I love start of a new year – it’s the perfect time to try new things and establish new habits. In fact,
Healthy Moments will be focusing on habits and goals in the month of January. With this focus, I’ve decided to start a journal. This journal will be my place for storing memories, goals, health updates, and so much more. I’m a big believer that health is more than nutrition and fitness. Health is about the whole person – inside and out. And this journal will encompass that. Today, I’m going to give you a peek at my journal and how I intend to use it during 2016.
When you’re a writer, you accumulate a lot of journals. I used to have a major problem with buying journals simply because they were pretty. Often times, they sat on a shelf and collected dust because I didn’t have a true “use” for them other than for their eye appeal. I’ve slowly been working towards downsizing things that don’t have a purpose and many of my journals have fallen into that category and we’ve parted ways. So, when I saw that one of my Christmas gifts was a brand new journal, I had an internal battle of how I could use it. I didn’t want to see it meet the same fate.
I was browsing Healthy Moments earlier this week when the idea of creating a health journal came to me. I immediately jumped on fleshing out the idea and thus my new journal suddenly found a purpose. I didn’t really like the term “health” though because I want this journal to be about more than just health – I want it to be an expression of love for myself. That being said, I’m stealing inspiration from Raewyn at
Be a Warrior Queen and calling this a self-love journal. Yes, I’ll be tracking my health goals and progress along the way but I’ll also be including things I love and that make me happy. In essence, this will be my safe and happy spot in an otherwise chaotic world.
I plan to make this journal a unique combination of writing, decorating, and scrapbooking. Below, you’ll find a list of things I intend to include in the journal and why I’ve chosen to include them. I’ve also shared ideas of how to be more creative with the ideas to make your own creative outlet in the shape of a journal.
Quotes – I love quotes – they help me find guidance and motivation in times of need. I plan to include as many quotes as possible in the journal. Some may be print outs of favorite graphics I find while others will simply be handwritten onto a page.
Pictures – These will be used sparingly but I do intend to include pictures of things that happen throughout the year. I want to be able to use the journal to look back on 2016.
Stickers – I have a massive sticker collection that never gets used. I love picking them up when I find them cheap at the stores. I figured these will be a few way to add a whimsical nature to the journal. I also intend to use my own creations for tracking and motivation. (You can snag a copy of these health update stickers by joining
Healthy Moments. It’s completely free and I often share free printables in the group. Stickers are a new addition!)
Doodles – Doodling relaxes me and keeps me busy in times of boredom. I used to doodle in all of my classes in high school – I found that it kept me from getting super distracted because I could listen while I doodled.
Stories & Poems – I love to write so I’m giving myself permission to add relevant writings to the journal when I want to.
Scraps – Scraps could be anything from a swatch that I enjoy to a cut out from a magazine. I’m hoping this will cut down on the clutter as well since I’ll have a spot to store interesting finds.
Color – There will be a lot of color in this journal. My extensive collection of markers and colorful pens will be put to full use when writing in this journal. After all, it’s meant to be fun – not burdensome.
Since this journal’s primary focus is on health, I will be using the first page as a stats tracker. I haven’t quite figured out which stats I want to track or how often so I’ve left it blank for now but come January 1, I’ll have it set up and ready to fill in!
I started working on the page for January 1 because I wanted to have an example for the blog post. This page is no where near complete. I simply wanted to give you an example. I’ll be sharing future updates and pages from my journal on Instagram so make sure you’re following to see the creativity unfold throughout the year!
I’ve tried to journal in the past and I tend to fall away from it because I get bored. This journal and the creative aspect has me excited though – there’s too many possibilities. I don’t think there’s a way to get bored with all of the possibilities. And don’t forget – you can get the stickers for free by joining Healthy Moments (which is free to join)!
Do you keep a journal? Have you ever considered starting one?
