Hello everyone, my name is Keisha from @k.moartsy.journals and for more art and journal inspiration you can find me on Instagram  at that handle.

For me, it’s very important to take time everyday for myself. As a busy Mom, free time can be very limited so even if it’s 5 or 10 minutes, I use that time to reflect .

One of the ways I reflect is by journaling in my Archer & Olive notebooks. I use two forms of journaling, one in the traditional sense (writing) and the other is art journaling. Both methods are total game changers for me when it comes to attending to my mental health goals. Today we will cover these two journaling techniques that can be used as a form of self care.

So Here’s what you’ll need:

• Archer & Olive notebook (choose the size of your preference)
• Pen (or your preferred writing tools)

What is self-care ?

Self-care is the act of attending to one’s physical and mental health (usually without the use of medical and professional consultation).

Self-care can look like many things and writing and art journaling are  two forms of self-care that work wonders for my mental health. However, to see progress in my writing I had to learn how to be more consistent. Listed below are a few things I had to consider when starting a writing routine:

• How often should I write (daily or a couple of days a week)
• Best times to write (mornings or evenings)
• Formal or informal writing style (topic driven or brain dumping)

After some trial and error, I finally settled on a writing schedule that worked for me.  Writing 3 to 4 times a week seems to work best for me and I’ve found that the best time to journal is right before bed after I’ve completed my daily tasks. As for my writing style, getting everything out on paper seems to be the most cathartic for me so I’ve chosen an informal writing style.

My art journal is my preferred way of journaling so I use this method daily. The structure of my art journal is really straight forward. There are three sections:

1. The monthly cover page: The purpose of the monthly cover page is for making the distinction between each month and you could use this page for additional practice for your artwork.
2. Doodle dump: a doodle dump is similar to a brain dump in the general set up. This is a page made exclusively for doodling, sketching, painting etc. Every artistic technique or materials you want to use can be explored in this section.
3. To-do list: the weekly to do list is a way to document weekly art projects or schedule times to create art (the journal is set up for weekly practice so what that means is you’ll create a to-do list every week of the month in your journal. For this to work, it is important for this section to be last.)  

How I stay consistent with journaling:

To remain consistent, I made journaling apart of my daily routine. After I have completed all of my tasks for the day, I make myself a priority by checking in with myself with a journaling session each night. When I first began journaling for self-care, I was very inconsistent and I almost felt that the writing portion of journaling was a chore. However, over time I realized that journaling was one thing I could do for myself that did not require anything except pen and paper. 

If you want to give it a try, get started with my free printable:

And want to learn more? Watch my video here:

Thank you for checking out my tips on how to use journaling as a form of self-care. I hope that you found some inspiration and be sure to check out the free printable available with this blog and I’ll see you guys next time, bye!