My Top 10 Must Have Reflective Journaling Tools for your Personal Reflection Journal

I thought that I would share the tools I use with my reflection journaling with you as we are approaching the end of 2019. 2020 will be here in the blink of an eye. You have ordered your journal and it is going to be heading to you any day now. You are excited and cannot wait to get started!

Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start in your new journal - but it can also be equally difficult knowing what tools you will need to start with. It is more than tempting to head to the shops and buy up big. But I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to do that.

I HAVE MADE YOU A HANDY LIST OF THE ESSENTIAL TOOLS THAT I HAVE BEEN USING OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS IN MY PERSONAL REFLECTIONS JOURNAL.

When I received my Personal Reflections Journal in December of 2017 I was so excited. Sure, I knew exactly what awesomeness was laid upon those pages as I was part of the design team - BUT - having my very own copy to use - that was just something else. It was totally next level!

It's a myth that you need fancy stationery

I start all my writing in pencil as I like to map out my thoughts first!

Firstly, you don’t have to buy fancy stationery and many of the items on my list you most likely already have in your desk drawers at home or at work. It’s actually better for the environment as well as your purse if you use what you have first. What you can do is gather them together into a collection. I like to make it feel special so that it adds up to a whole experience which is essentially the feel-good-hit that shopping often gives us.

YOU CAN ORGANISE YOUR COLLECTION IN A UNIQUE WAY SO THAT IT AMPS UP THE SPECIAL FACTOR

I have used a retro enamel teapot, scrapbook paper covered repurposed tin cans, pencils cases … and most recently a kraft paper suitcase. I had to let go of the retro teapot, as much as I loved it, because the kittens would routinely chew the tips from my pencils and distribute them around the living room - including under the sofa.

When I first began looking to purchase some new stationery, specifically pencils, I just didn't know where to start. What were the best pencils? How many colours would l need? Would a 12 pack work? Or should I go 24? Oh what about the 36 or 48 pack with bonus sharpener?

In the end I went with an affordable 24 with strong pigment as I felt it was a good middle ground and it gave me plenty of choice, but not too much. Turns out it was the best choice for me. And I’m still using them two years later.

In 2018 I used a lot of printed Instagram images to decorate my pages so that they essentially became a vision board of my goals and dreams. I added in flippity-out pages to maximise the space. I did a bit less of that this year, but I still love using images and coloured paper and flippity-out pages as a strategy.

In late 2019 I started using the pastel highlighters and I love them. I have used them to create lines across my page and then I write on the colours and they just pop. I don’t do this for all my pages, just the occasional double page spread to bling things up a bit.

Share with us so that we can share with the community. Join our “Reflections of an Educator” Facebook group and email is your photos. Alternatively you can tag us on Instagram #reflectionsofaneducator. Help us to inspire our community with your amazing ingenuity. I once thought I was creative until I saw some of the amazing ideas from others.

Over time, your reflecting and documenting strategies and ideas will change. The one thing that wont change will be the value that keeping a reflective journal adds to your life and the momentum of achieving your goals.

So without further ado, here are -

MY TOP 10 TOOLS FOR YOUR PERSONAL REFLECTIONS JOURNAL

1. lead and coloured pencils
2. pastel highlighters/mildliners
3. washi tape
4. water based markers or gel pens
5. scrapbooking double sided acid free tape or a low-moisture adhesive or glue.
6. Scrapbook paper, coloured paper, recycled wrapping paper or even origami paper to jazz up up your photo collages or to create flip out pages.
7. post it notes - I really LOVE post it notes.
8. scissors or a paper guillotine to slice and dice if you’re not confident with scissors
9. rubber/eraser
10. a handy dandy ruler

Other items you may want to dabble in:

• water colour pallet (just don’t be too liberal with the water!)
• printed inspirational quotes
• photos - actual photos of your spaces and places or dreams
• stickers
• stamps + ink pad
• magazines for collage

This blog article was originally written by Gaby Flavin on December 04, 2019 and also published on the Reflections of an Educator Blog.