We’re well and truly into the new year, so it’s an ideal time to reflect with the best wellness journals and consider your health goals for 2026. FYI, wellness planners 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.
Although the best self care products, best self care podcasts and best self care apps can go a long way, there’s something about journaling to mark the start of a new year that provides just the fresh start we need.
Rather than spend money on a random planner and hope for great results, 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, as well as the planners that come extremely highly rated by customers.
Table of Contents
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?
15 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
(Image credit: Papier)
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
(Image credit: Moleskine)
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 today, 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
(Image credit: Amazon)
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
(Image credit: Amazon)
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. Most creative wellness journal
(Image credit: Grey Wolfe)
If you’re creatively minded and have yet to find a journal that works for you, this could be it. Yes, it’s pricey, but that’s because it comes with a guided journal, Instax camera and film. This journal is designed to help you reconnect with yourself by being in the present, and each box comes with prompts and interactive activities to help you reflect through the creative expression of photography. If you’re more of a visual person and want to find a way to unwind and check in with yourself without tons of writing, this is the journal you need.
6. Best gratitude journal
(Image credit: Amazon)
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
(Image credit: Oliver Bonas)
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
(Image credit: Amazon)
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
(Image credit: Amazon)
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
(Image credit: Amazon)
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
(Image credit: Not on the Highstreet)
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.
12. Best wellness planner for the new year
(Image credit: Amazon)
The interactive design of this journal provides thought-provoking questions that will help you reflect on 2025 and create a plan for the life you hope to live in 2026. There are also quarterly check-ins keep you motivated to reach your goals.
With 100% five star reviews, it is a customer favourite too. “As someone who buys a lot of journals, this is not just another journal! This is like a life map / getting your ideas down and planning things out in a fun and meaningful way. Highly recommend if you’re the kind of person that has a lot of plans ideas and goals, but struggles with the execution,” explains one reviewer – we’re sold.
13. Best fitness wellness planner
(Image credit: Etsy)
If you’re looking to focus mainly on fitness and nutrition, this wellness planner is designed to help you with those two areas specifically. It allows you to track your workouts and meal plans week by week, with space to plan self care, jot down what you’re grateful for and track your habits. Although it is very structured, you can choose to fill in the sections that feel most relevant to you and avoid any areas that aren’t a part of your focus. Reviewers rave about how high quality and stylish this planner is too.
14. Best manifestation wellness planner
(Image credit: Amazon)
Manifestation is growing more and more popular by the day. If you’ve been wanting to make it a more regular feature in your wellness routine, this structured diary offers an easy way to do it. There’s almost nothing it doesn’t cover, with space to write your own mantras, habit tracking, and activity planning with room to plot your daily schedule.
“I bought this self-care journal to help me stay more mindful and organised with my daily routines, and I absolutely love it. The design is beautiful and calming, with a clean layout that makes it enjoyable to use every day. The prompts are thoughtful and really help me reflect on my day, my goals, and how I’m feeling without feeling overwhelming or repetitive,” shares one reviewer.
15. Best wellness planner for kids
(Image credit: Amazon)
Encouraging healthy habits and a positive outlook from a young age is massively beneficial to little ones, helping them grow into more self-aware adults. So if you’re looking for a child-friendly wellness planner, the HappySelf kids journal is a brilliant option. Tailored to suit children aged 6-12, this journal isn’t so much a structured planner aimed to boost productivity, but more a canvas for children’s thoughts and doodles, helping guide them towards positive habits and encouraging curious thinking. With a 4.6-star average rating from over 2,600 reviews, it’s a great gift option.
This article was first published in March 2024 and has since been updated with new products and updated pricing.
Why should I buy a wellness journal?
We all know staying on track with your goals can sometimes seem tricky, which is one reason investing in a wellness journal is money well spent.
According to clinical psychologist Barbara Markway PhD, using a daily planner allows for effective time management, improved productivity in your personal and professional life, and a multitude of health benefits, including reduced anxiety and stress.
As with everything in life, wellness journals aren’t for everyone: while for some, they can be immensely helpful for tracking habits and making goals a reality, for others, they can be triggering. If that’s you, they might not be your cup of tea, and that’s ok. Perhaps our round-up of the best diaries might be more up your street.
How can I get the most out of my wellness journal?
So, you’ve decided to pick up one of the best wellness journals, but how do you fully utilise it? We asked Holly Chapman, Head of Brand at Papier for her thoughts on how to do just that. She comments: “Using a wellness journal can be a transformative tool to focus on your well-being, helping you set goals and create meaningful shifts in your life. Start by focusing on key pillars like energy, mind, movement, nourishment, connection, and rest—each essential for holistic wellness. With your journal, you can set achievable goals and track your progress through weekly and monthly check-ins.
On busier days, dip in and out as needed, and use the morning and evening check-ins to ground your day. Setting an intention each morning and reflecting on your progress each evening can bring a sense of calm and balance to your routine.
In addition to self-reflection, the journal offers expert advice on nutrition, mindfulness, and fitness, guiding you as you go. Remember, progress comes through small, consistent actions—whether it’s an extra walk, mindful breathing, or jotting down a few reflections. Your journal becomes a place where you can track patterns in your mood, energy, and behaviour, helping you make thoughtful adjustments over time.
Reflection is a vital yet often overlooked part of wellness. The journal provides space to pause, assess your experiences, and decide how to move forward. Writing by hand strengthens your self-discipline, offers clarity, and helps you work through past experiences. It’s not just about long-term goals, but about creating small, positive moments that enhance your day-to-day well-being.
Your wellness journey is unique, and a wellness journal offers a gentle, supportive way to reconnect with what truly matters. Use it to set goals, track habits, or simply note down what you’re grateful for. Over time, it will become your trusted companion on the path to a healthier, more balanced life.”
Are wellness planners good for mental health?
This will depend on your personality and working style. If you love a list, thrive when pre-planning, and work best with a clearly-plotted strategy, then we reckon so.
Studies have shown that writing things down and pre-planning can not only boost productivity but improve career prospects and reduce stress levels, too. Whatever your learning style, they’re worth a shot, in our opinion.
View the original article here.