#journaling methods guide

Digital journaling can be a cost effective alternative to physical journaling with the added benefits of portability, accessibility, and sustainability. Additionally, digital mediums add a whole new level of creative freedom to your journaling! You can include elements such photos, videos, gifs, and links in your digital journal. For those that struggle with traditional art and penmanship, digital journaling allows you to include art, stickers, designs, and play with fonts.

Where to Create Your Digital Journal?

There are different apps and platforms for you to journal on, some may only be available on IOS or Android, but you use social media platforms as well. Most, if not all, social media platforms have a an option to privatize your page or posts if you’d like to keep your content private. For example, here on tumblr there are options to make posts private or disable reblogs.

Website makers are also a great way to start journaling! Applications such as Google Sites, Wordpress, and Canva are easy to use for those with no programming experience but want a customizable platform. For those that what to try their hand at programming and create a website from scratch, here is a video that might be helpful:

how I made my website by shar on YouTube

You can also use apps that are made specifically for journaling, that mimic a traditional journal or planner with premade templates and designs!

Apps and Software

Goodnotes

Olovka

Paper

Zinnia

Daily Bean

Day One Journal

My Experience with Digital Journaling:

Personally, I use my Instagram as a digital journal! I made my page completely private with no followers so I don’t feel pressured to perfect my photos or entries, as having an “audience” can discourage me from posting. I use free photo editor apps to decorate my photos (such as PicSee, Kawaii Photo, and Collageable) and in the description I write my entry. What’s helpful is that posts are automatically dated with the option to add the location.

I created what is in essence a private digital photo scrapbook because I loved taking Polaroids to include in my journal, but the film was too expense to keep up! I also wanted a more photo centered journal that emphasized visual memories rather than just written entries. The result was an Instagram page I actually use, lengthy descriptions that focus on detail and not just witty one liners for “likes”, and the ability to archive mundane photos of my daily life 💛

Articles

Daily Journaling: Ideas and Techniques For The Modern Writer by Kristen Webb Wright- Advantages and challenges of switching from traditional to digital journaling with tips and techniques to help you on your journey!

Digital vs. Paper Journaling: Which one is for you? By Jenny Lee- A rundown on digital journaling with resources. This article compares both physical and digital journaling with listed benefits.

The Impactful Practice of Digital Journaling Explained by Katie Koschalk- This article explains what digital journaling is, the benefits, and how to get started.

Videos to get you started:

Digital Journaling for Beginners by geminipages on YouTube: Beginner guide with a focus on Apple/ipad with a brief list of journaling software for you to explore.

How to Start Digital Journal + Flip-through by diarysheree on YouTube: A tutorial on how to create a customized digital journaling platform using Canva, Sketchbook, and Pages.

Digital Journaling in Android by Sangita Patle on YouTube: A tutorial on how to create a customizable journal on Android using Picsart and Pinterest.

Journaling Methods Library: Click here for a guide to different journaling methods! 🔗

Last Updated: April 4th, 2026

We host themes on our journal community “Journal With Us” to expand our practice, challenge ourselves, and strengthen our creative skills. Themes are posts that highlight and breakdown a journal method/technique with information, insights, tips, and helpful articles and videos.

The Expressive Writing Paradigm-Processing Trauma

A four day prompt-driven method created by Dr. James Pennebaker designed to help one articulate and process through traumatic events and emotions.

Morning Pages/Three-Page Method

A technique developed by Julia Cameron to clear away the ‘brain clutter’ that stunts creativity and productivity through a daily exercise that incorporates ‘stream-of-consciousness’ writing.

Visual Journaling/ Art Journaling

A common and popular method of journaling for creative visual individuals. This type of journaling can be tackled through broad techniques tailored to the individual, but is an excellent way to express oneself and strengthen visual art skills.

Gratitude Journaling

An easy method to incorporate into your journaling routine that encourages you to practice mindfulness through reflection and appreciation by writing what you’re grateful for and why.

Commonplace Journaling

Commonplace journaling is the act of consuming, accumulating, and storing information in an easy-to-navigate form. The intent is not just to store information, but for it to be accessible. As such, traditional methods of commonplace journaling includes a key, table of contents, and/or an index for ease of navigation.

Digital Journaling

Gratitude journaling encourages a positive mindset and healthy outlook on life through mindfulness—the practice of non-judgmental awareness of a present moment. Consistency with this practice is the key to reducing symptoms of stress and anxiety, and may increase overall optimism.

Mindfulness is the key to gratitude journaling; to achieve this, you must go beyond simple lists and dig deeper into your responses.

First, let’s go over what to avoid

Avoid general answers that lacks emotional depth and specificity that may leave you feeling emotionally empty or insincere.

Writing about what you’re grateful for before it has happened. Mindfulness emphasizes present moments; you’ll find it easier to connect emotionally with things that have happened in the near present, rather than something that will not happen until a couple of days. A good tip I encountered was to give yourself a limited window of time, say 24 hours or less.

Likewise, avoid actively looking for things to be grateful for as you experience your day. Be fully present in your daily life, when it comes time to journal you will have time to reflect on your day. Revisiting these moments gives you time to decompress, reflect, and look at them with a fresh perspective.

How To:

When you first start to practice gratitude journaling, it’s easier if you limit the amount of things you write about while still giving yourself a goal that will encourage you to dig deeper. I recommend finding three things to start with.

Write what you’re grateful for and be specific! Being specific helps you be more present and reignite the memory. Don’t just write “I’m grateful for the food I ate”, write what you ate.

Add why you’re grateful. Adding why is a game changer. Writing why is what encourages awareness and emotional depth.

What I’m grateful for

I’m grateful for my grandparents who took me to breakfast to try huevos motuleños, a popular region dish of tomatoes, pork, and eggs here in Motul, MX. I’m grateful because I know it’s almost time for me to travel back to the US and I don’t know when I’ll be able to travel and see them again. I’ll miss them, but I’m glad we’re able to have these moments together while I’m still here.

I’m grateful that I had a stable wifi connection today because our home here in Mexico doesn’t often get the best connection or cell reception. I was able to spend some time online to update my blog, which I’m proud of and always look forward to engaging with creative individuals and their art, and I was also able to call my brother whose back home in the US. I didn’t realize how much I missed home until I spent some time with him catching up and now I’m excited to go back home instead of just feeling sad that my vacation is coming to an end.

I’m grateful for my grandma because she is so talented and has been knitting me leg warmers just because I showed her some I was considering buying online. I didn’t even know she was working on them until she brought out the one she was working on to measure the width of my calf. She stopped by this evening and sat with me for a couple of hours knitting while I exercised. They’re going to be white, which is exactly the color I wanted. I can’t wait to use them this upcoming fall and winter, they’ll be perfect with the pink knitted dress I thrifted.

Come visit our tumblr journaling community ‘Journal With Us!’ 🔗

Videos:

3/3/3 Technique by paper_republic

How to gratitude journal + tips by claudiaspaurel

How to start a gratitude journal you’ll actually keep by carenhope

Articles:

The ultimate gratitude journal guide

The four A’s of gratitude by Quint

14 benefits of practicing gratitude journaling by Kori d. Miller