Inclusive journaling means setting up the habit so that anyone can do it, whatever their energy, ability, age, first language or circumstances. In practice that comes down to four things: prompts that make no assumptions about who you are, formats that do not depend on a pen and perfect handwriting, short and flexible sessions, and clear control over what you write and who sees it. This guide walks through each one with examples you can use today.
TL;DR
- Inclusive journaling removes barriers: no required notebook, no required handwriting, no required topic, no required sharing.
- Choose prompts and words that let you describe yourself, rather than ones that assume your identity, health or family set-up.
- Offer more than one way to journal: writing, typing, voice recording, drawing or colouring, in sessions as short as five minutes.
- Keep control with you: you choose the subject, the schedule, when to stop and whether anyone ever reads it.
- If journaling stirs up distress, pause and speak to your GP or another health professional.
Table of Contents
- What inclusive journaling actually means
- Choosing words and prompts that make no assumptions
- Adapting journaling to different abilities and access needs
- Prompts and techniques that work for many people
- Making journaling feel safe, private and manageable
- Choosing a notebook that does not get in your way
- Our perspective
- A simple weekly routine anyone can adapt
- Inclusive journaling for groups, classrooms and families
- Journals and activity books from Munkter Products
- FAQ
- Sources
What inclusive journaling actually means
Journaling is writing about your thoughts, feelings and reflections. The NHS Waiting Room page on journaling describes it as a way to process emotions, recognize triggers and patterns, and cope with difficult times, and says it may also support people living with long-term health conditions.
That description already points at a wide audience: students, carers, parents, people managing fatigue or pain, people writing in a second language, teenagers, retirees. Yet most journaling advice quietly assumes one person: someone with plenty of energy, a quiet hour, steady hands, fluent English and a settled life. Inclusive journaling simply drops those assumptions.
It rests on a few principles:
- Choice over rules. You decide the topic, the length and the format.
- Language that respects the writer. Prompts do not define you by a diagnosis, label or role.
- Low barriers. The entry cost is small: five minutes and whatever tool you have.
- Safety and privacy. Nothing is shared unless you decide to share it, and you can stop at any point.
None of this makes journaling less meaningful. It makes it more likely to happen, which is the thing that actually matters.
Choosing words and prompts that make no assumptions
A prompt is a tiny piece of writing aimed at a stranger. If it says, for example, "Write a letter to your mother" or "Describe how your illness holds you back", it assumes a family, a health status and a viewpoint. Plenty of readers will close the notebook.
UK government guidance on inclusive writing is a useful model here, even though it was written for public services rather than diaries. The Home Office inclusive language guidance recommends clear, compassionate and respectful communication, positive person-centred language, letting people describe themselves, and mentioning sex or gender only when it is relevant.
Here is how that translates into prompts.
| Assumption-heavy prompt | More inclusive version |
|---|---|
| Write a letter to your mum about how she shaped you. | Write to someone who has shaped you, or to nobody in particular. |
| What does your condition stop you doing? | What do you want more room for this week? |
| Describe your perfect family Christmas. | Describe a day or gathering that felt good, whoever was there. |
| How do you stay strong as a woman/man in your job? | What has your working week asked of you, and what helped? |
| List your weaknesses and fix them. | What is one thing you would like to understand about yourself better? |
A few habits make this easy:
- Offer an exit. Add "or write about anything else" to any prompt.
- Ask, do not tell. "What was one thing that went well?" works better than "Write about how grateful you are."
- Avoid pain and tragedy framing. UK guidance on disability language advises saying "disabled people" rather than "the disabled", avoiding phrases such as "suffers from" or "confined to a wheelchair", and steering clear of medical labels that cast people as patients or constantly unwell. The same logic applies to your own journal: you can write about symptoms honestly without making them your whole identity.
- Let people name themselves. A recovery-oriented language guide from Australia recommends asking people about their language preferences and not assuming anything from appearance or diagnosis. If you are making a journal for a child, a client, a student or a friend, ask what words they like before you print the prompts.
The same guide notes that the words we choose reflect our attitudes, and that people should not be defined by their mental health conditions or psychosocial difficulties. That is a good test for any prompt you write: does it describe a person, or a problem?
Adapting journaling to different abilities and access needs
The biggest barrier to journaling is often not the topic but the mechanics. Here are practical adaptations, each one valid.
Change the format, not the goal
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, in its write stuff guidance, suggests recording your thoughts on a smartphone or other recording device if picking up a pen feels difficult. It also says you do not need a fancy notebook or perfect handwriting, and you should not worry about spelling or grammar.
That opens up a lot of options:
- Voice notes. Talk for two minutes while making tea, and listen back later or never.
- Typing. A phone notes app is a perfectly good journal.
- Drawing, doodling and coloring. For some people, particularly children and anyone who finds words heavy on a bad day, a page of color or a simple word-search is a gentler way in. You can add a single line underneath: today felt like this.
- Lists and fragments. Three bullet points count as an entry.
- Large print or high-contrast pages. Pick whatever lets you read your own writing without strain.
Keep sessions short
Mersey Care recommends trying a five-minute writing session. Research backs the idea that length is an access issue. The Writing Long COVID project at Aberystwyth University ran creative writing workshops and found that 30-minute sessions and small groups made participation more accessible for people living with fatigue and brain fog. The authors argue that the traditional one- or two-hour workshop could deter people with Long COVID-related fatigue.
If you facilitate a group, whether a school club, a support circle or a library session, take the point seriously: shorter, smaller and more flexible tends to bring more people in.
Writing in a second language
You do not have to journal in the language you think is "correct". A 2025 study of Ukrainian students by Uliana Tykha, published in the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, highlights that expressive writing in a second language can still foster resilience when trauma-informed principles and a culturally sensitive environment are in place. In plain terms: write in the language that feels most honest, mix languages if you like, and do not treat grammar as a gatekeeper.
Adapting for age
Younger children may need picture prompts, stickers, coloring pages or a sentence starter such as "Today I felt...". Teenagers often want privacy above all, so give them a journal with no expectation of showing it. Older adults may prefer a structured planner with a few lines a day. The principle is the same at every age: lower the barrier and leave the choice with the writer.
Prompts and techniques that work for many people
The NHS Waiting Room page lists prompt ideas that are open enough for almost anyone: things you are grateful for, things that make you smile, events from your day, or worries. It also describes free writing, which puts less focus on grammar and structure. The page links journaling with potential benefits including improved sleep, reduced feelings of pain in chronic conditions and increased resilience, as reported by various NHS services. Those are potential benefits, not guarantees, and journaling sits alongside professional care rather than replacing it.
Here are techniques that keep the doors wide open:
- Three-line check-in. One line for how your body feels, one for your mood, one for something you noticed outside yourself.
- Free writing for five minutes. Set a timer, write without stopping or editing, and stop when it rings.
- One good thing. Write down a single thing that went well, was enjoyable or got done. It can be as small as a warm drink.
- Sentence stems. "Right now I need...", "Something I'd like more of is...", "Today I managed...". Stems give structure without telling you what to feel.
- Pass. Allow yourself a blank page or a single word. Skipping is part of the practice.
- Reset before you write. If you sit down tense, a short mindfulness reset of a few minutes can settle you enough to start.
For more ideas, our list of 60+ journaling prompts and our 40 self-reflection journal ideas are written to be picked up and adapted, not followed to the letter.
Making journaling feel safe, private and manageable
Inclusion is not only about access. It is also about feeling safe on the page.
You set the pace. Mersey Care notes journaling can be daily, weekly or whenever stress gets too intense. There is no streak to protect.
You choose the topic. A well-known review of expressive writing advises clinicians to let patients choose a stressful experience to write about and to structure the writing themselves. The review also notes that in expressive-writing studies participants get no feedback, and it recommends explaining that their writing is private and need not be shared.
You can stop. Trauma-informed facilitation, as described by the International Association for Journal Writing, offers choices, including the option to stop, take a break, shift topics or pass on sharing. Build those same options into your own habit. If a subject feels too heavy, change it, close the book, go for a walk.
The environment matters as much as the prompt. Tykha's research argues that trauma-informed journaling is not just about the prompt but about the relational environment, which needs compassion, cultural sensitivity and safety. If you run a group, that means agreeing at the start that sharing is optional and that nobody comments on anyone else's writing.
Some practical privacy steps:
- Keep your journal somewhere only you use, or use a passcode on a notes app.
- Decide in advance what happens to old entries: keep, shred or recycle.
- If you share a home, consider writing in short fragments or a private code if you worry about being read.
One caution belongs here. Journaling can bring up painful memories. If writing leaves you distressed for longer than a short while, or you are dealing with trauma, speak to your GP or a mental health professional, who can suggest support that suits you. In an emergency, call 999. The Samaritans can be reached free on 116 123.
Choosing a notebook that does not get in your way
An inclusive setup starts with the tool you will actually use. A few things to weigh:
- Page layout. Some people like ruled lines for guidance, others find a blank or dotted grid freeing. Here is a clear comparison of dot grid or lined notebooks if you are unsure.
- Weight and size. A light, small notebook is easier to hold on a tired day.
- Structure. Guided journals with prompts suit people who freeze at a blank page. Plain notebooks suit people who resent being told what to write.
- Pleasure. A notebook you like to look at gets opened more often. Our pieces on types of journals and why personalized journals work better go deeper on matching a journal to the way you think.
You do not need any of it, though. The Mersey Care advice stands: an ordinary pad, a phone or a voice recorder is enough.
Our perspective
We write every book in our catalog ourselves, and one thing that shaped them is that people arrive at a page in very different states. A parent might have ten minutes while the kettle boils. An adult might want color rather than sentences tonight. A teenager might want a notebook that asks nothing of them.
That is why we think of journals, coloring books, puzzle books and word searches as part of the same family. They are all ways of giving yourself a quiet, structured moment, and not everyone starts with a blank page and a pen. A word search can be a calm entry point. A themed notebook can make writing feel less like homework. A self-help log book can give shape to a week without dictating what you feel.
Our approach is thoughtful design and personal authorship: books made by one author, with enough structure to help and enough space to be yours. We would rather give you more than one way in than insist there is a right way to journal.
Mark
A simple weekly routine anyone can adapt
Here is a template. Change every part of it.
- Pick a trigger. Link journaling to something you already do: after breakfast, on the bus, before bed. A trigger beats willpower.
- Choose your format for the day. Pen, phone, voice or colors. You can switch each day.
- Set a timer for five minutes. Stop when it rings, even mid-sentence. Carry on only if you want to.
- Use one prompt, or none. Keep two or three favorites in the front of your journal.
- Do a weekly look-back, if you wish. Read a few entries and notice patterns, such as what helps your sleep or what drains you. The NHS page describes recognizing triggers and patterns as one of the ways journaling can help. If rereading feels uncomfortable, skip it.
- Reset when you miss days. Start again with one line. A gap is not a failure.
For longer-term habits, our creative journaling workflow and self-help journal guide lay out routines in more detail, and journal therapy explained covers purposeful writing as a self-help method.
Inclusive journaling for groups, classrooms and families
If you are setting up journaling for others, the same principles scale.
- Announce that it is optional. Nobody reads, nobody has to share, and nobody is marked.
- Offer two or three formats at once. Paper, a tablet, voice, drawing. Let each person pick.
- Keep sessions short and repeatable. Think 15 to 30 minutes, not an afternoon, in line with the Long COVID workshop finding that shorter sessions and small groups are easier to attend.
- Use open prompts. Choose prompts about days, places, hopes and small joys rather than family structure, health or background.
- Invite language choice. Welcome writing in home languages.
- Check in about wording. Ask participants what words they like, as the recovery-oriented guidance suggests.
- Give people a way out. Make it normal to pass, change topic or take a break.
For families, a shared basket of activity books, coloring pages and plain notebooks can work well: a child colors, a parent writes three lines, and nobody compares.
Journals and activity books from Munkter Products
If you would like a ready-made starting point, we publish journals, notebooks, planners and self-help log books alongside word search books, activity and puzzle books and coloring books for children, teens and adults. All are original works by author Mark Terry, and postage is included in the price.
They are designed to give you different ways into the same quiet moment, whether you prefer to write, color or solve. Browse the full range and pick what suits how you feel today.
FAQ
What is inclusive journaling?
It is journaling set up so that people of different abilities, ages, backgrounds and circumstances can take part comfortably. That means open prompts, flexible formats, short sessions and full control over privacy. There is no single correct way to do it.
Can I journal if I find writing difficult?
Yes. Mersey Care suggests recording your thoughts on a phone or recording device if holding a pen is hard, and says spelling, grammar and handwriting do not matter. You can also draw, color or use short lists. Five minutes is enough to count.
How often should I journal?
As often as suits you. NHS guidance describes journaling as something you can do daily, weekly or whenever stress gets too intense. A short, regular habit usually feels easier to keep than a long, strict one.
Is journaling safe if I am dealing with something painful?
It can help many people, but it can also stir up strong feelings. Choose your own topic, stop whenever you need to, and keep the writing private. If distress lasts or you are coping with trauma, speak to your GP or a mental health professional.
What words should I avoid in prompts for others?
Avoid labels and phrases that define a person by a condition or suggest constant suffering, such as "suffers from". UK government guidance recommends person-centred language and letting people describe themselves. When in doubt, ask the person what words they prefer.
Sources
- Journaling | Waiting Room (NHS)
- Inclusive language, Home Office User-Centred Design Manual
- Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability (GOV.UK)
- Recovery Oriented Language Guide
- The write stuff, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- New Chaotic Reality: Creative Writing Workshops for Long COVID
- Fostering resilience in higher education (Tykha, 2025)
- Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing
- How to Facilitate Trauma-Informed Journaling
- Dot Grid vs Lined Notebooks: Which Should You Choose?
- Mindfulness for Performers: Rehearsal Resets in 3 Minutes