Chapter #58: How to Make Journaling Work For You

Especially if you're anti-morning pages like me.

Feeling My Shelf is a bi-weekly newsletter about books, life, and, well, life with books. Grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and get comfy. First up, some recent reads.

Unruly: A Guide to Reclaiming Your True Self by Shelah Marie
Unlike many self-help books, Unruly isn’t a guide on how to change yourself. Instead, it’s a challenge to uncover and accept your true self, embrace the good and uncomfortable parts, and discover the things that truly make you unique. It’s uplifting and thought-provoking but a little repetitive at times. I appreciated the exercises and affirmations woven throughout but wanted more from the lessons. Still, I highlighted a bunch of nuggets and am eager to refer to them whenever a pick-me-up is needed.

The Champions by Kara Thomas
In this follow-up to The Cheerleaders, we return to Sunnybrook, a town made infamous after the death of five cheerleaders. Now, eleven years later, the high school's championship-winning football team is a welcome bright spot—that is until one player is poisoned and a second is mysteriously killed. It's a decent sequel, but the twists weren't as satisfying. I wanted DRAMA and lots of nefarious activity, but the ending and the “why” felt soft. Nonetheless, the pacing was good, and it held my attention.

The Davenports: More Than This by Krystal Marquis
A swoony sequel to one of my favorite historical romances, The Davenports, this picks up immediately after the first book's events and follows four women associated with a wealthy Black family in 1910s Chicago. They're each navigating life and love, balancing personal ambition and societal expectations. It's fun and reasonably paced (not too fast, but not too slow) and filled the Bridgerton-shaped hole in my heart. The sequel's star is Helen (my favorite!)—the rebellious sister who desperately wishes to work in the family business over finding a husband. And after the cliffhangers from book one, the ending was a treat!

my little journal stack

Journaling is one of those self-care practices that everyone swears by.

From morning pages (the absolute bane of my existence while completing The Artist’s Way) to gratitude lists, it’s often praised as the key to mindfulness, creativity, and clarity. And yet, despite its many benefits, I’ve never been able to get into traditional journaling. Staring at a blank page, just waiting for a switch to flip in my brain and a stream of consciousness flowing out, has always felt like more of a chore than relaxing.

For the longest time, I thought journaling just wasn’t for me. No matter how often I tried, I couldn’t stick to morning pages or fill an entire notebook with my deepest thoughts. (No lie, I have 50+ half-finished notebooks stashed throughout my apartment.) Luckily, I’ve found alternative ways to capture my thoughts and reflections over time without forcing myself into a routine that doesn’t fit.

Okay, so I have three primary “journals,” each serving their own unique purpose.

• My “Highlights” Journal: A junk journal of sorts, this is my recap space where I reflect on the week’s events through short blurbs, photos, and ephemera (movie tickets, tags, paper scraps, receipts, etc.) I do a spread weekly on Sundays and another on the last day of the month.

• Reading Journal: While I share my thoughts on the books I read in this newsletter and on review sites, I wanted a casual space just for me. Unlike some book journals I’ve seen with lots of bells and whistles, intricate spreads, and trackers, I kept it simple with just my goals, a running TBR list for the year, and short reviews.

• Writing Journal: This is about as close to a “traditional journal” as I’ll ever get. I don’t use prompts or set a timer and write each day, but instead, I pick it up whenever inspo strikes (ahem, sometimes that’s in the middle of the night before bed or when I’m in the shower) and scribble little notes or lines of dialogue for my in-progress novel.

1. Do think about your “why.” What do you want to get out of journaling? What are you trying to record or track? Knowing this will help you determine the type of journal that is best for you.

2. Find your style (or format.) Maybe you’re a traditional journaler. Or perhaps you like creating your own “systems,” and a bullet journal would be good for you. Or you’re a junk journaler like me! Some other types are below. Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list, and the beauty of a journal is that you combine all of them into one.

   1. Gratitude Journal

   2. Fitness/wellness Journal

   3. Travel Journal

   4. Media journal (similar to my book journal but includes movies, shows, plays, and music.)

3. Choose your tools. On one side of the spectrum is a journal and pen. On the other end is me, who has containers full of supplies—pens, washi tape, stamps, and stickers. You obviously don’t need any of these things to journal, but it does make the pages look pretty if you ask me.

4. Find a time. Set the scene. Take it from me. Sticking with journaling is easier if you incorporate it into your routine and create a designated space. Maybe that’s every morning before work while you’re sipping tea. Or perhaps it’s Sunday nights at your coffee table while binge-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

5. Make it fun! Learn from my mistakes. Journaling doesn’t have to be complicated. It should be relaxing and joyful. It’s not a chore; if it starts to feel like one, it’s time to pivot.

• Papier Everyday Notebook in Coral

• Midori A6 Grid Notebook

• Everyday Explorers Undated Planner (note: I don’t use mine as a planner; I just like the designated weekly spread pages for my recaps). This company is also where I get my stamps from.

• Sharpie Creative Makers

• Crayola Signature Brush Pens

• Canon IVY 2 Mini Photo Printer in Blush

Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours, a debut YA mystery following a "teen with premonition-like powers [who] must solve her friend's disappearance before she finds herself in the same danger."

Afterward, I'm excited to dive into book number three of The Greene Sisters series, The Love Lyric by Kristina Forest, which follows "an R&B singer and a corporate executive [who] find love that hits the right notes."

A new book explains what the color blue can teach us about Black history. Can influencers predict the next big thing in books? “Too busy blurbing books to write one.” Are men’s reading habits truly a national crisis? ICYMI: Meet the cast of your next big fantasy obsession, Children of Blood and Bone. Can reading help treat your depression? Read these books before they hit your screens in 2025.

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