10 Practical Journals That Can Make Your Life Easier

I recently stumbled upon a stack of my old notebooks, and among them, some of my old journals. Since journals occupy a significant place in my life, and since I wrote a post on how voice notes can make your life easier a few days ago, I decided to write another “life hack” post – this one about journaling.

So, here it is – 10 journals that make my life easier, and can make yours easier, too.

1) Ideas journal

This is the journal I’ve kept the longest in my life – since childhood. And while other kids were journaling their daily activities and events, I was noting down my ideas.

Now, if you’re like me, chances are you’ve got a lot of ideas incoming all the time. I mean, you could just remember them, but we all know that’s not the case.

The first time I found true value in this journal is when I brought my old idea to life after more than 10 years.

Here’s the thing – most of our ideas are rarely bad. However, that doesn’t mean that we have everything we need to execute them. Sometimes it’s a matter of money; sometimes, it’s a matter of knowledge; and sometimes, it’s something else. That still doesn’t mean the idea is bad. It just means the time is not ripe.

This is why I carefully note down every single thing that pops into my mind, revisit them every so often, and reinvent them when the time comes.

A great thing about an ideas journal is that you can always leave enough space around each idea so that you can expand and work around potential difficulties every time anew, until you find the winning combo, or you recognize that now you have everything you need to bring it to life. Or that maybe you need to match two or more ideas to get the winning one.

Think of it like a 2-in-1 combo: an incubator and a magic vault.

2) Brain dump journal

A brain dump journal is a natural extension to ideas journal. Here you can record everything: your thoughts, fears, emotions, reminders, reflections, notes on events or moments, observations, to-do lists, virtually anything.

The idea behind a brain dump journal is to get rid of the cognitive load – all the thoughts and tasks and worries you keep in your head – and offload them onto a piece of paper. Or a digital piece of paper, if you prefer. (Personally, I’d always advise using pen and paper because the actual physical process of “extracting” your overwhelm and anxieties is deeply therapeutic; it’s pure functional release.) Plus, when you see all these things written before your eyes, it’s much easier to sort them out.

For this very reason, a brain dump journal is my go-to journal from which I further organize my thoughts and activities into designated segments.

3) Pattern journal

This journal is dedicated to unearthing patterns from your behaviors. Instead of writing about “what” happens, you write to figure out “why” and “how” it keeps happening.

Basically, you note down certain events and behaviors that are bothering you, or that you find out of character, and dig deeper to figure out the cause-and-effect relationship behind them.

This journal requires a bit of a detective work, as it’s not enough just to establish that something happens, but rather, you must unearth all the little details and then look at the big picture to trigger pattern recognition.

Is it easy? Not really. But does it work? Absolutely.

I actually documented one of these processes in my second book, Cross-Referencing Creativity, where I follow my journey from a complete formatting ignoramus to a person who now works in several professional-grade tools, just because my partner noticed how unsettling and uncanny he felt after seeing me knitting and unraveling the same pattern for the umpteenth time – with a smile. I thought that I just had that level of patience for knitting and the shortest fuse when it came to formatting documents, but it turns out, the patience was there all the time. It was my focus that was out of place.

You see, once we acquire a certain skill, it’s ours. We own it. But we don’t own the context. And the context does not own us. We create and/or modify the context with the skills we bring to the table.

Once we extrapolate that, it’s easy to spot the pattern (or our tendency, or our habit). And from that moment on, it stops being our pattern and becomes a conscious choice. (Please use your discernment in this matter as I am not talking about deep trauma but daily life struggles.) And once we know it’s a choice, the only thing we need to do is to choose to do things differently. We cannot control our physiology, but we can control everything that happens after that.

4) Gratitude journal

The name of the gratitude journal is self-explanatory: it’s a journal where you write the things you’re grateful for. The idea is to make daily notes about the things you appreciate, or you are thankful for, from the very abstract ones, like your family, to the very specific ones, like that bus you missed so you met your friend at the station.

As humans, we are wired to lean into the negatives – issues, threats, fears. When we meet someone, we connect more easily if they are troubled than if everything is okay. In fact, more often than not, we tend to be suspicious toward the people who are all cheerful and carefree all the time.

With a gratitude journal, we train our brain to look for positives in daily life. This helps ground us in the present moment, which is beneficial to our nervous system, and eventually, pulls us out of the scarcity mindset.

One thing to note here: during our reframing exercises in PREXcoaching®, I noticed that many people struggle with finding small things that happened to them on a daily basis and often resort to humor and sarcasm just to meet the form, as in “I survived the workday.” Though funny, this is basically counterproductive as it gives your brain a signal that “the gratitude is in surviving, and that there are no good small things that happen to you.”

Which is exactly where a gratitude journal comes in handy. However, I’d strongly recommend against burdening yourself with having to find five or three good things that happened to you on a particular day. Start small – one is enough, no matter how small it may be. At the same time, do not limit yourself to only one thing. As the name suggests – this is a journal for things you’re grateful for. Find at least one, but do not limit yourself – gratitude is not limited by anything, especially not by numbers.

5) Small achievements journal

Small achievements, small wins, or small victories journal is your best friend in fighting imposter syndrome.

Due to the aforementioned negative bias we have built into our brains, this journal serves as a reminder that it’s the small wins that lead to the big ones. You didn’t graduate by chance; you got there through every single exam you passed. And you didn’t win that big deal because you got lucky; you won it with every single time you didn’t give up and when you surmounted your obstacles.

This is why a small achievements journal serves as a constant reminder of how you got to where you are, as well as a personal pep-talk for all those moments when you think something is too unattainable and you can’t make it. In other words, it’s fact-based documented evidence that you can, since you already have.

For me, most of these small achievements come in some laptop-related form, so I decided to vibe code myself a little standalone app called “I Did It,” where I note down these little wins as they come along. The app comes with a calendar and even tracks statistics. It’s trivial, but it serves its purpose, and that’s the most important thing. (Naturally, my first entry was “I did it,” right after finishing the app. LOL.)

6) One-Line-a-Day journal

Yes, it’s as clear as day – One-Line-a-Day journal is, in fact, a journal where you enter one single line, i.e., sentence about your day, every single day.

It’s perfect for those who love the idea of journaling but never know what to say. It doesn’t have to be deep; it just has to be done.

However, this journal offers other benefits than simplicity – it’s an excellent little habit builder, it’s awesome for practicing clarity, and it’s an ongoing creative exercise that can be turned into a really fun time capsule of your life.

There are many off-the-shelf journals available in physical and digital form, but you can also just start with any blank page and build as you go.

My favorite one is the “From one birthday to another” version, as it serves as a warm memory of one year in my life.

7) Today-I Learned (TIL) journal

Another WYSIWYG journal – the TIL journal focuses exactly on that – the things you have learned on a particular day.

This can be random facts, for when you want to expand your general knowledge, or it can be something specific, like mastering a certain area of expertise.

Ideally, you make entries every day, but if you don’t like the pressure of consistency, you can also make them whenever you discover a piece of information worth remembering.

I use this journal for learning idioms and sayings in different languages, like English, Croatian, and Latin together. Verba volant, scripta manent. 😉

8) Inspiration journal

The inspiration journal is similar to the TIL journal, but as the name says, it focuses on inspiration.

We usually find inspiration in quotes, sayings, or even fables, anecdotes, and short stories. We note them down to remind us about important things in life and to boost our morale when we feel stuck and lack motivation to move on.

Fun fact: this is one of my favorite journals. I’ve been keeping these probably since high school. My primary focus is on quotes, and I like these so much that each chapter of both of my books starts with an appropriate quote. This is a habit I’m planning to keep.

9) Doodle and/or art journal

For all those times where words seem too heavy or elusive, a doodle or an art journal is an excellent (and therapeutic) way to express yourself.

You can draw, scribble, map out ideas, or color random shapes. If you like intricate patterns and mindfulness, check out Zentangle. You can spend hours grounding yourself, while enjoying every single second of it.

In art journals, you can experiment with any method you like, do the things you are good at and try completely new ones. You can’t go wrong, because you never know where your creativity will take you next.

I have both doodle and art journals, although I prefer working on bigger pieces and experimenting right then and there.

It’s also worth noting that these journals not only unleash your creativity, but also help overcome your perfectionism, giving your mind a safe place to wander freely, without being afraid of making mistakes.

10) Unsent letters journal

Writing letters is an excellent coping and processing mechanism. You can write to whomever you want, be it your toxic ex, a difficult boss, a friend you lost touch with, or even to a past or future version of yourself.

Sometimes, we hold onto heavy emotions, such as anger, guilt, or grief, and sometimes, we may not even get our chance to express them. Writing unsent letters is an excellent way to lift the weight off our chest, say our piece, and have the closure we yearn for.

I used to write these and then burn them (there is something magical in watching them evaporate into thin air, but if you do this – please mind the fire!). However, these days I use voice notes to record them. Sometimes I listen to them, and sometimes, I just keep them until I’m ready to let go. Generally, I never actually listen to them because once I say what I want to say, I don’t really feel the need to go back.

And those were ten journals that can make your life easier, personally approved by yours truly.

Each of them serves a different part of my life, but all of them contribute to one higher goal: keeping me organized, grounded, and resourceful.

What about you – what’s your go-to journal?