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Journaling: An easy introduction

Organise, structure, track and plan your year with your customised notebook.

What is a Journal?

Individual, creative, personal: A simple notebook becomes a life planner. A journal is a mixture of calendar, diary and notebook that you can design uniquely according to your ideas. There are no rules and no predefined structure. It is suitable for all areas of life from school to work to leisure. A journal always helps you to structure and organise all areas of your life and it is based on your personal needs. It is as individual as you are - with to-do lists, trackers, notes, lists, overviews and much more.

Why should I create a journal?

With a journal you have everything in one place and sort the chaos. You don't need individual notes, a rigid calendar or loose sheets of paper with lists anymore, because all of that can be found on the pages of your journal. It helps you organise your appointments and thoughts so you never forget anything again. If you have trouble breaking old habits or routines and developing new ones, you can visualize your goals and check them regularly, as they are always in front of your eyes. This motivates and encourages self-reflection. It also helps you live more productively and put down your smartphone more often. 

What do I need for my Journal?

For your journal, obviously you need a notebook. The A5 size is ideal for traveling. If you use it primarily at home, it can of course also be larger. Make sure that the pages are not too thin, so that no ink will bleed through. You also have to decide whether you want to use a dotted, lined, squared or blank book. Dotted notebooks are popular because they offer a lot of freedom, but still have a basic structure.

Besides the notebook itself, a ruler, scissors, glue stick, and of course lots of pens will help you get started. We've put together a selection that you can start with right away and give free rein to your creativity when designing your individual journal:
Fineliner with spring-loaded tip

STABILO SENSOR

Texts, fine details and decorations require a precise writing tool. The fineliner with its spring-loaded tip and smudge-proof ink is the right choice for this.
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Hexagonal graphite pencil

STABILO pencil 160

To start your journal, it is worthwhile to make a sketch. You can use a pencil to sketch out the layout. It is possible to try out different styles and discard them again or to set auxiliary lines for a balanced overall picture.
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Premium felt-tip pen

STABILO Pen 68

For colourful pages in the journal you need a wide range of colours. A high-quality felt-tip pen is a must. The STABILO Pen 68 even offers luminous and pastel colours. Its high brilliance and luminosity distinguish it just as much as its even colour release. It is therefore particularly suitable for colour blending or watercolour techniques.
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Fineliner

STABILO point 88

Whether you want to structure your texts, underline, make notes or simply write away, with the many brilliant colours you have the full creative choice. The metal-mounted tip and high protection against drying out without a cap ensure outstanding quality and make the STABILO point 88 a pen you can always rely on.
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Textmarker

STABILO BOSS ORIGINAL

In Europe, it is the number 1 highlighter: the STABILO BOSS ORIGINAL has been in daily use in schools and universities since 1971. Its great strength: it can easily be stored open for a long time - up to 4 hours - without drying out. That's why it doesn't matter if you forget to put the cap on in your hectic everyday life.
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Felt-tip pen

STABILO pointMax

In addition to its variety of colours, the tip is what makes the STABILO pointMax special: developed from nylon material, the robust tip of the felt-tip pen is both innovative and practical. All those who want to gain new, haptic writing experiences are well served by the pen. Since the STABILO pointMax is available in many colours, it is the ideal pen for all lovers of writing in bright colours.
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Premium felt-tip pen with brush tip

STABILO Pen 68 brush

The sturdy tip of the STABILO Pen 68 brush is easy to handle for beginners and experienced users alike. Depending on the pressure, the stroke width on the paper varies. It is watercolourable and therefore super suitable for implementing great effects such as colour blending.
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Premium Metallic felt-tip pen

STABILO Pen 68 metallic

STABILO Pen 68 metallic is the perfect choice for anyone who likes highlights and glossy effects. It impresses with its rich colour output and high lightfastness. It also paints on various surfaces, e.g. metal or foil, and is smudge-proof after a short drying time.
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Highlighter

STABILO swing cool

Highlighters are also used in journaling. They are just as suitable for creative effects in the background as they are for placing shadows. The wide range of colours makes it possible to choose from a variety of bright and pastel colours.
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How to structure a Journal?

An index, the key and overviews (year, month, week, day) are useful as a basic framework for your journal. This basis can be extended by trackers, logs or lists.

Index

The index is the table of contents of your journal. Here you enter the content you create and where it can be found in the journal. The index grows over time and should be updated regularly. So leave one or the other following page blank.

Key

The symbols defined in the key help you to organise and complete tasks, appointments or notes. It makes sense to choose symbols that show the current status through small changes. For example, for tasks you can use an empty circle, which is simply painted out when the task is completed. Appointments are often marked with a dot. If the appointment is postponed, the dot is changed into an arrow, if the appointment is completed, a cross is set.

Log

In the log you enter your appointments and tasks. The Future Log (annual overview) is super suitable for a rough overview with birthdays, vacations or special occasions. The Monthly Log and the Weekly Log show every day of the month and include one-time appointments, spontaneous trips or other planned events. The Daily Log is the smallest overview of your tasks, notes or reminders that are important for that day.

Grid Sheet

Most of your pages in the journal are divided into several sections. To avoid having to calculate the width of the columns or the dimensions of the boxes every time, you can create a page with possible divisions and crib it again and again. This makes the work with the journal even faster and you can concentrate on the essential things.

Tracker

Trackers give you a quick overview of your habits and the progress of your plans. You can track anything, depending on your needs and priorities. Often, your mood, sleep, diet, or exercise are documented. Spending by area, social media consumption or bad habits can also be clearly displayed with the help of a dedicated page, as well as positive leisure activities or hobbies. When selecting your trackers, however, limit yourself to the most important ones so that you can track in a relaxed manner and don't get bogged down in tracking stress.

Other ideas

We've collected a few more suggestions for what you can use your journal for, too:
  • Diary and photo book
  • Birthdays and anniversaries
  • Spending, shopping list and savings plan
  • Fitness plan, experiences and travels
  • Creative page or idea collection with sketch notes, doodles or hand lettering
  • Life goals and bucket list
  • Family time, fresh air and health

How to customise a Journal?

The easiest way is to simply let your creativity run wild, just try it out and keep reinventing yourself and getting inspired. Customise your journal with banners and embellishments, hand and brush lettering, sketch notes, doodles, mandalas, or different folded and cut pages. If you are looking for more ideas, then click through our creative area and get inspired.

Our world of creativity

Discover many great ideas and projects in our creative area, which you can immediately copy with your STABILO pens. There you'll find templates to download and colour, decoration and DIY ideas, various artworks and letterings for inspiration, and video tutorials to guide you step by step.
to the creative world