There is no modality on this planet that works for everyone. Embodied journaling and other traditional forms of journaling are no exception. I never give up on anything I truly believe in, so I’ve been brainstorming how to make journaling more accessible to those who understand the benefits but struggle to establish a regular journaling habit.

If you’ve ever opened your journal, stared at the blank page, and felt overwhelmed, you’re not journaling or writing ‘wrong’. Although a simple practice, simple does not mean easy. When your thoughts feel tangled, or your body is holding more than words can carry, you may struggle to fill the page with words. I know a lot of people doodle and enjoy drawing, so why not combine journaling and drawing and see what happens? And don’t worry: You don’t need to be an artist, and it doesn’t matter what the end results are. This work is not performative. I can’t draw to save my life, but I have found the following 5 exercises helpful on days when my words don’t quite flow.

5 ways to combine journaling and drawing

Exercise 1: Somatic sketching

This exercise is similar to body mapping, if you’ve heard of that term. Follow these steps:

1. Draw a simple outline of your body (a stick figure is fine, and even I can manage that).
2. Use colours, symbols, words or shading around your body to mark:

• Where you feel tense.
• Where you feel comfort or safety.
• Anything else you’re being called to jot down or mark.

To pair this exercise with journaling, finish the following sentences:

• Right here, right now, my body is saying...
• When I focus on [pick a sensation], I feel...

Exercise 2: What 100% looked like today

We may feel like the world requires us to be firing on all cylinders daily, but as humans, we know we don’t have 100% of ourselves to devote to our many responsibilities. On the days your battery is at 50% and you give 50%, that equates to 100% in the real world. This exercise is about acknowledging our efforts on those days that feel like three days in one!

Follow these steps:

1. Draw a horizontal line across the page.
2. Above the line, write a heading: What my capacity allowed for today.
3. Below the line, write another heading: What asked for more than I had.

Use words, colours, symbols, doodling, or shading to fill the space above and below the lines.

To pair this exercise with journaling, finish the following sentences:

• After looking at both lines above and below, I notice...
• I’m curious about...

Exercise 3: The conversation that never happened

As an introvert who does my best thinking when recharging alone, I often wish I had said certain things during conversations that I didn’t think of at the time. This exercise helps us to express whatever needed to be said but wasn't.

This exercise is simple:

1. Draw two empty chairs facing each other, leaving space between each chair.

Again, use words, colours, symbols, doodling, or shading to fill the space between the chairs. Let it all out!

To pair this exercise with journaling, finish the following sentences:

• Now that I’ve expressed what I wish I had said at the time, I feel...
• What I needed most from this conversation then was...

Exercise 4: The continuous line

I find this exercise particularly cathartic on the days when everything feels like it’s gone wrong, and I am out of energy.

Follow these steps:

1. Set a timer on your phone for 2 minutes.
2. Grab a pen and paper and without lifting it, play the timer and draw a continuous line until your 2 minutes are done.

Allow your line to wander wherever it needs to over the page or across multiple pages.

To pair this exercise with journaling, finish the following sentences:

• While drawing the line, I felt...
• The line reminds me...

Exercise 5: What’s above and below the surface

I thought of this idea because I often see icebergs used across various exercises to represent what's above the surface (what’s visible) and what’s below the surface (what’s invisible).

Follow these steps:

1. Draw a horizontal line across the page.
2. Above the line, draw a shape that resembles a hill. This represents what’s visible to the people around you.
3. Below the line, draw a shape that resembles an inverted hill. This represents what’s invisible to the people around you.

Use colours, symbols, words or shading to add what’s visible and invisible to the people around you on your page.

To pair this exercise with journaling, finish the following sentences:

• One thing that surprised me when completing this exercise was...
• One thing I’d like to explore more is...

I always say there are no rules when it comes to writing. Journaling doesn’t have to be neat, eloquent, or word-heavy to be meaningful. When you let drawing sit alongside reflection, you give yourself more ways to notice what’s really going on beneath the surface. Try these ideas and let me know your thoughts. Remember to trust whatever surfaces for you, regardless of what arrives in the form of a word or drawing of some kind.

Free 7-Day 'Guided Journal Prompts for Self Care' Trial

I want you to try journaling for yourself with my free 7-day Guided Journal Prompts for Self-Care trial. Learn more via this web page. This is a safe space to land if you’re done with putting yourself last. After the 7-day trial ends, you’ll pay AU$11 monthly. You'll also gain access to me via WhatsApp, so we can connect and chat through whatever you're experiencing.