Writing your way to a happier life
Help boost your mood through self-awareness exercises with these self-care saviours, says Liz Connor
THERE’S no better way to kick off a new year than cracking the spine on a fresh diary, but today’s breed of mindful planners do far more than remind you of your next Zoom meeting.
During these trying times, it’s important to make sure you’re keeping an eye on your mental health, and wellness journals can help us to check-in with our mood, as well as work towards personal milestones and goals.
From building a regular gratitude practice to tracking your healthy habits, start 2021 on the right foot with one of these essential desk mates.
1. Joy Wellness Journal £21.24 (was £25), papier. com
This planner has 12 weeks of daily pages for setting intentions, tracking your good habits (like sleep and exercise), planning your self-care activities and reflecting on things you’re thankful for at the end of the day.
There are also helpful areas for setting feel-good goals and creating wish lists, and we really like the regular reflection pages, that allow you to celebrate all the things that went right during the month.
2. Diary Planner £30, lethallyher.com
Community-focused brand Lethally Her aims to “inspire female artists and creators to attain their highest levels of badassery” and its diary planner offers a holistic approach to personal and professional development — ditching ‘hustle culture’ and prioritising mental, physical and financial wellness instead.
The planner helps you break down long-term goals and projects into manageable and actionable steps, through the use of cleverly designed spreads with sweet illustrations from female artists.
Sprinkled throughout, you’ll also find exercises designed for unblocking creativity and budgeting tools so you can save for the things that really matter.
3. The Journal £29.95, mindjournals.com
The Journal is a great tool for guys to build a more positive mindset this year.
Grounded in positive psychology, there are guided exercises to help you set key intentions for the year, as well as reflect on the things that you feel are missing in your life.
We really like the questionnaire pages that help you to track your moods, so you can note trends in how you’re feeling and get to the bottom of what might be causing low periods.
There are also handy areas of the planner where you’re prompted to simply brain dump everything that’s on your mind.
4. Year long daily gratitude journal by the green gables £9.95, notonthehighstreet.com
If you’re looking for a budget-friendly option, you can’t go wrong with this fuss-free planner.
Not everyone can just freewrite their thoughts, so it’s handy that this 52-page notebook has prompts for counting your blessings — whether that’s the hot cup of coffee you had in the morning or finishing an important task on your to do list.
On each page, there’s space for you to write a week’s worth of gratitudes with seven ‘Today I am thankful for...’ sections and space to jot down what you appreciated the most at the end of the week.