Keeping a journal comes with many benefits. It’s a way to express your creativity, stay organized, record major life events, or all of the above. For inspiration check out these journaling guides from your local library:

Dot Journaling, A Practical Guide by Rachel Wilkerson Miller – Provides instruction on dot journaling, describing how this method of record keeping can be used in such areas as relationships, habits, goals, hobbies, and health, using bullet points on a grid background as its core framework.

Inner Hero Creative Art Journal by Quinn McDonald – Presents instructions for using mixed media techniques that incorporate photographs, fabrics, ink, scripts, mosaic blocks, leaves, and eggshells to create a personal journal that explores issues of self-worth and identity.

Artist’s Journal Workshop by Cathy Johnson – Provides guidance in creating a meaningful art journal and includes exercises to help personalize a journal, writing and art prompts, and pages from international artists’ journals.

Journal Your Way by Gwen Diehn – Shows how to design and create custom-made journals, along with suggestions on how they can enhance memories and personal experiences.

The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing & Journaling by John Muir Laws – A how-to guide for becoming a better artist and more attentive naturalist presents dozens of exercises for creating accurate reproductions of plants and animals as well as landscapes, skies, and more.

No Excuses Art Journaling by Gina Rossi Armfield – Features daily, weekly, and monthly journaling prompts for artists as well as over 20 mixed-media journaling techniques that including watercolor painting, collage, and sketching.

Journal It!: Perspectives in Creative Journaling by Jenny Doh – Presents the work of 19 mixed-media artists who discuss the variety of techniques that they use in creating their personal journals with advice for tapping into sources of creativity and inspiration.