After working with several journals to find a good system, I wanted to share what I found on the market to help make a decision.
Before we get into the list, I spoke with a registered therapist recently about the use of notebooks for introspection and personal growth. She said therapists recommend using a notebook (or really any tool) to practice the act of self-reflection and organize your thoughts into a record. This standard practice is helpful to anyone that wants to see where they are, where they have been, and where they are going.
Designed by a team of therapists, these notebooks act as mental health tools to grow and learn through self-reflection. Taken from their site “The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)-based notebook entries are made to help you track your emotions, become more aware of thought patterns, and grow over time specifically to reduce anxiety and manage stress.”
What I like most about these notebooks is that they don’t over-promise. A lot of notebooks like these make unrealistic claims through their marketing copy, but as this has been made by doctors, they know that this isn’t the end-all-be-all of therapy. These are well thought-out notebooks and have an muted design aesthetic.
The notebooks include:
100 Journal Entries you can use whenever you feel stressed or anxious.
Structured exercises proven to help you feel less anxious and track patterns.
5 Check-Ins covering different therapy tools for anxiety.
100+ notes and tips from therapists throughout the notebook to help guide and encourage reflection.
270 guided pages on 8”x5” paper.
The notebook is filled with 100+ notes from therapists, one per a journal entry. They’ll help guide you as you journal, serve as additional reflection questions, and provide tips you can use anytime.
II. Monk Manual
I have been using this notebook for over a month and genuinely like the layout and overall benefit that it provides. This notebook is more than just a standard to-do list and is built around living a more purposeful life.
The monk manual is a 90-day journal that promotes more planning and reflection rather than just filling up the day with tasks and checking them off. This notebook is very helpful if you are looking for more in life than just the short-term feeling of completing tasks, and shows you what you have accomplished while moving toward a greater goal in your life.
If you want to read more about this notebook I wrote up a full review last month Here.
III. Full Focus Journal
This is also a 90-day planner that starts with a plan to set up and organize your life goals. This planning method, along with the weekly strategy to accomplish your goals, is intended to help relieve stress and avoid feeling overwhelmed. Developed by Michael Hyatt, a leadership coach, this notebook and the courses that you can join are all designed around getting the more important things done in life, not just the number of things you try to get done.
I will say that this notebook looks like it has a large marketing budget behind it and while I have not used it yet, I feel like this is made more for the business professional or team leader.
Full Focus Planner
Full Focus Planner
IV. Bloom Meditation Journal
This notebook is a collaboration between Baron Fig the notebook company, and Justine Bloome, a well-known mindfulness expert. This book helps get into meditation and make it a daily practice and to build self-awareness.
I have several of the guided Baron Fig Notebooks and they always do an amazing job with their products. I have only used meditation apps to help but believe this notebook would be a great tool to help beginners and anyone that has trouble staying consistant.
The notebook comes with:
Meditation Guide
Meditation Log
Daily Tracker
40 Day Challenge
4 Toolkits
V. Mind Journal
This notebook is geared towards men due to the founder, Olie Aplin, designing the book for his own benefit first, and then selling it to other men that have had the same problems. This singular focus has helped him to make a solid notebook that did well on Kickstarter and I was moved by his personal story.
Features:
3 Months of Journaling
Signature Check-in Tool
30 Life-Changing Exercises
3 Stages of Self-Discovery
264 Ruled 110gsm Ivory Pages
Once you complete the Journal, there is a second notebook called the Jotter that is designed for moving forward and is a free-form style of journaling without much in the way of guidance.
VI. Bullet Journal (2nd Edition)
Ryder Carol is steadfast in his dedication to helping us lived well-intented lives. He has always come across as genuine and authentic without any reason to doubt his work. The bullet journal system is more than a productivity tool because it taps into a deeper thought process of self-reflection. In applying the BuJo system, you are able to get more done, so along with a feeling of self-worth, you also become more efficient. I have always been a huge fan of this system and have been using it for five years.
“Leading an intentional life is about keeping your actions aligned with your beliefs. It’s about penning a story that you believe in and that you can be proud of.”
Ryder also wrote a book called The Bullet Journal Method and it is a great companion. The last section of the book is about the importance of reflection and he writes, “If you don’t do, if you don’t dare, then you rob the world-and yourself-of the chance to contribute something meaningful.” The time used for reflection in our journals is key to the purpose of the system. While it takes time to do this, it is one reason why it works so well and keeps us all on task at the greater life purpose.
Ink + Volt continues to impress me and I have been a long-time fan of the creator of these quality notebooks, Kate Matsudaira. I had the chance to catch up with her when she was first developing the Spark Notebook and that notebook was very well organized and perfectly designed. From there, she has designed a whole line of notebooks to help with self-improvement.
The Gratitude notebook is something that is recognized in the therapy world as a helpful tool to pick yourself up and nurture positive thinking. This notebook has a lot to offer and recommend checking out the different styles, as well as other notebook options.
VIII. Best Self Co.
While this company only started with two people, it has grown into a full sized self-help company. I initially backed their Kickstarter in 2015 and the notebook was just okay. Since then, they have built out an entire suite of products and completely redesigned their flagship notebook called the Self Journal.
Features:
13 week goal planner
100gsm white ivory paper
Hardcover 5.75in by 8.5in
Includes videos and guides from website to help
This notebook has a little bit of everything. While it does lack the in-depth guides that some of the notebooks above provide, it makes up for it with the number of sections. It includes:
Goal Planning
Wish Lists
Daily Planning
Meal Planning
Gratitude Journal
Goal Check-ins
Reflection
V. Blank Notebook
The number one recommended notebook by therapists is…a blank one. They don’t tell you which one, they just want you to use whatever works best for you. The act of using a single voice so that you are required to think about what you are trying to say and write so that it comes out in one direction. This is the reason there is a market for notebooks because the therapists don’t want you to get distracted, but the key point is that you get into the practice of getting your thoughts out and into some form of record keeping.
Good luck and I hope I have helped!
As always, I have not received anything from any of the aforementioned companies and my thoughts are my own.
Cheers,
Mike
