My 2022 Journal Lineup
A couple of weeks ago, I posted an article about the (admittedly many) planners I will be using this year. Even though I thought I’d be paring down my journal stack this year, I have a lineup that seems to make last year’s pale by comparison.
As I did with planners last year, I also wrote about my journal stack for 2021 in this article. In that article, I explain why and how I use multiple journals. So, if you’d like more information on the process of keeping up with multiple journals, be sure to check out that article.
Planning is an important part of how I manage my time and keep up with my obligations and goals. However, journaling has become just as important. I’ve also found that there are more ways to journal than just keeping a daily diary.
Journaling is more than a means of processing my life and current circumstances. I have found it to be a wonderful form of expression and creativity. I also have been using my journals to explore my thoughts about life and my faith.
This year, my plan is to remain flexible with my journals. Some, I will use for writing (daily or occasionally), as I have been for years now. Those will allow me to engage in reflection on my current life, listing out reasons to be grateful and monitoring my mental health. Other journals will be used for pure expression- mostly through art and also with words.
Below are all of the journals I’m using this year and a brief description of how I plan to use them. If I have written about them previously, I’ll note that in the description and provide a link to the article so you can get a more detailed account of how I use that particular planner.
I will also include links to the websites where I purchased a particular planner or planner supply (if it’s one where I know the source). Please note that I am not affiliated with any of the companies I have linked. I’m just a happy customer.
I hope this will help folks see the possibilities of using various journals as well as the different ways any notebook or sketchbook can be used. I’ve categorized the planners in two basic categories- ones in which I will use primarily for writing and the other for creativity.
Table of Contents
My Journal Lineup for 2022
Journals for Writing
Morning Journal- A5 Stalogy 365 Notebook. I have written about morning journaling in this past article. It is a wonderful practice that helps me get my day started with focus, gratitude, and some planning. Since I wrote my last morning journaling article, I have changed the way I use these daily pages. I now start my page with a very short reflection paragraph that lets me unload some of my feelings and anxieties about the day. I then list out at least 5 things I’m grateful for. I script out how I plan to spend my time that way, and then end with my to do list, which I categorize and prioritize before migrating the list into my daily planner. I love the A5 Stalogy notebook, which you can find at Amazon.com along with a gorgeous cover like this one (#Ads below).
The Happy Planner, Abstract Watercolor Recovery Edition: Mental Health Journal. As I noted in my last article, this the planner I am using to both track mental health (it has a mood tracker), schedule therapy appointments, and journal in. For journaling, I find that the daily planning slots in the dashboard layout are just perfect for jotting down a few thoughts for the day. For more details about this planner, see my review here. If you’re curious about the many ways you can put this planner to use, please check out this article. If you’re interested in purchasing this planner, you can find it on Amazon (#Ad below). I’m keeping this book in a cover I purchased from MJs Kraze. Check out her store here. (LINK)
2022 Walk By Faith Skinny Classic Faith Happy Planner: Gratitude Journal. As I noted in my past post, I decided to try a more simple layout for my faith planning and gratitude journaling in this skinny classic Happy Planner. While I use my morning journal to write out a gratitude list, I also end my day with listing out as many gratitudes as I can (see this article for reasons why I write out my gratitudes twice a day). I love that this faith planner’s layout has space for writing each day and a notes section. The notes section is where I will be writing out my church’s suggested psalm verse for the week. Also, as noted last month, I purchased a cover for it from MJs Kraze, which allows me to store pens and other journaling supplies.
Write the Word, Psalms Paperback Set by Cultivate what Matters. I have written extensively about my love of Cultivate What Matters PowerSheets Planners (click here for a review of the 2022 edition). However, the CWM Write the Word journals are just as amazing for those of us wishing to do a deep dive into Christian scripture. Last year, I purchased this gorgeous set of Write the Word: Psalms journals and was thrilled to learn that my church was going to focus on a study of the psalms this year. I have started the year with a daily psalms study and am excited to keep it up this year using these beautiful books! (As of the publication of this article, the set is on sale and meets the price point for free shipping!) To learn more about how these guided journals are structured, check out this article.
Happy Planner Zodiak Mini Notebook- sermon notes journal. Since I no longer am using a single faith planner to hold my church planning, gratitude lists, and sermon notes, I knew I needed a separate book for this purpose. I take sermon notes to stay focused during church (what can I say? I have an easily distracted mind). This little notebook is perfect and the pages fit in my bible carrier. I also have an MJs Kraze cover, which happens to match the one for my faith planner. The pages are simple lined note pages, and since this is an arc-disc binding system, I can easily remove pages to write on them and place them back in.
Standard Traveler’s Notebook System. I’ve featured this notebook before and use it for creative journaling (where I decorate a page and write about what inspired it). I have written about creative journaling here along with the products I use for this type of journaling. There are lots of supplies you can find for this type of journaling. I like using a standard sized traveler’s notebook cover (#Ad) and a variety of inserts, including those made of Tomoe River Paper (which stands up well to dry and wet media) (#Ad below) and ones with colored paper like those sold by Paper Penguin Co. I also enjoy using inserts from JM Planning Essentials. For more on using Travelers’ Notebooks for creative journaling, check out this article.
A5 Traveler’s Notebook System. Because you can’t have enough notebooks, right? So, while I will be using my Happy Planner Recovery Edition to keep up with a little mental health journaling and planning, I use a separate notebook system to reflect on what my therapy and mental health sessions reveal. For that, I use A5 Traveler’s Notebooks from Paper Penguin Co, which I reviewed in this post last year. The cover is another from MJs Kraze, and it matches the one I currently have on my HP Recovery Planner.
Hallmark Marjolein Bastin Hardback Slim Journal. This is one I received as a gift from my daughter. I will be using this little book to list out and brainstorm creative projects I’d like to tackle this year – a sort of creative project bucket list book. I find that I have lots of ideas for creative journaling and art pages, but I now have a place to write them down so I’m more likely to follow through in making them. This is a wonderfully sturdy little notebook and the magnetic closures allows me to clip a pen on it.
Hallmark Mickey Mouse Faux Letter Notebook. This beautiful little book is an old Hallmark product (no longer in print, from what I can tell) and also a gift from my daughter. I’ve been using it for years to chronicle our travels. It has cream-colored pages and is lined, but the paper is sturdy enough for pasting in paper mementos and some dry-media artwork. To learn more about how I use this notebook for travel journaling, check out this article on creative journaling.
My Homemade Vintage Watercolor Collage Journal. This is a journal I made myself last year. (For a step-by-step how to on making this journal, check out this article). It started out as a book to experiment with watercolor backgrounds overlayed with collaged designs. While it was purely an art medium last year, I plan to use the backs of the pages I created (which are currently blank) for journaling. Each page has a sentiment that I thought might make for a good journaling prompt. Since the book consists of watercolor paper, it should hold up well to fountain and dip pen inks, which I’m excited to try out in it.
Journals for Creative Expression
JM Planning Essentials Mini Notebook. Last year I purchased a surprise box from JM Planning Essentials, which came with lots of fun items, including this adorable mini notebook with blank paper in a black and white cover. It is the same paper quality as the traveler’s notebooks and the A5 mentioned above, but in much smaller form. Now that I finished with my watercolor collage notebook, I thought it would be fun to try collaging on a smaller scale. As of the publication of this article, these little books are now on sale at the JMPE website and are a steal!
JM Planning Essentials A5 Dot Grid Notebook. I featured this notebook last year and made good on my promise to use it for a mixed media journal. I collaged the front of the journal (for instructions on how to customize the cover, click here) and took the collage theme into the journal itself. I am not even halfway through this journal, but with all the media I put in it (paint, paper embellishment, collage, etc.), it has become a really chunky book. I’m excited to keep experimenting in this book with more media this year. I will also add that the key to making the pages in this book (nice, thick 100# Mohawk paper) stand up to the mixed media elements I use is by priming the pages with Gesso. I like a nice white Gesso to cover up the dot grid layout when I don’t want to see it. Here is the one I use to prep all of my pages in this journal. (#Ad).
Primrosia Dot Grid A5 Notebook. This is a gift I received and was on my Amazon wish list. I still have so much experimenting I want to do with both watercolor and gouache, and I feel like this little book with be the perfect space for it. A lot of people use these dot grid notebooks for bullet journaling, but with160 gsm watercolor paper, I know it will stand up to the paints I plan to use in it. There are several cover styles (and one in all black paper), but the one featured here still available for purchase on Amazon (#Ad).
Premade “Vintage Junk Journal.” This is another book I received as a gift. So, it technically is not a real junk journal, as a junk journal is made with items that would otherwise be discarded. However, a lot of the pages in this book are pre-printed with vintage designs. What I like about it is that each of those designs are a great source of inspiration for further decorating with any of the papers and embellishments that came with the book or other items you might have in your stash such as paper emphera, stamps, and washi tape. I’m excited to see where these pages take me. I’m also hoping to do some lettering in this book and write out some favorite quotes in it. This is another one off of Amazon. (#Ad).
I know, I know. I have a problem. 😊 There isn’t a planner or journal I haven’t liked. But, when it comes to journaling, I truly don’t think you can limit the number of ways you can express yourself through paper. How many journals will you be using this year? Are you journaling solely through writing, or will you have a creative journal as well? Leave a comment below and share your plan!
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**Image credits-images on graphics and photos of individual planners are originals by Vidalia Patterson. See individual, stylized photos for credits, above.
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