There are so many types of journals. If you have decided to keep a journal and write about specific topics, you only need to decide what type of journal you would like to write in.
A few basic questions to ask yourself before getting started are:
What are your interests?
What is your goal in journaling?
Do you want to keep a record of your life or capture your memories?
Do you want to set your goals or measure your successes?
When it comes to the types of journals, the possibilities are endless. Here are just a few types of journals you may consider:
Daily Journal
The daily journal is the most traditional type of journal. This is the journal you would use daily. A daily journal is where you write whatever comes to mind. It can be about your day, or about your plans and ideas. You can write about your thoughts and feelings. What makes you happy? What makes you feel anxious? Using a daily journal can help you work through certain thought patterns and helps to clear your mind. If you are not sure what you will end up writing about, a regular daily journal is the one for you.
Art Journal
For something more creative, you may choose to start with an art journal. Instead of just writing down your thoughts you can use an art journal to draw or sketch, doodle, or paint. If you want to try an art journal you will want to use a sketchbook or a book specifically designed for art journaling, since these have paper that can handle different art mediums like colored pencils, paints, watercolors, chalk, and more. An art journal can be fun, and it can open your mind to all kinds of ideas.
Food Journal
When you think of a food journal you may think of all kinds of things associated with writing in one or different reasons to keep one. A food journal can be a useful tool in helping you in many areas of your life. For a few ideas, you can visit the food journal post. There are several good reasons to keep a food journal and you may come up with more reasons to keep one than I did. Everyone is different and we all have specific needs.
Weight Loss Journal
Many people struggle every day with their health or weight loss goals. I have found it useful to keep a weight loss journal and thought I would share a few ideas for how you can use a weight loss journal of your own. See the weight loss journal post and add to those ideas based on your individual needs.
Exercise Journal
I think exercise is probably one of the hardest things to turn into a habit. We are all busy and we each need to make time to exercise. Keeping up with an exercise journal can help you stay motivated or help you stay in tune with what you are trying to accomplish.
Travel Journal
Travel journals can be a fun type of journal to keep depending on how often you travel and where you go. Your travel journal can be a combination of writing about where you have gone and what you did with that of a scrapbook with a few photos. See the travel journal
post for more ideas.
Business or Marketing Journal
If you own a business, you may be looking for a way to keep up with all the ideas you have associated with your business. You may have goals or marketing strategies you would like to implement and need a way to do so. In my business or marketing journal post, I share a few ideas that may be helpful for you and your business. (Coming soon).
Journaling your Hobbies
Everyone has a hobby. There are so many hobbies to get involved in. What do you enjoy doing? Do you like to crochet, knit, sew, or do other crafts? Do you enjoy gardening? Do you enjoy golfing or fishing? Camping? Photography? Woodworking or ceramics? Keeping a journal related to your specific hobby can help you organize or plan. See my post about journaling your hobbies for more ideas.
Goal Planning Journals
Do you enjoy setting goals and working to accomplish them? Do you write down your goals? Having a journal that is specifically set aside to keep up with your goals and your progress is a particularly useful tool.
Goal planning journals help you focus on your goals and stick to them through a series of prompts and checklists. The trick to these journals is the variety available. The journals are themed to different goals such as career, church, children, weight loss, or blogs. Depending on the journal theme, you may have a checklist with a small writing area or prompts giving you tasks to complete and thoughts regarding those tasks.
The journaling your goals series will give you a few more ideas that you may not have thought of. Start with “How Journaling Can Help You Achieve Your Goals.”
Gratitude Journal
A gratitude journal can be a relaxing way to write about all those things you are so grateful for. A gratitude journal does not have to be pages and pages of writing but can be a way to jot down a few things each day that you are thankful for. It could be that you are thankful for a nice day, a family member you love, or a friend you have not seen for a while. There are many things to be grateful for and keeping a journal is a good way to keep up with and look back on those things.
Read “Why You Should Start a Gratitude Journal” and “How to Keep a Gratitude Journal.”
Financial Journal
You may not have thought of a journal in financial terms but you can keep a financial journal to help keep up with your financial goals, your strategies for paying off debt, your financial plans for the present, and the future. For more about a Financial Journal see “Journal Your Way to a Healthy Financial Plan.”
Blogging Journal
The blogging journal is one of my favorites. When I started building my websites, I needed a way to keep up with ideas and a place to write my posts. This type of journal may not appeal to everyone, but for those who love blogging and want a way to keep your posts organized, the blogging journal works out great.
Reading Journal
I love to read. I read a lot of different types of books. Last year I decided that when I read a self-improvement book or any other type of book that is has a lot of information that I want to look back on later, I will take notes so I started a reading journal. For each book, I read I take notes or summarize points the author has made so that I can save them. Keeping a reading journal has been helpful because I can go back to the journal and read a summary of something that I want to use instead of having to flip back through the whole book to find it.
Worry or Faith Journal
Worry journals are popular. People use worry journals to write down the things they are worried about. I have read that when you write down things you are worried about that this gets it off your mind and you can go on about your day. I personally would rather call the worry journal a “faith” journal because I would rather focus on the things that can be changed and I know the changer. Instead of focusing on things we cannot change or do anything about we can write those things down and have the faith that those things will work out.
If you are interested in keeping a worry journal here are a few more posts about them.
Devotional Journals
Devotional journals are one of the most popular selling journals. Keep in mind, these are not themed for a specific religion or spiritual practice. The niche group of devotional journals are available for nearly every religion and offer a similar set-up across the board. You will find a scripture, passage, or quote and then given the space to write about your thoughts related to the daily thought or passage. This can help you work through your spiritual issues or attain spiritual and religious goals you may have.
Bible Study Journal 
A bible study journal can be used in many ways. This journal will be another one that will be extremely specific to the individual who is keeping one. When we read the word and want to summarize or take notes regarding what we have read, a bible study journal can be a great tool to use.
Prayer Journal
Much like the “faith” journal, the prayer journal is one that is helpful to keep up with your prayer time, your prayer requests, your answered prayers, and other things that may come to mind when you think about what a prayer journal can be.
For more on a prayer journal, you can visit here.
Victory Journal
Along the same line as a Bible Study Journal or a Prayer Journal, you may also think about keeping a victory journal. A victory journal can be combined with the prayer journal or faith journal and be a place where you can write down things like the trials you go through, the temptations you worked through, or the hard times you experienced. So many people suffer and experience hard times. It can be hard sometimes to get through those times but when you get through them and you are on the other side you feel the excitement and relieved. You feel victorious! Start a victory journal today and write about a hard time you went through and what you experienced and how you got through it. Next time you are experiencing a rough patch in life, pull out that victory journal and read through it. You will see that you were strong then and can be again.
Bullet Journal
Bullet journals are the sandbox of journaling. You can use these with calendars, lists, bullet lists, and task lists. A bullet journal is all open for you to create and use different methods to arrive at your short-term and long-term goals. One of the things to consider with these journals is how to note your bullet lists. You can use different symbols for different tasks and each month you move the tasks you did not complete over, leave off tasks you no longer are interested in or move tasks in priority.
To learn more about bullet journaling, read the article “What is Bullet Journaling.” I’ll post more on bullet journaling soon!
Personal Journals
There are personal journals such as baby journals, pet journals, scrapbooking journals, cooking journals, lifestyle journals, mental health journals, mindfulness journal, and happiness journals. The list goes on and on. There are literally hundreds of types of journals and I have only touched the surface here.
The type of journal you decide to start will be specific to you and your personality and the types of writing you want to do. There is no written rule that you must have only one type of journal. I personally have several that I write in for different areas of my life. I like to be able to organize my thoughts and find that a journal helps.
Just think of what your journaling goals are and begin the search for the right journal for you. There is one out there for nearly every goal and every level of journaling.
If you are new to journaling and need a few pointers for how to get started, visit “How to Start Journaling for Beginners.”
Happy Journaling!
Pamela
