These Are the Journals I'm Using in 2025
Is 4 too many?
Hi all,
2025 is a big year for me, so I need stability! I need dependability, simplicity, and an obstacle free journaling experience. I cannot afford to add complexity to my life (as I’m sure most people would agree to). This year, I am getting married, going on my honeymoon, trying to keep up with my YouTube channel, and I need time left over to talk to my friends!
With those things in mind, I have curated my journal system to be the dependable friend I need.
The cozy video version of this article is above, or read more below.
My Journals and Their Purpose
While I have been known to love all types of stationery in my journals, my approach is rooted in functionality.
I tend to approach my journals as a tool to:
keep me grounded
think through things
catalogue trips and memory keep
capture my ideas, and
sometimes, to be a creative outlet.
My number of journals, uses, amount of creative additions and time spent using them has changed over the 10+ years I’ve been journaling. No matter the change, I always come back to these core “values”. Regardless of how many are in rotation, my journal practice is such an important and enjoyable part of my life!
Without further ado, here’s what’s in my lineup as of January 2025.
Daily Journal: A5 Leuchtturm1917 Dot Grid Notebook in Powder
I use this journal every day! I re-started it in late September 2024, after originally starting it in August 2023 and then immediately shelving it. (Whoops!) When I picked it back up, I quickly filled up the pages as I attempted The Artist’s Way a second time. The Artist’s Way author Julia Cameron urges creatives to journal 3 pages of stream-of-consciousness writing every morning, so I dove in. 3 pages turned out to be quite the feat. I kept up my daily practice from September until I left on a trip in mid-December.
After returning from my trip, I knew that I couldn’t keep up with the copious number of daily Morning Pages. The reality is, I don’t want to spend so long each morning on writing them. There’s so much more that feeds my soul in the mornings that I need to fit in before working my 9-5.
I have since switched to a much more manageable routine: each morning and evening, I use the same short list of 4-5 prompts to start and end my day. It’s just enough to get me into a positive state of mind in the morning, and it’s a great way to close out the day. My journal routine gently nudges me to actually plan out the day ahead instead of always just winging it, and reminds me to take a second to be grateful before I go to sleep. Perfection.
This routine is only possible because I’ve started another foundational habit: I avoid screens the first hour of the day and the last hour of the day. Being away from my phone and giving my brain a break suddenly gives me a lot of time to think, write, and reflect! Who knew?
I have about 20% of this journal left. I’m excited to finish it and start a new one, since I have so many to choose from!1 It’s always fun to shop my own stash.
Everything Journal: B6+ Leuchtturm1917 Dot Grid Notebook in Lilac
Perfectionists, listen up: An “everything journal” is a great way to subvert your perfectionist tendencies. It has no specific purpose, so that means you can throw anything in it and it’s still useful! Some fun pages I have in here:
A page dedicated to rating wedding cake flavours my fiancé and I tried (we chose chocolate hazelnut for one tier, and passionfruit for the other)
Various “brain dump” pages for when I just need to get everything out on paper
A page dedicated to testing new stationery (pencils!) and pasting in little postcards and stamped papers
Pages of stationery collages
A page full of scribbles that I use to troubleshoot fountain pens that are being temperamental
Pour-my-heart-out diary entries
YouTube video ideas & outlines
I highly suggest having one of these types of notebooks in your rotation as a no-pressure playground for your ideas. It’s nice to have one go-to place to put everything instead of hunting around your apartment for a next paper victim to scribble on, only to lose it later.
Memory Keeping Journal: A5 Hobonichi Techo 5 Year Journal
Yay!! The 5 year journal is back!! Everyone clap!!!! Last year it was such a struggle for me to keep up with this bad boy, which is sad because I filled in every single day for 2023. I think there were a few reasons for this: A lot was going on (engagement, moving, health concerns…) and the longer I left it, the harder it was to pick it back up again. Knowing those blank spaces were there felt like failures that added up little by little each day.
For this year, I changed the way I approached my 5 year journal practice. I released my guilt of not filling it in for most of 2024 and recommitted to it for the next 3 years. I reminded myself how fun it is to read entries back and share them with people. Now, I don’t force myself to fill up all the space. If I only have a couple sentences to write about, then so be it! I also gave myself permission to skip days if I really wasn’t feeling it. All of these things helped take the pressure off and made it easier to show up.
Having a daily evening journal routine has also been a great way to stay in the habit of filling it in consistently. I like to spend 5-10 minutes filling in that day’s space after answering to my evening prompts in my A5 Leuchtturm1917 notebook.
Everyday Carry Journal/Travel Journal: Traveler’s Notebook Passport Size in Camel
My Passport TN is my everyday carry journal, and it has 3 inserts: an “everything insert”, a sticker book insert for decorating pages on the go, and a travel insert.
I like using my “everything insert” in a similar way to my A5 Leuchtturm1917 journal. It’s there for random thoughts, ideas, notes, and scribbles when out and about. I tend to use it the most when I’m waiting somewhere, on public transit or am taking notes at the doctor’s office. It’s a great alternative to pulling out your phone.
My sticker book insert is just that: a little insert that has pages of stickers and washi tape I can use to decorate the pages. I tend to choose small stickers to put in there because the pages are so small!
My third insert is used as a travel journal for writing down memories while on trips. When my fiancé and I went on a trip to France, Italy and Spain, I kept a daily journal of what we did each day and funny things that happened in one of these inserts. I like using those notes to make more elaborate travel journals after I come home. That way, I can use all my stationery that would not fit in my suitcase!
Final Thoughts
Things are bound to change, but I love all of these notebooks for their own purposes. Through journaling, I have learned how to take pressure off of myself and enjoy it as its own creative process.
The only addition I can see happening this year is adding in a travel journal or two. I like to make collage-and-photo-filled travel journals as scrapbooks for each of my trips. My travel journal from a few years ago is still one of my favourite journals of all time and I love the idea of having a library of them to look back on.
Until then, this is my system! What does yours look like this year?
— Emily
I am a Brand Ambassador for Leuchtturm1917 Canada, so they’ve sent me a good number of notebooks (aka marketing materials). You can get 20% off your purchase at Leuchtturm1917.ca with code EMILY20.
love it! 4 is not too many. And I'm not saying that just because I have four different active journals too....
I ditched the 5 year journal
But I have the dialy one. Then I have one to capture all my writing from all the classes/workshops and other online learning I do.
I have one for poems.
And I have a little one like you to keep in my handbag.
I am thinking of opening one to write down sentences from books that speak to me.