It's the perfect time to cosy up with the 11 best wellness journals for productivity, gratitude and self-care

It's almost Christmas, and this time of year is when we love to cosy up on the sofa with the best wellness journals. FYI, they promise to do a lot more than simply keep your weekly to-do lists and goals for the year in one place. Quite the opposite, they're a handy organisational tool and a simple way to boost productivity which Team MC UK Editors swear by for improving both organisation and mood.

For many, they're also a great self-care idea and an easy way to jot down your thoughts and plan your week ahead. Need more convincing? Grace Beverley's wellness journals sell out in a matter of hours pretty much every time they've gone on sale.

So why are we all so here for wellness planners at current? Simply put, they're a great way to show your brain some TLC, with one 2021 study finding that humans see stronger brain activity after writing things down. Likewise, a study conducted in 2022 found that journaling is a "low-cost, low-side effect therapy" that can help with the management common mental health symptoms such as anxiety and PTSD.

Rather than spend money on a random planner, it's important to do some research to find out which journal is the right one for you. That's where we come in. Below, we've shared the top planners we've personally tested ourselves and use day in, day out.

Sound good? We thought so. Keep scrolling for our top picks of the best wellness journals to buy now, plus an explainer on why exactly journals can not only your mental health, but also boost your productivity, too. Don't miss our guides to the best self care products, best self care podcasts and best self care apps, while you're here.

11 best wellness journals to boost calm

What is a wellness journal?

Simply, a journal with prompts to help you track both mood and productivity. While the prompts will vary from model to model, many will include habit trackers, weekly and monthly to-do lists, and easy ways to jot down your thoughts, dreams and plans.

They're a simple yet effective way of staying on top of not only your to-do's but also your mental health, shares clinical psychologist Barbara Markway PhD.

Testing process

Because we'd rather you didn't spend money on something you won't use, we've personally tested and seriously vetted the reviews of all of the wellness journals in this round up. Rest assured, they're either the Editor-approved ones we use personally day in, day out, or products that come extremely highly rated by countless customers.

Read more about our testing process, here. When testing, we considered:

• Quality: Was the wellness planner a good quality and size?
• Ease of use: Was it easy to use and were the pointers helpful?
• Lined or unlined: Were the pages lined?
• Layout: Was it well laid out and did the flow of the journal make sense?

11 best wellness journals: Tried and tested

From personalised wellness planners to weekly healthy habit trackers, we've included our top picks for staying on track with your self-care routine.

Personal development and self-care, here you come...

1. Best personalised wellness journal

Team Marie Claire UK love the layout of this wellness planner, with Senior Health Editor Ally Head and Executive Beauty Editor Shannon Lawlor both using it daily. It comes with both a weekly and daily overview, plus quarterly goal-setting prompts and a handy weekly shopping list section.

This, in our opinion, offers the best layout of the wellness planners we tried, not to mention is printed on eco-responsible paper and designed to last. Do note, too: there are a whole range of colours and prints available for the cover, plus, you can personalise it with your name or initials to make it even more special. It makes a gorgeous gift for your stationery-loving friend too.

2. Best customisable wellness journal

You'll all have heard of Moleskine, one of the world's most well-known journal designers. When the company first launched in the 19th century, it sold pocket-sized notebooks bound with leather or oilskin. Fast forward to 2024, however, and they sell hundreds of different designs.

The one that caught our attention? Their Passion Journal, which is specifically designed to help you boost your wellbeing. When testing, we liked that it was delivered in a premium box and comes with themed stickers to help you customise your journal and not one, but two ribbon bookmarks. There's also a double expandable inner pocket for notes, photos, and so on, and clear tabbed sections to guide your note-taking.

3. Best journal for self-care goals

When testing, we felt this planner had everything you need to stay on track with your self-care routine. One of its main perks is that it's undated, so you won't end up skipping (and wasting) loads of pages to achieve your long-term goals. Similarly, it's clearly laid out into daily and weekly sections, both with clear sections for habit tracking, too, helping you to make hitting wellbeing goals like drinking more water or hitting your step count seem easy.

Like the sound of inspirational affirmations boost your confidence, daily to-do lists, monthly self-care goals, and un-dated daily, weekly and monthly planning blocks? Then you'll love this wellness planner.

4. Best luxury wellness journal

While this is on the pricier end of the spectrum, it's definitely worth the investment. From a small independent company, this planner offers space to track and plan meals, daily habits, sleep, mood, water intake, and more.

There's a reason it went viral on TikTok - it's excellent, and when testing, team MC UK were particularly big fans of the six-step personal self-care plan. Essentially, your wellness planner starts by encouraging you to take time to reflect on your current self-care practices and how you wish to change these in the coming months. It gets rave reviews for a reason - it's simple to use, clearly laid out, and actually effective.

5. Best journal if you don't have much time

Okay, this technically isn't a wellness journal, but our Junior Shopping Editor Valeza absolutely hates journaling, and this is the only one she's ever managed to stick to. By filling in a sentence or two each day, Valeza loves how quick and easy it is to complete each morning or evening. She's just recently completed her first full year and finds it both interesting and uplifting to look back on what she's achieved compared to the same time last year.

6. Best gratitude journal

MC UK Designer Treasa Burns is a huge fan of this journal. She shares: "I love journals, and I have tried most of the popular methods of journaling - it is part of my daily routine. I have a chaotic, overactive mind, so this is my meditation. Getting my thoughts and tasks down on paper helps calm my mind, and I feel less scattered throughout the day. The Head Plan is perfect when I feel stuck or unfocused. The prompts and sections are a brilliant guide for starting your journaling journey or when you need a bit more guidance. A blank page can be daunting. The gratitude prompts make me take time to focus on what I am grateful for (I wouldn't do this otherwise), and the quotes help start the day on a positive note.”

7. Best journal for positive vibes

One thing we loved about this wellness journal when testing was the fact it comes jam-packed with feel-good affirmations to help start your day off on a positive note. It has enough pages to last you twelve weeks and also has pages for you to list your intentions, reflections, mood, meals, and more. A wellness planner that boosts your organisation and mood? We're fans.

8. Best wellness journal for productivity

This planner doesn't only look good, but it's perfect for those who like to structure their days and weeks by time slots, to-do lists and top priorities. There's also ample space for notes and doodles, so it offers a bit of everything. Plus, the planner is undated, meaning you can use it as and when you need to. Keen to read one MC UK staffer's full productivity planner review? Look no further.

9. Best structured wellness journal

If you're new to journalling, it can be pretty intimidating when faced with a blank page and no idea where to start. If you're looking for a diary with some structure and guidance, this is the affordable pick to go for. It contains helpful prompts and affirmations to give you somewhere to start, as well as a habit tracker, mood tracker, and monthly check-ins.

It has brilliant ratings from customers who praise how easy it is to use, even if you have a packed schedule. "This is great for busy people. It's your 5 mins in the day where you can have a brew and really think about what's happened," says one. Affordable and intuitive, it's a great starting journal for those just getting into it.

10. Most inspiring wellness journal

If you need a dose of positivity in your life, this journal provides exactly that. "It helps you to motivate your visions into reality and keeps you on par with your goals," explains one Amazon customer, and others seem to agree. It was originally published in Spanish and has thousands of 5-star Amazon reviews from customers there, and it's finally available in English too. Its main selling points are its organised layout and inspirational messaging that will help you to re-frame your mindset.

"This book is simple which is something that I have been looking for. Everyday there is a gratitude page to fill out, nothing too in depth, and so far it has helped me in being more positive and to look at the small things rather than things that went wrong," explains another reviewer.

11. Best personalised wellness planner

This personalised planner will make an excellent gift for a loved one. It is packed full of helpful prompts including your wellness goals, 100 days of habit tracking, and brainstorming pages to boost creativity. If you find empty pages slightly daunting and want something completely wellness focused rather than a productivity planner with daily and weekly planning, this option is both stylish and inspiring.