Journaling ideas for adults
Keeping a journaling habit going, or picking it up again whenever you like
Contents
If your journal has a gap in the middle, you’re in very good company. Plenty of journals do. A busy fortnight, a holiday, a spell of not feeling like it, and suddenly the notebook is under the post and opening it feels a bit like bumping into someone you haven’t phoned in ages.
Here’s a lovely secret: that someone is delighted to see you. The page isn’t keeping score, and it will take whatever you bring, whether that’s a line, a doodle or three pages about the cat. A journal with holes in it is still a journal, and plenty of people like the gaps, because they show a real life being lived in between.
What follows is a handful of ideas that some people find make the writing feel easier and more fun. Think of them as a tea-and-biscuits menu: have a nibble of whatever looks good, ignore the rest, and make up your own.
A tiny entry is a proper entry
Some people love a full page. Others love two lines. Both are completely real. If an evening feels too tired for a page, the date and a single sentence about your last hour make a smashing entry: “Rained. Ate toast standing up. Found the other glove.”
You might enjoy keeping a few small formats up your sleeve for sleepy days. A ten-word entry. A list of three things you saw. A doodle with a caption. A tick next to the date, just to say you were here. Then, if you’re in the mood for more, carry on for as long as the writing’s fun.
Hang it on something you already enjoy
Some people find it easy to tuck journaling beside something that already happens in their day: the kettle coming to the boil, the first coffee at the desk, sitting down on the train, brushing teeth, the quiet minute after the kids have gone to bed. Others prefer to be spontaneous and write whenever a thought turns up, and that works beautifully too.
If you like the idea of a pairing, you could finish the sentence “I might write while ______” and see what comes to mind. Pencil it inside the cover if you fancy a little reminder.
Make it easy to say hello
There’s a cosy trick that some people love. They leave the notebook open on the kitchen counter with the pen lying across it, so that saying hello takes one second. Others keep it on the arm of the sofa, in a handbag, on the bedside table, or pinned to the top of a notes app. If the notebook lives in a pretty bag with a bookmark and a favourite pen, that’s lovely as well. Whatever puts the journal where your hand naturally lands is a good spot.
Welcome-back pages
Many journals have a pause at some point, and there are plenty of kind ways to meet it. Some people simply write today’s date and carry on as if nothing happened, because the notebook doesn’t mind. Some like to add a little note: “Back after a busy few weeks,” or a tiny doodle of a sun coming out. Some love a big catch-up, a rambling page about everything that’s happened since last time, which can be a joy to read years later. Some keep a small symbol for skipped days, like a dash or a little cloud, so the gaps look like part of the story.
Some people turn over a new page, or even a new notebook, every time they return. Some people find the old page is just fine, thank you. You get to pick whichever feels more welcoming.
A question to carry around
For many people the hardest bit isn’t the writing, it’s choosing what to write about. A question can be a friendly shortcut. Perhaps you pick one on a Sunday and let it follow you around for the week. A few that people like:
- What did I notice today that I’d normally walk past?
- Who did I talk to, and what did they say?
- What was the plainest part of today?
- What’s one thing I did that I’d happily do again?
Sticking with the same question for several days has a charming side effect. You may find yourself half-looking for the answer as you go about your day, which means a little something is waiting when you sit down. Others prefer a fresh question each time, or a different one for every mood. A jar of folded questions on the shelf is a fun way to choose, if you like a bit of luck.
A little look back
Some people enjoy turning back through the pages now and then, perhaps on a quiet Sunday with a biscuit. It can be fun to find a line you’d forgotten, or to see how a small worry from last month looks now. Some people underline favourites in pencil, copy their best lines onto the last page, or add a doodle in the margin. Others never reread, and they simply like the feeling of the writing itself. Both are lovely.
A gentle week to play with
If you’d like a loose plan for returning, here’s one idea, entirely optional and changeable at any point.
- Sunday: pick a spot for the notebook and, if you fancy it, a question for the week. Open it to a clean page.
- Monday to Saturday: write a date and whatever feels right. A sentence, a list, a rant, a doodle, a pasted receipt.
- A day slips by: that’s absolutely fine. Write the new date and carry on, or give yourself a big comfy catch-up, whichever you like.
- Next Sunday: have a leaf through the week, and decide whether you’d like the same plan again, a different one or no plan at all.
If the time of day isn’t working
Sometimes a habit isn’t fading at all, it’s just in a slot that doesn’t suit. If evenings leave you nodding off over the page, you could try a line with your morning tea. If mornings are a whirlwind, lunchtime or the first ten minutes after getting home might feel kinder. You can swap slots as often as you like and see what feels right this month.
And if you stop altogether?
Then the notebook will wait for you, as patient as a cat on a windowsill. Some people take a few weeks off, some take a year, and some find they like journaling in seasons: long entries in the winter, scribbles in the summer. Whenever you come back, the first line can be as simple as today’s date.
If you’d like questions on the page
Some people love having the questions already printed in the book, so there’s nothing to decide at all. If that sounds like you, our gratitude journal Small Moments is made like that. It’s an undated paperback with 96 guided entries across eight chapters, a reflection page at the end of each chapter and a set of activities, so a missed week never leaves a row of empty dated boxes. You can open it on any day and skip about as you please. A plain notebook and a few of the ideas above are every bit as welcome.
A journal is a writing hobby, not a treatment. Nothing here is health advice.