25 Simple Ways to Use Your Journal for Self-Care

These small things I do in my journal that have changed my life for the better

Why Do You Need Self-Care in Tough Times?

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed you don’t even know how or what to do anymore? Then it’s time to do more self-care activities.

Trust me, I’ve been there and some other people too out there so you are definitely not alone on this.

And it makes sense that everything feels like falling apart after working so hard non-stop, your body and mind can’t be productive all the time. Instead of keep forcing it, it’s much better for you to take a step back and recharge.

I’m a huge believer that being aware of how you feel and acknowledge them, both for good and negative feelings, will help you a lot in life.

How to Use Your Journal for Self-Care

Here are some recommendations for some great self-care page ideas so you can insert them into your journal spreads. I personally love and use these ideas because they help me to stay sane. So whenever you feel like it, give one of this list a try.

1. Mood tracker

Mood tracker has got to be one of the journal pages that give the most impact on our lives. There are just so many positive things you’ll get by having this page.

By using a mood tracker every day you will be more aware of your own feelings and eventually will learn the patterns. So next time you feel a certain way, you’d know better on what to do or how to handle it so you still have full control over your own emotions.

2. Waterlog

I bet you know why I put this on the list as part of self-care activities. Yes! drinking enough water daily can help you feel so much better.

But since most of us tend to forget things, having a water log on your journal spread helps you stay on track and healthy at the same time.

3. Happy list

I might be too excited for this one list because… well, this happy list will make you obviously happy

So if you decide to put this on your bullet journal spread, start with some small things that make you happy.

Even if those things don’t make sense. And of course, you don’t have to put it in order or based them on category, just write down what’s on your mind when it comes to this happy list.

4. Things to do on weekends

Instead of writing down your ideas on Google Calendar about what to do for the weekends, try to put one on your journal spread.

I personally like using this page for my personal projects such as; learning how to play a new song with guitar, writing some articles that have nothing to do with my work/bullet journaling, finding ideas on Youtube for batch cooking and etc.

5. Inspirations weekly

I’d say this is a must-page for your self-care activities in the journal. Feeling inspired, even by a little thing is a huge deal especially when you have a bad day.

Either you can cut and put on different stickers on what inspires you or you can doodle a different kind of thing that helps you stay inspired throughout the week.

6. Songs Playlist

If you are on Spotify, I know it’s that easy to create an album containing all of your fav songs in one go.

But having a song playlist on your journal will give you a different feeling as it pushes you to be more creative. Also, it’s always a fun project to do in your self-care activity.

7. Favorites

This can apply to all of the things in the world that are your favorites. For example; people, food, boutiques, snacks, ice cream flavors, and many more.

I personally like to write down my favorite places to travel and because the list keeps changing every year, it’s always nice to read back and see those changes and why made me choose certain places over another.

8. Bucket list/wishlist

My bucket list can go a really long way and super random sometimes. There is no rule as to what kind of wishes you can add here.

I put this as one of the self-care activities that you can do at home because it’s important to have goals and what to look forward to in the future.

Especially when your present isn’t as good as you want it to be. It’ll give you hope.

9. Places to travel

This list can be used for a specific goal of places that you want to travel to.

So you can start off with writing down the countries’ names, when are the dates you plan to come, where to stay, and some cool spots to check out.

10. Books to read

For most people reading books can be a fun thing to do. and I’m sure you’ve seen those beautiful Books-to-read list layout ideas from other bullet journalists.

Having this page on your journal will definitely make it all organized. You actually will see how many books you’ve read this month and stay on track with your reading goals.

11. Washi tape swatches

If you are like me who likes collecting washi tapes, you definitely want to add washi tapes swatch to your journal.

Not only it’s fun to make it but also to avoid the double purchases because now you know what colors/types of washi tapes you have at home.

12. Gratitude log

I’m a huge believer that the more grateful you are, the more will you get. This applies to almost everything in life. However, it’s so easy for us to forget and take things for granted.

So having this gratitude log will remind you to sit down and remember that even on the worst days, there is still something you need to feel grateful for.

13. Brain dump

Feeling like all over the place? Then you need a Brain Dump page.

Write down everything that’s on your mind. You don’t have to put it in order. The goal here is to let it all out and finish it with a relief feeling.

14. Habit trackers

It’s easier said than done when it comes to making good new habits stick. This habit tracker page will help you stay on track and as a constant reminder that you have to push it through and show up every single day for your habits to stick.

15. Raw ideas

I like having a Raw Ideas page on my journal because you never know when will the ideas cross your mind.

Even random ideas such as meal recipe ideas. It doesn’t have to be super creative or work-related only.

16. Personal projects

How many of us wanna start a personal project but got no time to do it?

If that’s the case then the first step you need to do is adding specifically Personal Projects page on your journal.

This will help you get the idea out of your head and once you do that, it’s gonna get clearer of what actions you need to take or when are you available to do it.

17. New hobbies you’d love to try

From learning guitar, how to doodle, hand-lettering, writing a fiction novel, you name it all.

But there is only so much you can do at one time so write down all of your new hobbies that you’d love to try on your bujo spread to make it more exciting.

18. Sleep log

Getting enough sleep every night will definitely make you feel better and increase your productivity during the day.

However, if you aren’t sure how many hours do you sleep per night, then it’s time to add the sleep log to your journal.

19. Things I admire about myself

This is more like an affirmations list you have to create once in a while. I can’t stress this enough that you need this.

You need to remind yourself that you are worth it, that sounds cheesy but really, if you don’t even acknowledge all the good things about you inside and out, why would other people do that?

20. Podcasts to listen to

Believe it or now, listening to podcast daily will help you boost your confidence and it’s part of self-care activities as well.

But nowadays there are so many good shows that you can listen to, so having this list on your journal spread will help you identify better of which podcasts that can level up your overall life.

21. Movies to watch

Got too many movies to watch on the list? It’s better for you to add them to your journal before you forget. By adding the Movies to Watch list on your bujo spreads, you won’t feel overwhelmed anymore and stay organized with your movies list.

22. Back in time

This is more like reminiscing all the good old days. While thinking back about past events will bring back some negatives feelings too, it’s important to remind yourself how far you’ve gone.

It’s so easy for us sometimes to only focus on the bad things or keep pushing hard to make our dreams come true.

Meanwhile, we often forget to acknowledge those small wins that have brought us to be where we are right now.

23. New recipes to try

For those who love cooking, it’s great to have this New recipe to Try the page on your journal so that you won’t forget. Also, having this page will make you more excited about the cooking activity at home.

24. Weekly wins

Celebrate the weekly wins you got! Because the small-small wins do matter. I personally love this page to track how far I’ve gone and how will I set my new next goals.

25. Social Media detox

We’ve all been there where it’s just overwhelming being on social media. It took me quite a while to figure out how to not let it affect me too much to the point where I wasn’t present at all.

One of them is having social media detox. So before you hit a burn out or too stress out, committed to yourself that you are gonna take a social media detox.

Final Thoughts:

Keeping a journal is one of the best ways to release stress and increase your overall happiness. However, there are also things that you can experiment with along the way so you won’t get bored with the activity of journaling.

I feel so much better and happier when I’m fully charged and taking care of myself well on a daily basis. Those small lists have helped me changed the way I see self-care. I no longer feel it’s something hard to do or time-consuming.

If you feel like your day feels so heavy and overwhelming, maybe it’s time to invest those time back in yourself and write your thoughts out in a journal. Trust me, it’s always worth it.

Thank you for reading! What’s your thought on this? Let’s share :)