19 Personal Daily Journal Template Examples to Help You Start Journaling Today

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Are you looking for a first-rate daily journal template for your journaling hobby?

Perhaps you want to start journaling, but do not know where to begin?

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced journal writer, these daily journal templates will satisfy your thirst for organized planning and soulful writing. You can use these templates as they are, and simply print them out to get started, or you can draw inspiration from them and create your own DIY template.

But before we proceed to our list, let us share with you the benefits of keeping a daily journal. Some of you might think of journaling as inconvenient and time-consuming, but in reality it is quite easy and provides numerous benefits.

Reasons to Keep a Daily Journal

Maximizes your creativity and productivity.

Keeping a daily journal isn’t just for fun and recreation—it is actually a tool to make you more productive and hardworking, and help you accomplish your tasks and achieve your goals. In addition, it boosts creativity and inspires you to follow through with your plans.

Keeps your mind clear and your thoughts organized.

When you keep a journal with daily entries, your thoughts are all stored in one place. You don’t have to think about where you put the sticky note with your assignment written on it. You also don’t have to waste time remembering when the next office meeting is, or the deadline for a particular project. Having a journal helps you achieve that peace of mind you’ve been longing for so.

Releases stress and clears your emotions.

Writing is one of the best ways to release all of your tension and pent-up anxiety. It is a therapeutic and peaceful way to let go of your emotions whenever you feel them about to overflow. When your life is organized and your emotions are clear, you feel less worried about how to handle difficult situations when they arise.

Develops a person’s sense of gratitude and appreciation.

A daily journal will often include things that you appreciate and are grateful for. This is why journals are great tools to help learn the art of gratitude and recognition. Seeing your plans and the things you have done laid out in plain sight can make you appreciate yourself and the people around you even more.

Strengthens bonds and relationships.

Keeping a journal also allows you to rethink and reevaluate your relationships with the people around you. When you see how much they have contributed to your growth as a person, you will feel more affection for them.

These are just some of the benefits of keeping a daily journal. As you start this habit, you will be surprised at how it can drastically change your life, perception, and views.

RELATED: Habits that Stick!

Want to build a new habit that will stick for the rest of your lifetime? In this video, you will discover a simple 9-step process about building habits that you can immediately implement.

Now, without further ado, let us check out our list of daily journal template examples you can use for your journaling journey!

19 Personal Daily Journal Template Examples

1. Daily Journal and Schedule

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If you are looking for a template that allows you to check out the details of your day at a glance, our very own Daily Planner works wonderfully. It features a schedule tracker with one-hour intervals so you can keep track of everything you need to do from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. There are also dedicated spaces for writing your top 5 Goals for the Day, your Top Priorities, and important Notes.

2. Daily Journal and Task List

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Bring some cheerful energy to your day with this pastel-themed template. We created this template for you to keep track of your daily tasks and appointments and to ensure that you stay motivated throughout the day. This template helps you do so by dedicating spaces for Today’s Mantra and your chosen Quote of the Day.

3. Day at a Glance

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via TheDigitalDownloadsShop

The Day at a Glance journal template is designed to help you accomplish everything you want and need to do on a daily basis. It is the brainchild of Savanna Williams, the owner of Digital Download Shop on Etsy.com. The template comes with a “month at a glance” printable template, and is easily available in a ZIP folder upon purchase.

This template comes in four different sizes to perfectly suit your bullet journaling or planning needs. You can choose from letter size, half-letter size, A4, and A5, all in PDF format. A copy of all of these sizes will be sent to you. If you want an editable version, there is one available in A4 size.

4. Doodled Floral Daily To-Do List

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via VintageGlam

Doodled Floral Daily is a planner designed and developed by Dru Cortez of Vintage Glam Studio. She offers other journal services as well, such as design stickers, DIY crafts, and other journal templates. Most of her journal templates are free, but you are not allowed to re-sell, distribute, or claim the original as your own.

This daily journal template she offers is available in two sizes: 8½ x 11 inches and 5 x 7½ inches. You will need to do manual editing before you can print the material, but it’s worth the effort because the template offers a number of features to suit your journaling needs. These include your to-dos, appointments and errands, daily routine tasks, health and fitness, meals and snacks, and weekly to-dos. It also has a notes and inspiration section where you can doodle, scribble, or write amazing quotes.

5. BirchTree Organizing Printable Daily Planner

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via BirchTreeOrganizing

We recommend this daily planner template for people who have busy schedules. It serves as an excellent monitoring tool for all the things you need to get done and remember. Planning out your days and weeks with this template can help make your day less hectic and stressful.

This daily planner from Birch Tree includes your top three priorities for the day. It also has an “hour by hour” section where you can break down the tasks for your three objectives. It has a “coming up section” as well, where you can add things you need to do in the next few days to complete those tasks. Finally, what is really unique about it is the “calls to make” and “emails/texts to send” sections, which keep you aware of the replies and follow-ups you need to send.

6. 10 Minutes to Reflect on Your Day

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via Christie Zimmer

There are days when our schedules are so hectic that it’s difficult to carve out time for a full-blown journal-writing session. In cases like this, Christie Zimmer’s printable template is a lifesaver.

The time it takes to write down your reflections using this template is enough to slow things down a bit, allowing you to decompress when things feel like they’re getting out of hand. Take a 10-minute break and fill up this journal—noting your ideas, expressing your emotions, and regaining your center.

7. Daily Journal for Kids

It’s never too early to introduce kids to a journal-keeping habit. They can gain a lot from writing their thoughts and feelings every day. For starters, it improves their hand-eye coordination, promoting better dexterity. Moreover, it helps them self-regulate emotions better.

This example of a journal template has several pre-made questions that kids can answer. You’ll find that there will be kids who take to journaling and write extensively, while others will be reluctant to use a journal. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to gently encourage them so they’ll be able to reap the benefits of this exercise.

8. Wins and Challenges of the Day

Each day has its ups and downs, and the negative experiences can contribute to feelings of discouragement, especially on days when everything seems to go wrong.

This is why it is important to step back and do something to decompress.

Although the creator of this template intended for it to be used to contemplate a homeschooling day, it can also be used for identifying the positives and negatives of your day.

Step back from what you are doing for a few minutes. Be mindful of your breathing, and try to find your center. When everything within you has calmed down, take a few moments to fill in this template with the good and bad highlights of your day to put things into perspective.

9. Daily Love, Body, Spirit Diary

For many people, self-care is not a priority. Career, family, and social life often take precedence over inner peace, self-love, and self-appreciation. Thus, it comes as no surprise that many of us feel lost and disconnected from our authentic selves.

To keep our well-being and health at an optimal level, we need to take time to address our needs and care for ourselves. This journal template works as a prompt, reminding us of what we need in order to restore our energy and function at an optimal level of well-being.

10. Journal My Day

This template is designed to allow kids to reflect on their days and develop their love of learning.

In addition to improved dexterity and better emotion regulation, kids who write their reflections about their daily activities reinforce the things they have learned. Furthermore, journal writing helps kids develop their handwriting skills. Finally, it teaches them early on about the importance of goal setting.

11. A Prayer Journal

If you’re looking for a way to deepen your journey into your faith, it can be helpful to keep a prayer journal. It helps keep track of answered prayers and your growth in your belief in a power greater than you.

This example provides space for free-form journal writing. It also has dedicated sections for writing specific things you hold close to your heart, as well as a Prayer List.

12. Positive Thought Journal Page

Children can benefit greatly from being introduced to a journaling habit. It helps them learn mindfulness, organization, and a habit of gratitude.

This template is ideal for kids who are new to journaling. A large portion of the page features enough space for writing one’s thoughts and reflections about the day. The right-hand side of the page is dedicated to creating a list, possibly of important reminders and tasks.

13. Guided Journal Template

This guided journal is ideal for practicing mindfulness and gratitude in life. It features several different-shaped boxes that contain writing prompts, such as:

  • One Thing “you excel at,” “you crave,” and “you hope for.”
  • One Person who “you can be you with,” “you share secrets with,” and “you’ve learned from.”
  • One Place “you go for fun,” “you go for some peace and quiet,” and “you remember fondly.”

If things feel a little disappointing in life right now, this journal will definitely help you see things in a different and better light.

14. Focus on the Good

This journal is your guide to recording the positive things that went on during the day. Sometimes, with everything that’s going on in our lives, we overlook the good things that happen to us. It’s usually only the negative things that we pay attention to because we need to do damage control for them.

However, this journal template encourages its users to find the good in their everyday experiences. Although it’s originally designed for kids, people of all ages can benefit from using the writing prompts found in this template.

The template is divided into five sections, with each section representing one day. It starts on Monday and ends on Friday.

For each section, there are writing prompts that help you focus on everything good that happened on that day, as well as enough space for writing your answers.

15. Self-Reflection Sheet

This self-reflection sheet is part of a free downloadable set called Student Self-Care Kit. The focus of this worksheet is to help you do a self-check, especially if you’ve had an overwhelming day.

This tool was designed to help you shift negative thoughts into positive ones. It does this by providing writing prompts that help you reflect about the nature of your experiences throughout the day.

The template provides space for writing your thoughts about how you feel, as well as what things you’re proud of and grateful for.

16. Daily Reflections Log

This template allows you to reflect on your day, strengthens your gratitude habit, and helps you move forward with personal baggage—and it helps you with all of this on a single page.

The template has a section for listing five things you’re thankful for from the day. It also allows for self-checking by providing space for writing how you’re currently feeling.

There are a couple of columns where you can list down the day’s goals and affirmations.

Finally, right at the bottom of the page is a section with a writing prompt, encouraging you to identify things you need to let go of for a better day tomorrow.

By the way, click here for helpful tips on letting go of the past and living in the present moment.

17. Reflective Journal for Teachers

We can all benefit from a journal designed for our specific careers to encourage reflection and new discoveries.

If you happen to be a teacher or educator, you might be interested in trying out this journal template for teachers.

This journal features writing prompts that encourage a deep reflection on how the day’s teaching went. It sheds light on issues in class that may have been overlooked or overshadowed by other concerns.

Finally, it helps develop a teacher’s awareness to better take care of students’ needs in the classroom.

18. Self-Care Journal for Moms

Looking for a journal template made specifically for moms? Here’s one worth your attention.

This 10-page journal is intended to encourage moms to take time for self-care. It has writing prompts and activity trackers reminding mothers that taking care of themselves is as important as taking care of their families’ needs.

Almost every page of the journal has a motivational or inspiring quote. The journal pack includes the following sheets:

  • Meditation/prayer page – for daily reflections
  • Affirmations page – for encouragement, especially on difficult days
  • Morning and evening reflection pages – a planner and recap page for the day’s activities

19. My Day

Looking for more examples of journal templates that kids can use? Here’s another one that allows you and your child to document what happened during the day and reflect on it.

Near the top of the page are the names of the days of the week. You can circle the appropriate name for the day’s entry.

There is also space to take note of the day’s weather, as well as one’s mood.

This journal template also has spaces designated for the user to write more details about their day, including highlighting their favorite part Finally, there is space for writing down some general plans for the next day’s activities.

Conclusion

Keeping a daily journal clearly has tons of benefits for your mind, body, heart, and soul. It is a form of meditation that helps you stay focused, productive, and organized. There may be different ways to do it, but ultimately the goal is to help you remain aware and improve your life.

We hope that we were able to help you pick a daily journal template that suits your tastes. You can try a few of these and see which you think is the best for your daily routine and activities. As mentioned earlier, you can print and use them right away, or you can simply take inspiration from them when creating your own personalized journal.

Once you've chosen a template, here are some journal prompts to inspire your writing.

We wish you well on your journaling journey!

Finally, if you don’t know the “right” way to journal, then check out this seven-step process for building a journaling habit that sticks.

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