Hello journalers! This post is going to explain how to begin a bullet journal that will help you take care of yourself and manage your mental/physical health. I will go in depth and share various ideas to add to this kind of journal.
How To Start:
1. Like all bullet journals, make sure you have a journal that fits your needs. Dot grid, square grid, blank page, or lined are the options for basically all journals. Pick one that you can see yourself using for a while and that will conform to your needs.
2. Make an outline on a separate piece of paper of the things you want in your self-care journal. Nothing is more cringe-worthy in my bullet journals is when I get lazy on design and layout. Figure out which lists, trackers, challenges, and calendars you will need.
3. Start like you would with a normal bullet journal with the index. My rule is that I need to have 3 pages for my index, otherwise I run out of room to keep track of my pages and I get overwhelmed.
Things To Add:
1. Future Plans/Goals
Pump yourself up for the future! You are going to accomplish many incredible feats during your lifetime, but it helps to take the first step and actually write down your goals and plans. I have two resources for you for this section. [Here] is a post about Goal Oriented Pages. Here is a picture of my bucketlist from my last bullet journal:
2. Fitness Log
If you are ready to get in shape or just be healthy, this is something you really need to stay motivated or keep track of your exercising habits. You can add checklists, hydration logs, running countdowns, etc.
3. Daily Affirmations
When dealing with stress, mental health, and anything else that can get you feeling less than the amazing person you are, it’s good to remind yourself how truly fantastic you are. Here is a [link] to my 30-Day Affirmation Challenge.
4. Gratitude Log
Being thankful for what you have will give you so much peace in your life. If you’d like some ideas for yours, click [here] for my 30-Day Gratitude Challenge.
5. Things That Make You Happy
List everything that makes you remotely happy and keep adding things as you go through your life. Below is my first journal that had my “Things I Love” page. It got filled so fast.
6. Meditation Diary
I honestly loved this idea and used it like crazy. [Here] is a link to how I set my diary up.
7. Habit Trackers
Keeping track of your actions will always help you feel at peace and there are many different kinds of habit trackers out there: medicine, sleep, reading, exercise, etc. If you’d like to be even more motivated for getting things done, [here] is a link to my Habit Tracker Reward System.
8. Alternatives to Self-Destructive Acts
Many of us have negative habits that can be more extreme than others. But even the smallest self-destructive act will have a huge negative effect on your life. Here is a list of some ideas to do instead of thinking bad things or hurting yourself: do a puzzle, go exercise, take a nap, listen to music, watch funny videos, watch a movie, write, make lists, color a picture, bake something, etc.
9. When I Feel Triggered…
Anything can make us recall traumatic events, toxic people, or just make us feel anxious. Make a short list of maybe 5-10 things you can do to help yourself calm back down.
10. All About Me
Writing and doodling things that represent yourself can be very therapeutic. I made a post about this recently that can be found [here].
11. Self-Care Ideas/Me Time
Sometimes we don’t know how to make ourselves feel better. Write a list of things you could try to do to help yourself become a healthier you. Examples: take a warm bath, go for a walk, drink a glass of water, watch a sad movie, etc. You can also make a page to keep track of how long each task you complete and where you completed it.
12. A Year In Pixels
I did not come up with this idea, but [here] is a post about where I found it and a picture of my page.
I found a few more ideas, but you can check this [link] for 100 more!
No matter how bad it is right now, do some of the things, either now or very soon. Please add on your own self care/soothing actions items. People are going to need some reminders.
Here are some of mine.
Drink a full glass of water. Dehydration is as easy as forgetting all day.
Take a very hot bath, preferably with something nice in it (bath oil, bath salt, bath bomb, special soap, etc).
Light a favorite scented candle.
Make a favorite hot drink, wrap up in blankets, and read a book.
Put on a favorite/nostalgic/lighthearted movie.
Find something super soft and rub it on your face.
Initiate physical contact with loved ones.
(for longer haired people) slowly brush through hair.
Finish one segment of some project or creative endeavor.
(careful of debris, depends on the area) Take a walk barefoot in grass and/or dirt. If possible, roll down a grassy hill.
Find a quiet place (museum, library, public garden) where you can rest from relentless external stimulation.
Break out the soothing music.
Belt songs as hard as you can when you recognize them on the car radio. Belting relieves stress, whether you’re any good or not.
Get one of those useless old yellow pages books and start ripping it up.
Get a long, unbroken block of sleep. Lavender scent helps with this.
by this I mean: people who tend to fixate on bad/negative thoughts until those thoughts become so unpleasant that you start to fear the thoughts themselves, and it becomes a horrific cycle. or even just people who worry themselves to the point of physical illness. take ‘em with a grain of salt since I’m me and you’re you. here goes.
general
-teach yourself to notice when you’re entering panic mode, where your brain starts throwing out terrifying, often irrational thoughts and you start accepting them as gospel.
-if you fear your thoughts or try to shut them down forever, they’ll bounce back stronger. the trick is to accept them mindfully no matter how much they suck, and then do your best to let go.
-tell yourself you’ll set aside time later to deal with them. spend five minutes letting yourself obsess, or write about it, or talk to someone. talk to someone regardless–it can be more helpful than you might think.
-if you’re having trouble putting them aside, consider that your brain might actually do better at coming to a resolution or a place of peace while you’re not actively thinking about the problem. your mind works on this stuff while you’re not looking, I promise. and you’ll be better equipped to deal with stressful stuff after a break from it.
-other cathartic activities: crying, having loud sing-alongs, just finding a quiet place to yell and scream, exercising or doing some other strenuous physical activity.
-if you can take action, do! you’ll feel better afterwards. just remember that anticipatory anxiety is always worse than the actual thing.
other people
-worried about others in general: accept that you can’t be responsible for everyone, but look for any small constructive thing you can do to help.
-worried about specific people: contact them. “how are you” and “do you wanna talk” are good places to start before jumping right in. try to cultivate an attitude of compassion and kindness.
-worried about conflict with a specific person: contact them. be aware that you can’t read their minds and your anxious brain is gonna tell you a lot of things that may not be true. be honest and rehearse what you’re going to say if that’s a problem for you. “hey, I just wanted to say” is a good starting point. if it’s a written message and you’re nervous about the idea of really sending it, just start writing what you want to say as a stream of consciousness with the intention of editing it later.
teakepp 