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Have you ever thought of journaling? I'm sure that you're heard the saying "It can help when you write it down." My parents used to tell me to make a list of pros and cons when making a decision or to write about my feelings when I was having a hard time figuring something out. Even before I figured out they really DO know more than I do, I DID know they were right on that one.
When you begin journaling it will likely occur to you that having more than one type of journal might be the best way to keep everything organized better. When you have more than one type of journal, you can simply go to the specific journal to work on one issue at a time or keep something organized so you can make better decisions. Here are ten types of journals and what they can be used for.
1. Bullet Journals - This type of journal is useful for anyone who has lots of to-do lists, loves using a pen and paper, and who enjoys goal tracking. Your journal should have a table of contents that you create as you add to the journal so you can find things. You'll use symbols, colors, and lines to make your bullet journal. You should be able to understand at a glance what's on the page. Many people are now using a form of bullet journaling as their daily planner.
2. Vision Journals- You may have heard of vision boards and this is essentially it, except it's a journal that helps lead you to your vision. The way it works is that you set up the journal to have only one goal per page. Then you can write words, add pictures, or draw something that enables you to make plans to reach that goal. When you do reach the goal, be sure to go back and add the date of achievement.
3. Line a Day Journals- Basically this journal is what it's called and you write down only one line a day. You will simply write in the journal a short line about what you did that day. It should be only a sentence or two at the most, and should not take up that much space in your journal. Some people like using a calendar and a pen for this.
4. Classic Journal- This is simply a diary, and you can write whatever you want in it every day. It can be long, short, or you can skip days if you want to. The classic journal is just like the diary that you maybe kept as a child. You write whatever you want in it daily. (But, this one may or may not need to be hidden from your younger brother.)
5. Prayer Journal - This is a particular type of journal where you essentially act like your diary or journal is your higher power. Write God your prayers instead of saying them. Write them down so you remember them and can look back on them. My sister in law does a really cool thing where she writes names down in the journal of the people she is praying for.
6. Dream Journal- Some people really like tracking their dreams because they believe that dreams provide signs for life. If you want to track your dreams, you have to train yourself to write in your dream journal every morning while you still remember the dream. Write about the dream and then research what it means and write about that too.
7. Food Journal- Write down everything you eat every day. Some people like to include the calorie contents and so forth. It can also help to write down why you eat it, how you felt about eating it, and things like that. I've been doing this one for about two years now on my "journey to get healthy" and have found out quite a few things about my eating habits. To the left, you can see my real, actual marked up food journal. It's from Commit 30 and has some amazing features. I started out wanting to be cute with stickers and such but life got in the way as it always does.
8. Travel Journal- A wonderful way to remember your travels is to keep a travel journal. Some people like making one for each trip so that it's easier to remember. You can write your thoughts in your journal, but you can also attach tickets, pics, and memories. Personally, I like to do these more like a scrapbook using Snapfish or something similar and get it printed out later.
9. Gratitude Journal- This is just what it sounds like. Itís a journal where you record each day what you're thankful for and grateful for. Nothing can be negative in this journal because it's designed to help you think more positively. A lot of people do something like this in November in honor of Thanksgiving but it's certainly helpful to remain grateful year-round.
10. Project Journal- This is a handy journal to keep, especially for anyone who regularly works on projects. Keeping a journal of each project you work on that records actions taken, results, and data, will help you improve every project but will also help you look back on this one with excitement.
If you want to journal to help work through a problem, keeping specific journals for different things is an effective way to go about it. Itís also a great way to store your thoughts and memories for the future in a more organized and useful manner.
Do you keep a journal? If so, how have you found it to be helpful in your life? Feel free to share in the comments below.