You don’t have to limit yourself to writing traditional diary entries in your decorative notebooks and fancy journals. Sometimes writing simple lists in a beautifully embossed book can elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary.
- List of self-care gifts and instant mood boosters that you can buy for yourself for under $10.
- Beautiful words or strings of words you stumbled upon
- Favorite quotes
- Fun date night ideas
- Creative boredom busters
- Restaurant reviews
- Things that you’re grateful for
- Tips on how to save money
- Helpful household hints and tips
- Random acts of kindness to-do list
- Compliments you received that made you feel good about yourself
- Charitable contributions you have made and/or would like to make this year
- Cute and adorable things your child does. Instead of posting your kids’ antics online, where it can put your child’s and your family’s privacy and safety at risk, create a keepsake notebook of all the sweet, funny things your children do. Imagine how much fun you’ll have sharing those stories with your grown-up child and his or her new fiancee!
- Room-by-room home inventory list. What I like about this journaling idea is that as you go through your home filling out your list of treasured possessions, you’ll be reminded of how much you have to be grateful for already!
- Foods you love but always forget to buy at the grocery store because you’re too focused on healthy eating or shopping for meal ingredients
- Words, greetings, and phrases in foreign languages
- List of treasures that you want your relatives to have after you’ve passed on. If you get this notebook notarized, you can probably add it to your will and estate plan.
- List of minor home repairs that can be done in one weekend
Keep in mind that just because your pretty notebook may be filled with lined paper, there’s no reason you can’t fill it up with colorful drawings, paintings, and mixed media collages! The possibilities are endless when you can let go and just start using your new notebook!
Journaling Prompt: Have you ever given someone a pretty journal as a gift? How would you feel if they thought the notebook was too pretty to use? What would you say to them to encourage them to use the journal with worrying about it being too nice to use?
