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It’s hard to deny the magical quality that comes with every new year. No matter how dejected one may be, there’s something wonderful about the beginning of a new year that inspires hope and optimism. Of course, turning resolutions into reality is a whole nother thing. Whether it’s finding more joy, moving your body more, or making time to meditate, there are countless goals that people hope to put into action every year. One of the most successful ways they achieve these personal resolutions is by writing them down. This is where goal journals come in.
Yes, I’m talking about journaling. I’ll admit that I’m less than perfect when it comes to keeping up with a journal, but over the past few years, I’ve found the best way to keep my professional and personal goals on track is to write them down and track my progress in a journal. Thankfully, there are a plethora of journals—including gratitude journals, five-minute journals, and self-care journals—out there that are not only designed to help you write down and recognize your goals, but also achieve them without much fuss and frustration in the end.
Read below to see what journals can help you achieve your 2023 resolutions.
You’ve likely heard the term “self-care” thrown around quite a bit in discussions about mental wellness and happiness, but this phrase is so often misunderstood. While self-care is equated with things like long naps, spa days, extravagant spending, alone time, and physical fitness, there’s also a need for reflection and goal-setting in developing healthy self-care habits. That’s why having a self-care journal in 2023 is a great way to achieve all your lingering mental-wellness resolutions. The Self Care & Wellness Journal For Women has pages full of self-care goodness, including reflections on your intentions, what’s holding you back in life, a daily planner, looking at and changing your routines and rituals, a mood and sleep tracker, and much more.
Find yourself reflecting on the negative aspects of life way more than you’d like to? Whether wishing you made more money, longing for an entirely different career, hoping for more meaningful relationships, or struggling to accomplish your short-term and long-term goals, focusing on what you don’t have or wish was different in your life can wreak havoc on your mental health. That’s where gratitude comes in. You’ve likely heard about the importance of focusing on gratitude in your life thanks to gratitude pioneers like Oprah, but it can be difficult to journal every day when you lead a busy life; that’s why this five-minute-a-day, 90-day Gratitude Journal is the best way to approach celebrating your blessings. With a super-short morning and evening section, you’ll spend no more than five minutes a day jotting down your goals, positive affirmations, daily gratitude, and lessons from the day. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself looking at the silver linings and blessings in your life more than you ever thought possible. If you'd like a journal that extends beyond 90 days, it’s worth considering the highly popular The Five Minute Journal, which is very similar in style to the Gratitude Journal.
If having multiple topic-focused journals isn’t your thing, no judgment. It’s hard enough to keep up with a daily calendar, let alone a daily journal. That’s why the Multitasky journal is such a great investment; not only is it a thorough planner, but it also heavily focuses on the daily, weekly, and monthly goals you’d like to accomplish and aids you in achieving them. My favorite feature in this colorful vegan leather journal is the Conquer My Day daily sheets, which has you write down your top-five priorities, your to-do list, and a schedule for the day. It helps you keep your eye on the prize every day, whether that’s killing it at work, spending time practicing your favorite hobby, or making sure you cross off your whole to-do list. And as if the journal isn’t nifty enough, it also comes with multiple organization pockets that carry around all your daily essentials.
I’m always impressed when I meet someone who journals for the pure pleasure of it. And while not everybody has time to sit down and write about the events of their day, there’s something to be said for reflecting on meaningful moments and events that you can document and archive in a journal. The All About Me journal will take you on a journey of self-discovery, where you can write down the story of your life, detailing everything from your favorite things, your blood type, your family history, your religious beliefs, hopes, dreams, and so much more. Not only is this easy-to-tackle journal a great way to reflect on who you are and who you’ve become, but it’s also a great gift for your loved ones. Couples, especially, will adore the follow-up to All About Me—properly titled All About Us, which has you and your partner answer wide-ranging questions together. It’s a great bonding experience, but we suggest you start, of course, with All About Me.
Have some resounding grudges, unresolved anger, or lingering regrets you’re carrying into 2023? Well, let that shit go—literally! Monica Sweeney’s well-reviewed Let That Sh*t Go journal will guide you through surrendering those burdensome feelings and emotions that hold you back from happiness. While that topic may sound heavy and difficult to approach on your own, this journal guides you through the process. Let That Sh*t Go is full of hilarious sayings, short reflections, intriguing challenges, and inquisitive prompts that will not only help you work toward letting go of the negativity, but will also help you reflect on your blessings, silver linings, and the joy you already have in your life, as well as the happiness you’d like to work toward.
If exercising and finding more time for joyful movement is one of your goals this year, it can be hard to know where to start, especially since fitness goals are of notoriously harder-to-tackle resolutions. And while we don’t want you to go on crazy calorie-restrictive, difficult-to-maintain elimination diets, there’s nothing wrong with fitness-related goals you’d like to accomplish this year. If you struggle to know where to start or how to track your progress, there’s always the option of picking up a fitness journal. One super-popular journal with nearly an 80% five-star rating on Amazon is the Cossac Fitness Journal & Workout Planner. This fitness journal helps you keep track of daily exercises, specifically how many sets you accomplished and your reflections/notes on the exercise. Another bit that is super handy is the goals section and the progress section, where you can map out how far you’ve come in your exercise habits and what else you’d like to achieve.
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