Journal page ideas: 35 layouts and examples

How to set up any journal page

1. Give the page a jobDecide what the page is for before you draw anything: today, this week, a list, a tracker or a memory.
2. Write a title and datePut them at the top. A title makes the page easy to find later.
3. Draw light pencil boxesSplit the page into two to four areas. Fewer boxes means each one gets more room.
4. Fill it inWrite, draw or stick things in. You can ink over the pencil lines once you like the layout.

Daily journal page layouts

• 1. Three box day. Split the page into three rows: what happened, how I felt, what I learned.
• 2. Morning and night. Top half for the morning (plan, intention, one worry). Bottom half for the night (wins, thanks, tomorrow).
• 3. Hour by hour. Write the hours from 7am to 10pm down the left margin and one line about each hour. Great for a busy day you want to remember.
• 4. Rose, bud, thorn. Three boxes: a rose for the best part, a bud for something you look forward to, a thorn for something hard.
• 5. One big question. Write a single question as the title, like "What drained me today?", and answer it in free writing.
• 6. Time capsule day. Date, weather, what you wore, what you ate, top news, a price you paid for something. Fun to read in ten years.
• 7. Daily dashboard. Small boxes across the top for mood, sleep, water and steps. Free writing below.

Weekly and monthly journal page layouts

• 8. Seven boxes. Two pages, seven boxes for the days, and an eighth box for notes. Write one or two lines per day.
• 9. Week in review. Five headings: best moment, hardest moment, people I saw, what I learned, next week.
• 10. Monthly cover page. The month name large in the middle, a small calendar in one corner and three goals in another.
• 11. Month at a glance. Number 1 to 31 down the left side and write one line per day. One page holds the whole month.
• 12. Monthly reflection. At the end of each month: what went well, what I would change, what I am proud of, a word for next month.
• 13. Goals and steps. Write three goals across the top. Under each, list the small steps and tick them off.

For more planner style spreads, see bullet journal ideas.

List and collection pages

Collection pages build up over time. Leave them at the back of your notebook so you can keep adding.

• 14. Books to read and books read. Two columns. Move titles across as you finish them, with a star rating.
• 15. Movies and shows. Draw a film strip down the page with one title in each frame.
• 16. Gift ideas. One line per person with things they mentioned wanting. Saves stress at birthdays.
• 17. Recipes to try. Name, where you found it, and a tick with a score when you make it.
• 18. Things that made me laugh. Jokes, funny moments, things kids said.
• 19. Places I have been. Town or country, year, and one memory. Add a tiny drawing of each.
• 20. Compliments I got. Write them down word for word. Read them on low days.
• 21. Bucket list. Number 1 to 50 and fill them in slowly over the year.

Tracker pages

• 22. Habit grid. Days 1 to 31 across the top, habits down the side, a dot or tick in each square.
• 23. Mood calendar. A month calendar where you color each day with a mood color. Write the color key at the bottom. See our mood journal for more.
• 24. Sleep bars. A bar chart where each day gets a bar for hours slept.
• 25. Savings jar. Draw a big jar split into 20 sections. Color one in for each set amount you save.
• 26. Reading tracker. Draw a bookshelf with empty book spines. Write a title on a spine for each book you finish.
• 27. Workout tracker. A row per week with a small box for each workout, and a note on how you felt.

Memory and reflection page ideas

• 28. Photo and story. Tape a photo at the top and write the story behind it underneath.
• 29. Letter page. Start with "Dear" and write a letter you may never send, to a friend, a parent or your future self.
• 30. Then and now. Two columns. On the left, how you were one year ago. On the right, how you are now.
• 31. Year in pixels. A grid of 365 tiny squares, one color for each day of the year.
• 32. Lessons learned. A list of short lessons from this year, one line each.
• 33. Worry page. Left column for worries. Right column for what you can control about each one.
• 34. Gratitude page. A big heart or circle in the middle with things you are thankful for written around it. Our gratitude journal has more ideas.
• 35. Brain dump. No layout at all. Fill the page with every thought, then circle three that need action.

Journal page examples by purpose

Need more inspiration? Read real journal examples, browse our main journal ideas list, or print ready made printable journal pages.

Questions people ask