5 Journal / Planner Ideas and Inspiration for 2022
I’ve been a stationery nerd for several years now, but in the past year especially, I’ve really enjoyed getting creative with the types of journals and planners I use on a daily basis. If you’re looking for some ideas or inspiration to start off 2022, then this list is just for you.
Health and Wellness Planner
This is my very first Happy Planner and I decided to use it as a place to help me intentionally care for my mind, body, and spirit every week. With my horizontal layout, I list one to two things per day, per category. Here are a few examples…
Mind
Answer a journal prompt
Unplug after 5pm EST
Doodle something fun
Body
Exercise for 15 minutes on Just Dance
Eat 1-2 fruit/veg with every meal
Stretch in the morning
Spirit
Read a new-to-me Bible story
Handletter a Bible verse
Listen to worship music
Writing down just a few things each day really helps me stay on track with taking care of myself when days get busy. It’s also a nice reminder that our to-do lists should include things that are good for us because when we’re at our best, we can do our best work for ourselves and others.
2. Morning / Gratitude Journal
This is a journal that I use every morning (or evening some days) alongside my daily devotional. Here’s how I like to set it up…
Three Things I’m Grateful For
1.
2.
3.
Two Things I’m Looking Forward to Today
1.
2.
One or Two Things I’m Praying For (or even a Word of the Day)
1.
Devotional Reflection
1.
This is such a wonderful way to start or end your day! Sometimes I’ll even use this as a daily prayer journal if I feel the need to be more intentional about writing down a prayer, rather than thinking it or speaking it aloud. Starting the day off with gratitude and prayer really helps to set your mind on the right track for the day, so I highly recommend keeping a journal like this.
Also, if you’re looking for a devotional to go along with your own morning / gratitude journal, here are a few of my favorites with Amazon aff. links…
I have used several different journals in the past year and filled up three so far. Two were from the Opal House line at Target (definitely my favorites for look and feel), one was from Sugar Paper at Target, and this one pictured here is from the journal section at Michaels.
3. Thoughtful Journal
My bestie gave me this for Christmas and I’ve been enjoying using it so much! You can find this specific little journal at Target. It features monthly/weekly setups with spaces for writing out intentions, focuses, gratitude, journal prompts, habit trackers, acts of kindness, and more. I love how this one is organized, it’s nice and compact and easy to follow.
Personally, I don’t use the “weekly low” or “rate your week” sections of this journal because I prefer to preserve positive aspects of the week and not give the week a score. If you feel the same, you can just scribble these out or add an emoji to the rate section just for fun.
4. Bullet Journal
I’ve been bullet journaling for almost four years and it’s one of my favorite activities. You can get as creative as you like, whether you prefer a plain pen outline, doodling, painting, stickers, scrapbook paper, etc. It’s also an excellent tool for habit tracking, recording joyful memories, and planning out your weeks.
There are sooo many tutorials and idea videos on YouTube for bullet journal setups, depending on what style you like or what month you’re planning for. Pinterest is also a great place to find inspiration! I actually have a few bujo videos of my own on my YouTube channel, so you can check those out right here.
My current bullet journal is from Archer and Olive; I love this brand, I’ve filled up four bullet journals from them in the past two years. Their thick paper and high-quality feel is great if you plan to be painting or marker-ing a lot in your journal. If you’re looking for a more low-maintenance option and don’t care as much about thick, bleed-proof paper, Michaels has a great line of less-expensive bullet journals in very cute colors. My second-ever bullet journal was one of those, and it got the job done.
5. To-Do List Notebook
These are super handy for a variety of things! Here are a few list ideas that I’ve put together in the past…
Busy day to-do list
Christmas gift planning
Packing list
Monthly to-do’s dump
Work assignments/tasks
I’ve tried a lot of different to-do list methods, but this one is my favorite. Personally, I don’t like using sticky notes or notepads because you end up throwing away the paper and it feels like a waste to me. I also didn’t really care for a digital to-do list app because it enabled me to add far too many tasks at once. This notebook method is perfect for me because I can have fun with pretty headings if I want and it’s actually fun to look back at these and see what tasks were going on at a given time during the year or season.
My absolute favorite notebooks for this were from Target’s Greenroom line; they had such cute patterned covers and I really liked the size and amount of pages. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure they’ve discontinued these specific ones (at least, I haven’t been able to find them), but this soft-cover one is okay too. I added a cute sticker to the front of mine, but they do have a few colors available. Really, any notebook you like will do!
One last thought…
Keep in mind, your journal/planner setups are up to YOU. Journals and planners should be personal to YOU and bring YOU joy and help YOU feel more at-peace. There are no rules as to how many journals you need to have or what kind of planner you need to keep. Whatever your setup looks like, whether it’s one comprehensive journal or several specific ones, focus on making it something that’s helpful to your overall wellness and peace.
I hope you found this blog post helpful! I had a great time putting these ideas together. I also made an Instagram Reel featuring my journals and planners, so you can click here if you’d like to check that out.
I have a lot of my favorite journals, planners, pens, stationery, and more all in my Amazon Storefront, so click here if you’d like to check out some more of my faves.
What’s your journal/planner setup looking like for 2022? Comment below!
Have a polished rest of your day,