Want to Journal More Intentionally? Try Self-Care Subscription Journal Silk + Sonder

As much as I love journaling, I've never been very good at sticking with it.

When I'm having down days or dealing with tough situations, the words usually flow and it's super helpful for me to get everything out and down onto the page. On the other hand, when things are good, I often struggle to get anything on the page beyond a few things I'm grateful for.

I find guided journals tricky because a lot of the time, the prompts just feel like they're not quite right for me, and the ones that do hit the mark wind up being a bit repetitive for my liking. But Silk + Sonder does things a little differently. These monthly self-care journals are backed by psychology and offer something different every month to keep you on task and help you in your daily life. When the team behind the brand reached out to me, I was more than happy to try it out for myself, and now, I'm hooked.

The Brand

Silk + Sonder makes guided monthly journals, each with its own unique theme, to get you thinking about your life intentionally while practicing self-care. They're made in California and backed by real psychology to be as effective as possible. The word "sonder" means the moment of realization that every person you encounter is living a life as vivid and complex as your own, and that's something beautiful to think about as you discover your own path through these journals.

Each 26-page journal is designed to help users deal with feelings of overwhelm and disconnection from the self through exercises that help them find compassion, creativity, clarity and connection. It's a proactive approach to mental health that's about the journey, rather than the destination.

You can try Silk + Sonder monthly for $19.99, commit for three months for $18 a month, or sign up annually for just $14.90 a month.

(via Silk + Sonder)

 

The Journals

Because I expressed my interest in Silk + Sonder mid-August, I received journals for both August and September and got to try out the experience for two different months. First of all, I found that both journals were beautiful, but also sleek and easy to throw into a backpack or large bag, and that portability made them extra convenient to fill in during breaks or lulls.

Of course, what was inside the journals was even more important. Both journals start with an editor's note explaining the monthly theme, plus instruction sheets for all of the different areas of the journal. These include a mood tracker (so you can check in with yourself and your feelings daily), a habit tracker (to see if you can keep up with your favorite healthy habits daily), a sleep tracker, a mind and body plan and two different segments relating to the monthly theme.

(via Silk + Sonder)

The August journal's theme was "Desire," while the September journal's theme was "Joy." For August, the journal asked me to keep a desires wishlist, as well as to break down those desires so I understood why I actually wanted them. For September, it had a delightful "Joy Gumball Machine" where I could note different activities that bring me joy, and color in a ball every time I participated in them. It also asked me to do a "Joy Sketch" and draw the things around me that brought me the most joy.

I love these features. Tracking my mood is something I've done in the past but have not kept up with lately, and it can be super insightful to see if there are any patterns in mood, whether they correspond with treaded tasks during the week, certain times of the month or just what you're eating, how much you're sleeping and how you're moving your body. The habit tracker also was effective, because if I realized I hadn't kept up with a good habit when I was filling in my tracker at night, I could quickly do it and get my filled-in square. I can be highly motivated by guilt, and this allowed me to stay on top of the things I wanted to do each and every day. Both the Desire and Joy exercises were also beneficial, getting me to explore what brings me happiness in life in a way I don't on a day-to-day basis.

(via Silk + Sonder)

The journal is also a planner that'll help you get your thoughts and actions organized with a yearly calendar at a glance, a detailed calendar of the current month and smaller calendars for the next four months to log your immediate future. There are also spaces to reflect on the wins and losses of the previous month and to set intentions for the following month. I usually do all of my calendars digitally, as I have too many things going on with too many moving parts to feel like actually writing them physically isn't a waste of time, but the reflections and intentions settings are amazing for me to bring what I did right into the future and manifest more of it.

Beyond that, the journals included a unique recipe for each month (Trinidad corn soup for August and a one-pan apple cider chicken skillet for September), space for notes, coloring pages and more themed exercises. There's also a monthly expense tracker to help you stay on budget before the weekly calendars begin.

If you're not already organized with a weekly planner, I can see this being a super helpful section. Every week has spaces to write your to-dos, the habits and activities you want to complete daily, what you want to feel for the week and your three major goals for that week. There's also a mind/body health plan to help you make healthy decisions, a shopping list area, a place to note your favorite food, memory and song of the week and a place to track your breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks for every day of the week. There's also space for all seven days to remind yourself of one top thing for the day, make note of the weather and write all of the to-dos and notes you'd ever need for yourself.

Again, I already have a separate system for my to-dos that works better for me, but I liked filling in the areas that weren't already covered, and it made me feel like I was acting very purposefully. It was helpful to keep track of my meals (and when I was going overboard with the snacks) and to see if things like the weather affected my mood. Plus, I liked the habit/activity tracker being right there to remind me of the things I wanted to do so that whether that was doing a daily tarot card pull for a little guidance or just putting in the effort to do my full skincare routine every night, I wouldn't ever forget.

(via Silk + Sonder)

There's a lot to these handy little journals, both for efficiency and for the sake of taking care of yourself, and I think that using them has made me feel happier and healthier, as well as more aware of the things I need to do to maintain that joy.

 

Bottom Line

After two months with Silk + Sonder, I did feel like I was living life more intentionally and with more purpose. Even if I don't continue with their journals, there's a lot I've learned that I can continue to use moving forward. They haven't exactly improved my efficiency—that already feels maxed out thanks to past journals I've tried—but I think they have a lot to offer those who haven't tried lots of journals and planners. Also, there's so much more to planning than just working the hardest you can. I'm not productive for the sake of productivity, and I do what I do in a more mindful way. For $20 a month, that's a deal, and I'd recommend trying it for at least a month to see what you can learn.

 

In the mood to just get stuff done? Click HERE to learn about the EVO Journal that boosted my productivity higher than ever.