A Complete Beginner's Guide To Journaling

Journaling is on the rise, which I think is absolutely wonderful. There are so many reasons to start journaling (today!) and one of the best things about it is you dont need to pour extravagant amounts of money and time into it: all you need is a couple of pounds and ten minutes a day. Throughout this article, I will explain why, how, and what you need to journal as well as explaining some fun techniques, prompts and building a journaling 'system' (spoiler alert - you dont really need one!). This is my first post, and I really hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it ♥

Journaling is the process of putting your thoughts onto paper. It is that simple.

A journal is a portal, a mirror, a companion. It functions as a reflection of your soul at a particular period of time, containing memories, musings, feelings and records. It is also a tool for organising your thoughts. The reasons to start journaling are seemingly endless. One of the main reasons I journal is to process my thoughts and feelings; I can put them down to paper, think them through and come out with new insights into what decisions I should make. Writing down my feelings helps me organise them and truly know what I want. I also journal to be creative - my journal contains poetry, doodles, stories, scrapbooking, and all sorts of other things that keep my creative juices flowing in a super accessible, on-the-go and freeing way. Having old journals to look back on and see the beautiful memories you have preserved, and how much you have grown, is also such a blessing. I could go on and on!

I started journaling around three years ago. It was a very simple process, and very similar to how i journal today. I kept my notebook on me at all times, and filled it with my thoughts, poetry, diary entries, and doodles. Sharing my thoughts and feelings with people eas difficult for me then, so my journal was my confidante. I told it all my secrets and consistently recorded my feelings. Me and my journaling style have grown together - I have started junk journaling and I write in more of a diary style now, but what I do is fundamentally very similar. I have my journal to thank for the emmense amounts of growth and learning I have experinced over the last few years, honestly. My first journal was started when I was nine, and I am now thirteen - these are stressful years, and if you are my age or younger I recomend journaling even moreso as it is important to have something safe to confide in! Now I am on my ninth journal (maybe I'm a bit TOO consistent) and I cant imagine my life without it. It is my best friend, creative hub and time capsule all in one.

Really not that much! That is the joy of journaling - it is super easy, accessible and can be whatever you want it to be. Here are the essentials:

• A notebook - pick a notebook that works for YOU! If you want to go with a £1 spiral bound jotter, please do. If you think you would enjoy journaling more in a gorgeous leather folio embossed with gold, great! It's up to you. Make sure you pick a journal you love, so you feel motivated to write in it - the next section of this guide helps you with this. I dont splurge on notebooks. My current journal was given to my dad for free at a confrence. It has lined pages, but I think my next journal will be plain or dotted, for more freedom. I also look for a band to keep it shut (my journals get THICK) and a pen loop, so everything I need is in one place. A pocket in the back is also great, but it is super easy to make one yourself.
• Your writing utensil of choice - nothing to be fussy over, but a good pen does feel like luxury. My go-to pen for journaling is a Zebra ZGrip smooth - they write smoothly, dont smudge (finding lovely juicy pens that dont smudge is difficult as a leftie!), are affordable and last ages.
• A glue stick - this isn't really essential, but it is to many people. I use a classic pritt stick for sticking ephemera, scrapbook goodies and other lovely things into my journal.

there are also plenty of things that you don't need at all, but are super fun for making your journal more fun and colourful, especially if you like junk journaling and creating visually in your journal. these include:

• Stickers! Totally not an essential, but super fun and bring a whole new vibe to your diary entries, junk journal spreads and more. I love using my sticker stash to make my journal more DAISY.
• Washi tapes. These bring so much colour and fun to your journal pages. I love using pretty tapes to border poems and lists, as well as using them to stick in photos and ephemera for a bit of extra personality.
• Scrapbook papers/scrapbook paper pads. I ADORE using these as backgrounds in my junk journal spreads and using them to add extra whimsy to my pages. They look great with a photo glued on top of them, so it looks like a frame, too.
• Scrapbooking books, envelopes, postcards, paper photo frames, ink stamps, the list goes on!

To me, making my journal my journal and not just a notebook is super important. I also find it really helpful for motivating me to write. To customise my notebook, I put stickers on the cover, glue a photo of me in the front, add an envelope to the back and fill it with fun things. Don't be afraid of wrecking it a bit - it is your journal, and it is supposed to be personal, not perfect. Make sure it feels like YOU, not me, your friend or someone on the internet.

Starting your journal is often the hardest bit! You will want to make the first page perfect, and that is okay. However, my advice is try to let go of perfectionism as much as possible, as it will hold you back from putting your personality and authenticity onto the page. I reccomend on the very first page, write your name and a way of getting it back to you in case your journal gets lost (your phone number or email adress is best), abnd a photo if you want. Then, decorate it!. doodle, add stickers, glue in junk. The aim is to break the seal and make it as YOU as possible, not perfection. My first few pages always include a little 'about me' and a check in with myself: how you are feeling about your life, work/school, your relationships, your goals, where you are right now. Starting a new journal is such a nice ritual! How you do it is up to you.

My journaling system is incredibly simple: I have my 'home' journal, which I do basically everything in, and a little A6 notebook for to-dolists. That is it. In the past, I have experimented with multiple journals - at one point in time i had four, including a seperate bullet journal, diary and junk journal. However, I am more consistent, organised and get more enjoyment out of one notebook that feels perfectly me. If you want a bigger journaling system, or want to use a travelers notebook with different inserts for different purposes, go ahead! But for beginners and people who stress easily (like me) I definetly reccomend one journal where anything goes. If you are going to use multiple journals, some I think are great are a pocket notebook for capturing things you hear and see out and about, a journal for collecting information on your subject (I am thinking of getting a notebook to record facts, notes and information on astrophysics, to keep my curiosity flowing and remember interesting concepts), gratitude journaling and a notebook to track your health,symptoms and cycles.

junk journaling

This is more of a style of journaling than a technique or prompt, but I highly reccomend it. It is such a beautiful way to preserve memories and create art, and there are NO rules. Junk journaling is as simple as collecting things fromm your daily life (tea packaging, recipts, tags, and buisness cards frequently appear in my junk journal pages) and sticking them onto a page. There is plenty more information and inspiration online.

Page-a-day travel journalling

Credits to Martina Calvi for this technique! This is what I am currently doing as a low-pressure way to document my trip to Wales. The basic principle is a page a day, any way - simply fill one page with junk, doodles, records from your trip, thoughts and feelings, whatever you want!

Monthly focus

I love this super simple prompt. Each month (you could also do this for each week or year) think of a focus - mine for November is 'be unapologetically myself. Then, every day/week/time you journal check in with yourself on this focus - how has it appeared through your day? How can you encorporate it tomorrow? What does it mean to you?

Letters I didn't send

This is a great way to proccess difficulties in your relationships, and also reflect on your own growth. It is as simple as writing a letter to someone in your life, or past or future (mark it with a date to open it on) you, saying everything you want to say without judgement or embarrasment.

Little collections

Set aside a page or two in your journal for collecting tea tags, fruit stickers, or something else you always find!

Morning musings

I love doing this whenever I wake up a bit earlier (which is when my alarm goes off for me) and have time to write. I take a couple of pages in my journal to reflect in the early morning stillness,writing about the state of my mind before it is filled with the stresses of the day, the world around me and what feelings have cropped up a lot recently.

A love letter to

This one is so creative and sweet! Think of something that means a lot to you - it can be a place, food, hobby, object or whatever you like - and write a love letter to it. This really gets me creative juices flowing.

These are just a few ways you can journal - there are many, many, more. Don't put pressure on yourself to only create beautiful, specific pages though. Mine is 75% me rambling about the events of my day and dumping my feelings onto the page.

Taking whatever moment you can to journal is perfectly fine, and neccessary to a lot of people. However, I absolutely adore and totally reccomend making a beautiful little moment to journal in. The perfect formula for this is drink + snack + place + supplies + music. To me, a lovely journaling ritual is sitting on my bed, nice and warm (or somewhere with a lovely view on holiday!), with tea in my favourite tea set and my current favourite snack (dates with peanut butter is my current hyperfixation), my favourite stickers and pens at the ready, and a Lana del Rey album playing in the background. I am much calmer and happier in these moments, so it is easier for me to reflect properly and create something beautiful. I also reccomend taking yourself out to the park. or your favourite bench, cafe or library to journal. Something about getting out and people watching makes you feel more creative and motivated, because it is a great way to romanticise youir life!

I hope you have enjoyed this guide, and it has inspired you to start your own journaling journey! It can be truly life-changing. Thankyou so much for readig my first post - keep an eye on my site for my next one.
D xx