Writing in a wellness journal is a small, affordable and effective daily habit that can help you stay organised, process feelings, and record moments of joy or self-reflection to look back on.
Sure, you can scribble your thoughts down on the back of an envelope, but when such aesthetically pleasing and thoughtfully designed journals exist to help you record your innermost thoughts, why would you?
To find the best wellness diaries for all needs and budgets, our Good Housekeeping editors set aside some daily ‘me time’ and trialled a range of designs, from pocket-friendly planners to hardback styles, with specific goals in mind. Scroll on for more on why we love them along with some expert journalling tips.
Joy Wellness Journal
Check in day and night for 12 weeks with this dedicated wellness notebook from Papier. The first few pages provide a helpful guide to the journal, although there’s strong emphasis on the fact that how you use it is completely up to you. As a general template, there are six pillars of focus that you’re encouraged to reflect on each day: energy, mind, movement, nourishment, connection and rest.
Each page has a morning section where you can note your daily intentions, energy levels, sleep quality, and feelings. Then there’s a chance to reflect on the day on the evening page, with a prompt that simply asks, “How was your day?”. There are also pages for weekly and monthly check-ins, offering space for longer-term reflection. Unlike some classic journals, pages aren’t assigned dates, so you can pick it up as and when you choose.
Did we mention the cover is beautiful, and can be personalised? We’d expect nothing less from Papier.
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£22.10 at papier.com
Wellness Journal
Wellness brand The Head Plan, which rose to fame after appearing on Dragons’ Den back in 2024, offers a range of guided journals along with an extensive self-development app. Our sleep and wellness editor, Priyankaa, uses its classic productivity and wellness journal daily and is a big fan.
It’s an un-dated, six-month A5 calendar broken down into neat sections including goal of the day, notes and appointments, priorities and reasons to be grateful. There are also dedicated pages for your weekly goals, long-term goals and vision boards. The gorgeous hardback design has a ribbon marker to keep key pages handy, and it comes in a variety in chic colourways from espresso to soft pink.
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£30.00 at amazon.co.uk
Journal™ V2.3
This aesthetically-pleasing hardcover journal – which comes with a gold pen and a free digital toolkit – is a gratitude journal and productivity planner all in one. According to the brand, the therapist-backed, ADHD-friendly design provides “a six-month guided journey to creating your best life in just a few minutes a day”.
It includes a range of daily prompts, including moments that make you smile to encourage gratitude, an ‘eat the frog’ productivity method to identify tasks that need to get done, a habit tracker to encourage consistency and space to freestyle journal so you can express your thoughts and feelings. There’s also a discovery course to help you focus on and work towards a six-month goal.
Not sure if it’s right for you? No problem. The brand offers a six-month money-back guarantee.
It’s available for pre-orders now.
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$34.99 at evolvejourney.co.uk
The Positive Wellness Journal
This journal beams positivity from the outside-in, as the bright red cover provides an immediate dopamine hit. It encourages you to start each day with a positive affirmation, before noting down your mindful intentions for the day ahead, and making three commitments to the mind, body and soul.
At the end of the day, you can then fill in the evening reflection page, which poses emotion-evoking questions such as: How was my energy today? What did I do well?
“I allow my mind to flow freely through my pen,” is just one of the encouraging quotes that are dotted throughout the book.
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£19.99 at amazon.co.uk
Sweet Dreams Journal: Pocket Sized Wellness and Mindfulness Journal
Imagine you’re tucked up in bed with your ear plugs and weighted blanket, but before popping on your eye mask, you take a moment to reflect on your day with this dedicated night journal. It’s only meant to take up five minutes of your time, so you can get back to enjoying those dedicated eight hours of Zs. Reflecting on the day can help you get rid of those racing thoughts and feel more relaxed, helping to enhance your sleep quality so you wake up feeling well-rested.
Instead of analysing what went wrong, as we often do, this journal guides you to look at the positive outcomes of the day, with prompts such as ‘Wonderful things that happened to me today’, and ‘Tomorrow I look forward to…’ The starry cover will look lovely on your bedside table, too.
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£13.29 at amazon.co.uk
Self-care Journal
It may look simple from the outside, but this journal is jam-packed with daily, weekly and long-term exercises to help you achieve optimum wellness. And it’s a convenient A5 size, so there’s no excuse for leaving it at home! There’s also a selection of Post-it notes for easy bookmarking, and some pretty stickers with inspirational quotes that will help jazz it up.
It’s designed for three months of wellness planning, with plenty of prompts and open-ended questions to help with self-reflection.
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£19.99 at amazon.co.uk
Five Minute Morning Focus Journal
You only need to spend five minutes thinking about the day ahead with this journal, which is ideal if you’re time poor (who isn’t?). It means you’re more likely to put pen to paper and there’s nothing like a satisfying list to tick off, right?
This AM-centred journal is a quick and effective way for you to gather your thoughts first thing and go into the day with a set of dedicated intentions. Productive days incoming…
£9.48 at amazon.co.uk
Wellness Journal
Loved by great thinkers and artists such as Vincent Van Gogh and Ernest Hemingway, Moleskine notebooks have always been a great tool for logging inspiration. The brand has expanded beyond blank lined pages, and created this wellness journal to help you plan your day and log your overall wellness journey. With segments dedicated to personal, fitness, diet and general health, this one has all bases covered.
Each section invites you to input your goals. The fitness one, for example, is designed to help you plan your weekly workouts, from warm-up to cool down. It’s suited to someone with a particular interest in exercise who wants to enjoy a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
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£24.66 at amazon.co.uk
Mindfulness Journal
This self-dated mindfulness journal is designed to help you plan your days and weeks, track your sleep and keep on top of your wellness goals. On each page, there’s space to set some positive intentions, scribble about how you’re feeling, and reflect on the day.
Plus, The A5 design is lightweight and compact enough to shove in your handbag and carry around with you when you need a mindful moment. There’s a pocket at the back for stashing notes and receipts and a ribbon marker to help you find your place. For under £12, it offers excellent value for money.
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£10.69 at amazon.co.uk
Bird of Paradise
Another Papier option, this notebook has space for five months of gratitude journalling. It’s all about focusing on the good in your surroundings and within yourself, and is filled with self-fulfilling and positive affirmations, such as ‘I deserve the best’, ‘I am valuable’, and ‘I am a priority’ – important reminders we often forget.
You’re also invited to write a letter to yourself to open later down the line. It encourages you to record the goals and priorities you want to achieve within a set timeframe. Because when you write them down, they’re more likely to happen. And if they don’t, then it’s just another opportunity to reflect on what the potential blockers were and whether they’re still a priority.
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£22.10 at papier.com
Planner
Ever feel like you have a million tabs open in your head? This handy organisational planner can help you close some of them down. It’s an undated planner, which means you can pick it up and put it down as you please.
There’s space to plan out each day of the week, as well as a page to set out intentions, priorities and achievements. You can even track your habits, which is great if you want to focus on those smaller (but no less impactful) goals, like increasing your daily water intake or step count. There are also five lovely colours to choose from.
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£16.95 at amazon.co.uk
How we chose the best wellness journals
To find the best wellness journals, our editors tried a range of options, including sleep-focused designs, mindfulness diaries, fitness planners and more.
They used them on a regular basis over a few weeks and months, assessing factors like quality of design and usefulness. They reflected on how they felt before and after using the journals, and whether they’d continue using them.
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More wellness buys
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What are the benefits of journalling?
We asked Sarah Jones St John, founder of wellness brand Grey Wolfe breaks down the benefits of journalling. Keep in mind that, as with anything wellness related, outcomes are hugely varied based on personal experiences.
Inner healing: “Acting as an anchor for all your thoughts and emotions, [journalling] can guide you towards healing that truly starts within. Everyone can benefit from introducing it into their days. Writing down thoughts, emotions and ideas to capture moments that will serve as a healing canvas you may not have even thought you needed.”
Self reflection: “Journalling will help you address stress, worry and everyday distractions, and allow you to immerse yourself in the art of self-reflection. This self-exploration will help you build a better relationship with yourself and allow you to take control of your thoughts and reactions. As a result, you’ll feel better equipped to build and strengthen the relationships with those around you, as your interactions become more meaningful.”
Emotional resilience: “The practice offers a platform to express, release and translate those thoughts that get the mind racing and prevent the body from experiencing wellbeing. Unlike other healing rituals, journalling will allow you to rid yourself of the weight of the thoughts wherever you are, while also preserving them.”
How to start journalling
When it comes to logging your own experiences and thoughts, there’s no right or wrong way to go about it. But these are Jones St John’s top tips for beginners.
“For anyone looking to start journalling, start small. A few sentences, even five minutes a day is enough; don’t pressure yourself to write pages. If you’re unsure where to begin, pick a focus, write down one to three things you’re grateful for that day, or summarise the highlights and low points of your day,” she advises.
She also notes it’s useful to add prompts e.g. “What made you smile today? What is something you’re looking forward to? What is one thing you’d like to improve? Above all, be honest. Remember you’re writing for yourself, not for anyone else.”
Whether you’re buying it for yourself or a loved one, wellness journals are a brilliant tool for maximising joy and appreciation in life. And they say not to judge a book by its cover, but it’s impossible not to with our gorgeous picks…
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The verdict on wellness journals
If you’re serious about getting started with journalling, the Papier Joy Wellness Journal is packed with useful features to help you focus on gratitude and reach your goals.
After something to take in your handbag and scribble in on your daily commute? We love this Clever Fox Self-Care Journal.
On a budget? This NU Mindfulness Journal, which comes in at under £12, is a reliable pick.
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