21 Self-Care Bullet Journal Ideas

Journaling is an incredible self-care tool! And a bullet journal can be a great way to build the habit of journal, so that you can reduce stress and feel better!

I have compiled a list of ideas that you can start to use right away that will help you to reduce stress and put a smile on your face if you are in need of a mental boost!

Just want to let ya know: The information and tips on this website are from my personal experience and are not a substitute for any type of medical, psychological or health advice. You can read my full disclaimer here. My goal is to empower people to create a lifestyle that can reduce stress and learn some mental habits that can improve general well-being!

There is always help out there, and you can find a mental health professional locally, through your doctor, or through an online directory like this one. This is a link to a great article with affordable therapy options and this is an affiliate link (meaning I receive a small compensation if you choose to purchase at no extra cost to you) to a great online therapy option. If you are in a crisis, there’s a list of help hotlines here. You are not alone!!

Start a gratitude list

Every day, write down at least one thing that you are grateful for. Super simple, but it will help you get into a habit of thinking in a more positive way.

Things you love

Another great way to start thinking more positively.

The great thing about a bullet journal is that you can keep it with you and then when inspiration strikes and you remember something that you really love, you can just add it to the list!

Podcast List

You can even organize this into categories, such as inspiring and uplifting ones, or podcasts with lots of helpful information.

Mood Tracker

This is something that I truly believe that everyone should do.

There are so many small things that we do on an everyday basis that could affect our mental health and wellbeing, but we just don’t notice!

It can be hard to track everything to see how it affects your mood, but you can at least keep track of some important wellness factors:

number of hours of sleep
glasses of water
amount of exercise
what you ate
people you talked to

Thought Sorting Exercise

This type of page can be extremely helpful with your mental health. Basically, it is a template that allows you to write down an anxious thought and then analyze it.

If you add something like this to your bullet journal and you start using it regularly, it can become a habit to start analyzing and reframing your thoughts.

Brain dump page

Even though bullet journals are usually all about structure, it can be good to have a page every once in a while that you can just let it all out.

This can be really helpful when you are feeling anxious or just feel like you have too much on your mind!

Goals List

This can be an awesome tool for your mental wellness! You can actually use this in two ways:

For your mental wellness goals. For example, your goal could be to meditate every day for 1 week or try to catch yourself when you’re thinking negatively.
For your awesome life goals. Give yourself something to be excited about and work towards. This will give you the incentive to work towards your other mental wellness goals because having your mental health in check will help you even more towards your other life goals!

For some more goal setting help, check out my article on how to make a goal plan.

Best Memories

When you are having a bad day, it can be truly amazing to have something to look at to reminisce in the good times and remind yourself that you can have similar awesome experiences again soon!

Favourite Songs

Have a go-to list of songs that make you feel amazing and that can pull you out of a funk (or put you into a funk if you catch my drift!).

To-Do List

Less fun than some of the other ideas, but a to-do list can work wonders for your mental health. If you are stress and feel like you have so many things to do that are weighing you down, you can write them down and already you will start to feel better!

Daily Schedule

Writing your pressing tasks down with a schedule will help you realize that it is manageable and then you can schedule in some fun rewards for getting all your stuff done!

You can add in your self-care routine and exercise/healthy meals as well so that you start feeling like your best self!

Inspiring Quotes

When you find a great quote that inspires you or eases your stress, add it to the list!

Here are some quotes that inspire me!

“A ship is always safe at shore, but that is not what ships are for”

“Don’t trust your fears, they don’t know your strengths”

Healthy Meal Ideas

Your mental health starts with your physical health, so a great idea is to start a list of go-to meals that make you feel full and satisfied and give you lots of energy!

Ted Talk List

Get a list of your favourite inspiring/uplifting/informative ted talks or videos to use as a reminder when you are feeling down.

Positive Mantra

This is probably one of my favourite things to have in my bullet journal. If you write an intentional mantra, you can use it to start off your day in a way that sets you up for success.

I have a post on writing a mantra that you can check out here.

Important Principles to Remember

This is sort of similar to the mantra because it is a page that will remind of important ideas that you need to remember.

For example, I like to remind myself to find the fun in every day/situation BUT when I’m having a bad day, I often forget that, so it’s nice to have a page to go to that will remind me.

Some other good mental health principles to remember:

– To stop worrying about the future – embrace the present moment, because it’s all you have

– Exercise every day. (Simple but I often forget, even though this is the biggest factor that contributes to my mental wellness)

Exercise Log

One of THE BEST things you can do for your overall mental and physical health is to exercise regularly. I’m talking pretty much every day.

I think that high-intensity exercises are great if you do them 2-3 times per week and if you do at least something for the other days of the week, such as walking or yoga. At least get out for a walk once a day, it will make a huge difference in how you feel! (You can actually keep track of this in your exercise log and you can combine this with your mood tracker to see how your mood improves with exercise!)

If exercise is difficult for you (mental or physical barriers, injuries, etc.), you can always discuss with your physician to see what your options are!

Social Media Time Tracker

This is another log that you can combine with a mood tracker. Also just track it to see how much time you waste where you could be using that time for doing work or just relaxing and taking care of yourself.

Netflix Time Tracker

Basically the same as above, but if you are anything like me, you spend a LOT more time on Netflix – especially when a new season of your fav show comes out!

Positive affirmations

This is a great place to write something positive about yourself every day. And when you don’t have anything positive to say, you can look back on the page and read the affirmations you have written.

Self-Talk Log

This is something that requires more self-reflection, but it will help exercise your self-awareness for negative behaviour. We tend to not realize how often we actually talk very negatively towards ourselves, whether we do this outwardly to people or in our minds.

Trying to keep track of this will not only help you realize how often you might actually participate in negative self-talk, it will also help you see how it affects your mood and you can start working on fixing it.

Try this one out and you will definitely see some amazing benefits!

If you want a little more journaling help, I have some journaling exercises as part of my self-care resource library! You can sign up below!