you’re feeling anxious, asking questions like:
- What happened?
- What’s going through your mind?
- What emotions do you feel?
Designed with a minimalist approach and a hard fabric cover, this notebook will serve as your faithful companion through your roller coaster of emotions.
→ Buy the anti-anxiety notebook
The five minute diary
Another aesthetic favorite, the Five Minute Journal guides you through a simple ritual that’s easy to add to any daily routine. The daily journal includes prompts to begin your day with appreciation and end it with reflection over a six-month period. Some prompts include:
Each journal is made with recycled or sustainably sourced paper and a natural linen cover that will look at home on any nightstand.
Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration
Author and artist Meera Lee Patel is an expert at helping people nurture their creativity and thrive. With Patel’s vibrant handwritten letters, watercolor illustrations, and inspiring quotes, Start Where You Are is a great tool for thinking and dreaming.
Pages include:
- Drawing Prompts
- Fun graphics
- Questions for reflection
When you’re done with this journal, Patel also offers two other helpful resources that you’re sure to love: Made Out of Stars: a journal for self-realizationAnd My Friend Fear: Finding the Magic in the Unknown.
→ Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration
Paper Gratitude Journal
THE power of gratitude simply cannot be overstated, and doctors and scientists are even convinced that “counting our blessings” might just be one of the best practices we can incorporate to better mental and physical health.
And what’s better than a designated gratitude journal? This one from Papier includes:
- Five months of entries
- Morning and Evening Prompts
- 30 Day Reflections to Review Last Month
- Affirmations and currencies
- Activities to help you find gratitude
With a handful of beautiful colors to choose from, you can even personalize this journal with your name to keep it even closer to your heart.
→ Buy Papier’s Gratitude Journal
Letterfolk Abridged Journal
In addition to the trendy side of the brand letter boards And tile mat, Letterfolk also creates a beautiful guided journal to help you archive and record each day. The Abridged Journal includes:
- Daily entries with short, repeated prompts
- Weekly Prompts
- Thoughtful questions such as “what are you dreaming about?” and “what do you want to start doing that you’re not doing?”
The journal has enough space for six months of entries and is made with a fabric cover and acid-free paper.
→ Buy Letterfolk’s Abridged Journal
You don’t need to understand the planner
This sweet, drop-in planner from People I’ve Loved is flexible and lets you write things down, plan your life, and figure out how you’re feeling – but dip in and out when your daily plans come and go inevitably.
The planner includes:
- Weekly, monthly and yearly overviews
- Prompts for reflection
- Emotional tracking tools
- Exercises to “relocate joy in your life”
- Space to write down memories and ideas you want to keep close to you
With 152 pages and a simple, craft, foil cover, this planner is a great way to get some structure—but not too much structure.
