Raise your hand if you are one of those people that have a tower of unused journals laying around. We see you, and we understand you. That’s why we know you don’t want them to go to waste. Every blank journal can create such an opportunity to make it into something fun or effective. In this blog we will list a few ideas that we have to help fill those journals up.
Lists of 100
You can use the List of 100 method to help you brainstorm about so many different things, the list is endless (excuse the pun). For some of the best results using this method we would suggest:
- Writing as fast as you can - What comes to your mind first
- You don’t have to write in complete sentences - It’s bullet points really
- Write down silly or nonsensical ideas - Any ideas, they keep it interesting
- Write down repeats - It may mean that you really want to complete it or it’s something you are highly interested in
- Go somewhere you will be alone while you brainstorm - Allow yourself to completely zone out and focus
- Don’t listen to distracting music - while it may help, we know the temptation to start singing and dancing around your room.
Dream Keeper
We know that there are many people that would love to remember or understand their dreams better. Keeping a dream journal can be the first step to help you do just that. Keep a journal by your bed and be sure to write down your dreams/nightmares as soon as you wake up. This is the time that you will remember the most. Jot it down and see if you have any patterns that may occur.
Health Log
This is a really good idea you are someone that lives with a chronic illness or a disability where you experience flare ups. Logging your health not only can show you if you have any triggers from the activities you do, to the food you eat. This may help you to prevent flare ups in the future. It gives you something to look back on to show the doctor, if needed, and you can pinpoint what you may need to remove from your diet or routine. Keeping a health log can also keep you accountable regarding fitness goals due to including a food diary and hydration log. Whatever reason you use a Health log; always make sure you are being sensible and safe.
Memory Book
This is something that many people do but it definitely is a lovely way to fill a journal. You are spoiled with options on how to fill the pages, you could just add pictures to the pages and make your own kind of photo album or you could add in souvenirs, photos and a little bit of writing to help capture a memory. The possibilities with this are endless as there are so many different routes you could take.
Affirmation/Manifestation Journal
We have spoken about affirmations and manifesting many times before. Affirmations are an incredibly powerful tool that you can use to help you change your thoughts and attitude. Helping you to create a more positive outlook. An affirmations journal is an awesome way to help you develop that as a habit. Who doesn’t want to try and be more positive?
Just like affirmations, manifesting works closely with the law of attraction. Both essentially suggest that we can attract what we want in life with the right mindset and action. You attract what you put out into the world. Using this technique has shown to often help people reach their goals due to altering their outlook and their mindset.
Six Word Story
This is a fun little way to help get the creative juices flowing as well as being a great exercise for aspiring writers and poets. Doing this every morning will almost certainly improve your writing. It makes you really think of how to write something engrossing and engaging without being able to get too descriptive. This was a lovely challenge from Page Flutter, a journaling blog, who shares lots of different ideas and challenges to help you on your journaling journey.
There is so much freedom with a blank journal, maybe that’s why we often collect them due to getting overwhelmed with ideas. You can keep a journal for one thing, you can mix it up and include a few different ideas, there is no wrong way to fill a journal. We hope we have inspired you on what you could do to fill up some of those beautiful journals sitting on your shelf, whether it be something from this list or something else entirely. Have fun, and get excited about it, you don’t want it to feel like a chore.