Journaling in action - making it personal.

This is the final blog about the Flo&Seb wellness planner and how I have found it. I find guided journals are such a benefit when you find the right one for you. I have tried to show you how I have used and enjoyed this journal, and I hope, I have showed you the main points helping you to work out what would work for you. Following this planner I have ‘The way of the Tortoise’ which is a little different and I’m excited to try it. 

But for now...

The Flo&Seb wellness planner has been great for many many things. So let me share with you my thoughts....

I found that it was an easy planner to use and I was able to personalise the days to suit what I needed. I have always worked more on goal setting and with an end focus and this was a fun change. To begin with I found that the pages looking at weight and focus on that were a little off putting but I was ill when I first started using it and I found the reminded to look at food intake and caring for your body was really important to me then and this was a fantastic aid in doing

It is divided in to numbered weeks with a mindful activity and suggestion at the end of the week. 

Which is really helpful to encourage you to do this, there is no need to search out another book or get distracted with your phone while you look something up. It’s not to prescriptive and does allow you to personalise it to what suits you. Once I got to using the planner it as a good thing to have at the end of the week, but when I started I felt that it would have been good to have one right at the start too or even a few pages of prep work as you get your head in the zone. That said I do think that this need to do the prep work is something that comes from my own journaling and if you are new to or want to get started you might not miss that as much as I did. I find a little time of prep work is a great way to get you invested in the pages and the planning which is (in my opinion) important for wellness planning as it is for goal setting. 

It’s focus is on wellness (as the name suggests) and when that is you focus I think it is a fantastic guide to help you work through creating and changing habits. I do really feel that having targets written down is so important but there really does need to be a place to work through your why, in which ever way works for you it is important when setting any goal that you know why and you have a strategy in place to achieve it. I would suggest taking time to do this with this planner and it will help in those times when it feels really hard. 

I have really enjoyed using this planner, it feels really good quality and really good for the price! For someone starting to journal I think it would be a really helpful guide. There are enough prompts to keep you focused but plenty of space to go freestyle! I ended up using the meal spaces to plan out my homeschooling and give everyone the time needed for breaks and work. 

I used the meal plans to help keep a focus in these mad times so that I can be ready for the week. I’m often a fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to meals. I write a list of meals and pick one depending on the day, but this has helped me to reduce the panic that is meal planning (a little, when I stick to it). 

There is plenty of space to get creative, you can use washi and stickers, draw and colour. There are lots of ways to really make this work for you. I think sometimes when we are using a guided journal the temptation is just to fill in the prompts and move on, but taking the time to get creative is another bonus and such a helpful part of journaling. I tend to use a lot of colours in my journaling and noticed when I opened up and started using guided journals I quickly went monochrome. So here is your permission slip to get colourful and really go wild with your creativity. Did you know that using a colour coded system will help you brain to understand the plan and help you to get it done. So it’s not just pretty colours it is something that makes a big difference. Start small and keep playing! Make a key and try to stick to it, helping you divide the jobs and the day into sections which help you feel productive. In here it could be food, self care, work at home, even colour the progress. Once you start that you will find what works for you, or come and chat and I can share some

So this was the first in the series and I have found that I used it more and more successful during the time when I was feeling unwell and needed to focus on health. It has been a tricky time and its easy to feel a bit rubbish about missing days, and I did miss days and feel bad. That feeling can grow and grow and when we give into them we will stop writing but if we see missed days as just life and are decisive about picking it up even when we haven’t been the best. Your journal will never be angry with you so just pick it up if you have missed it and get writing. This planner lets you do that because it is undated. The weeks are helpful but not restrictive, just let it gently guide you. There is a community which will walk though this with you and I wonder if this is a helpful thing especially if you are new to it. We all need community and people will encourage each

Are you planning on journaling with a guided journal and have you found one that really helpful? It’s amazing the number that are out there and one might not be your bag but something else will be. With the vastness and variety of people in the world there is something that suits you. I can’t wait to share the next one with you.