11 Journals For a More Mindful 2021

At the best of times, journaling is peacefully reflective; a way to take stock of your day, your week, last night’s labyrinthine dream, or even tomorrow morning’s shopping list. Writers have long extolled the virtues of jotting things down: Joan Didion wrote of keeping a “notebook”—not a diary, she stressed—in which she detailed random impressions and memories, sometimes based in fact and sometimes not, to remember “what it was to be me.” Virginia Woolf believed that writing independently “loosens the ligaments.” David Sedaris has kept a diary since he was 20, publishing 25 years’ worth of entries in a 2017 volume called Theft By Finding.

But journaling can be a worthwhile practice for anyone, particularly in moments of high anxiety. Studies have associated 15 to 20-minute sessions of “expressive writing”—during which you’re urged to explore “your deepest emotions and thoughts” without interruption, or worrying about spelling or grammar—with improving mental health and lowering blood pressure, as well as better sleep habits.

While the analogue method, requiring only a notebook and pencil or pen, has done the trick for many journal-ers, that isn’t the only way to get going. For those seeking a bit more direction, guided journals have also proven popular, from Michelle Obama’s Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice to writer Kara Cutruzzula’s colorful Do It For Yourself: A Motivational Journal, released last fall.

Here, a selection of the best journals—both traditional and guided—to write your way into a better 2021.