The Best Guided Journals That You NEED to Have

Sometimes you want to start a journaling practice but you’re not exactly sure how to do it. This is where guided journals can come into play. Like regular journaling, I’ve used these kind journals on and off for many years.

What I love the most about guided journals is that it can take a lot of the thinking out of journaling and helps me expand my mind on what I write about.

Because I think guided journals are sooo cool, I thought I’d make a post about the best guided journals that I’ve found (many of which I’ve used before!).

*This post may contain affiliate and/or referral links. It doesn’t cost you anything extra to use the provided links to purchase any of the below products or services. Please check out my disclosure policy.*

What Is a Guided Journal?

A guided journal is a journal that uses prompts to help bring your creative juices and energy into the forefront. These prompts can include anything such as questions, lists, and images. The journals that I have listed here contain hundreds of the best journaling prompts for you to use to help you keep memories, set goals, increase your happiness, and so much more.

If there is a journal that you think I should include on this list or if you’ve tried any of these journals, let me know what you think of them!

Related: How to Start A Journaling Practice

Journals for Keeping Memories

The journals in this section are all about reflection and keeping your memories.

Q&A A Day: 5-Year Journal

I actually have this journal and I’ve had it for about 5 years now. Unfortunately, I didn’t fill a lot of it out but some of it is filled out. I found it a few months ago will I was decluttering. Looking it through it brought back a lot of memories and showed me how far I’d come. If you like to reminisce and journaling, this is the journal that you need.

One Line A Day

While this journal doesn’t have any prompts, it is guided because it is structured in a way that prompts you to write just one line for each day. Sum up your day in one sentence. What would you say?

Best Journals for Happiness and Gratitude

All the journals in this section will help you to learn how to journal for happiness and cultivate an attitude of gratitude.

52 Lists for Happiness

If you love making lists, this is the book for you. This journal has 52 prompts to help you figure out what makes you happy. Along with each list is a prompt to also help you take action on the list that you made. Love lists or know someone who does? Grab this journal!

The Sunrise Manifesto

The Sunrise Manifesto is a morning journal that says it will help you gain clarity and happiness in less than 10 minutes each morning. You can also use this journal as a planner. Planner + Gratitude Journal = buy this right now!

Good Days Start with Gratitude

This guided journal is simple. It provides you with space to write about 3 things that you are grateful for each day. It is perfect if you want a pretty journal to start your gratitude practice with.

Getting to Good

Getting to Good is here to help you increase your happiness and gain a positive outlook. It has prompts and strategies based on proven therapies such as motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy to help you increase your happiness. Check out this journal here.

Best Journals for Goal Setting

These journals are all learning how to write in a journal to improve yourself and achieve your goals. If you have a goal that you want to achieve, these are the journals that you want.

The Freedom Journal

This journal packs a punch! Seriously. This journal will help you accomplish your #1 goal in 100 days. Not only will you get the journal, but it also comes with an app and access to a private Facebook group. Wow! Grab this journal if you want to accomplish your goals and get support.

The Morning Sidekick Journal

This guided journal is all about helping you conquer your morning and develop good habits. Every day has daily content to help you become a “better morning person”.

This Year I Will

This is another journal that I am wanting to add to my wishlist. It was created by a licensed clinical social worker and first asks you to tap into your core values to help you achieve your goals. Achieve your goals this year with this awesome journal.

Best Journals for Anxiety and Mental Health

The journals in this section are all about helping you with your mental health – with some guided journals specifically for depression and anxiety. *Note that these journals are NOT a replacement for therapy*

52 Lists for Calm

Similarly to the 52 Lists for Happiness, this journal is filled with prompts to help you build stress relieving coping skills through list-making.

Writing for Emotional Balance

 From Amazon – “It gives you information, ideas, and active exercises that can help you feel more comfortable and directed in your emotional life.” If you love journaling and want to get more in touch with your emotions, along with getting some sound information, this is the journal for you.

Tiny Buddha’s Worry Journal

This journal is a place for you to lay down (or write down I should say) all of your worries. It has prompts, quotes, and questions to help bring you peace from the anxiety that you may be feeling. This is a wonderful journal to gift someone who may experience anxiety.

Trauma Healing Journal

This journal for healing is here to help you work through any trauma that you have experienced. It has inspirational quotes, dot grid pages, and prompts. Check it out here.

****Again, none of these journals are a replacement for therapy. If you are in therapy, you may want to share these with your therapist!***

Best Journals for Grieving

The journals in the section are here to help you through grief that you may be experiencing from loss. And remember grief can be from the loss of anything, not just death.

Angel Catcher

This journal has space for you to write your thoughts, share memories, and add pictures to help you remember your loved one who has passed away. It also has short quotes and poems, as well as a pocket in the back for keepsakes. This is a beautiful journal to give as a gift (or to get for yourself) if you or someone you love is grieving.

On Coming Alive

This journal has 100 prompts to help you or someone you love through the grieving process. From Amazon – “Featuring inspiring quotes from writers, and other visionaries paired with open-ended questions and prompts, with plenty of room for writing and reflecting,”. If you are experiencing grief, take a look at this journal.

Forever In My Heart

This guided journal has prompts that allow you to reflect on the life that your loved one had and your life with them. Pick this journal up if you are grieving over the loss of a loved one.

Pet Grief Journal

I wanted to include this one because pets are such an incredible part of the lives of many people, including myself. Grieving over a pet is just as valid as grieving over a person. Grab this journal if you’re grieving over the loss of a pet or if you know someone who is.

Best Journals for Yoga and Yogis

The journals in this section will help you dive deeper into your yoga practice.

Good Intentions

This guided journal sounds really awesome. Not only does it give you bite-sized information about yoga and how to create a yoga practice, but it also provides an ample amount of space for reflection with guided prompts. You can order it here!

Yoga Journal Notebook

This journal is super simple (and sometimes that’s all you want or need!). It has space for your intentions, gratitude, and how your poses make you feel. Check out this journal.

A Journal for Yoga Teacher Training

I think this would be an awesome gift for a beginner yoga teacher or a yoga teacher who wants to shake things up a bit. It has 100 prompts to help with areas such as teaching, the business side of teaching yoga, and meditation. If you or a loved one is a yoga teacher, definitely pick this journal up.

Best Journals for Self-Improvement and Self-Discovery

Are you looking to journal for self-discovery or journal for self-improvement? These are the journals that you want to grab.

Related: Journaling Prompts for Self-Discovery

Start Where You Are

This journal was given to me by some of my co-workers a few years ago. I love how the prompts are so different from most of the guided journals that I’ve had before AND I love how bright and colorful it is. If you’re into self-exploration, this is the journal that you want to get.

Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice

Becoming is an amazing book and now it is being turned it a guided journal. Love Becoming and/or you love Michelle Obama? This is THE book you need. Get it now.

Soul Therapy

This journal looks awesome and was created by a marriage and family therapist. Here’s a snippet from Amazon, “Featuring 365 days of thought-provoking prompts, inspiring quotes, open-ended questions, daily practices, and motivational soul food”. This book is going on my wishlist and it should go on yours too!

365 Self-Discovery Journal

This journal is super simple and to the point. It has 365 prompts (one for each day of the year) that allow you to learn more about yourself. You can grab this journal here.

This Time Next Year

Like the journal above, this journal’s premise is super simple: 365 prompts for self-exploration. What I really like about this journal is the variety of ways in which the prompts are presented and how colorful (but no overwhelmingly so) it is. I highly recommend this journal. It is going on my Amazon wish list.

Practice You

This journal was created by a yoga and meditation teacher to help you “record our flashes of insight, find our ground, create and clarify our goals, and bear witness to our own evolution.” If a journal created by yoga and meditation teacher is your jam…this is your journal. Grab it here.

BONUS Journal!!

Wreck This Journal

I didn’t really know where else to put this journal but I know that I wanted to include it. This journal helps you to unleash your creativity and get a bit wild. Ripping, tearing, licking, and dropping, may all be some prompts that you might get with this journal. I have one and it is so much fun to use. Get this journal if you don’t take yourself too seriously.

I hope that you enjoyed learning about these amazing guided journals. Tell me more about your guided journal experience in the comments. Do you like guided journals or do you prefer to write what ever comes to mind?

Will you be getting any of these journals? If you do, make sure to come back and let me know what you thought of them!

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