How to Create a Joyful Planner and Journaling Aesthetic
There is something quietly powerful about sitting down with your planner and a collection of stickers and washi tape, and just letting yourself play.
In this planner and journaling video on YouTube, I share how I set up my Sterling Ink weekly and daily pages using washi and decorative stickers. This isn’t only about productivity. It’s about an overall shift I’m making this year. I’m approaching my life (and my YouTube channel) as a space to uplift others and romanticize everyday tasks by simply enjoying myself. Wild concept, right?
In this blog, I’ll share some of the behind-the-scenes deeper meaning to putting stickers in your planner and practicing your penmanship.
Let’s go.
Handwriting Aesthetic
Do you love or hate your own handwriting? I’ve always loved writing by hand because it gave me a chance to use my favorite supplies. Hi, my name is Jessica, and I am a stationery junkie. Then I picked up my first brush lettering pen and ohmygoodness, I really didn’t like how little control I had of that brush nib! So what did I do?
I practiced.
And practiced. And practiced.
Now my planner and my journal serve me twice: not only do I make plans and journal my feelings, I also practice my brush lettering and my handwriting. (Currently loving block print right now!) Aesthetic handwriting and journaling, like what you see in my cozy “journal with me” videos, turn ho-hum daily planning into a luscious ritual. The movement of the pen as you hold your hand steady and the feel and sound of the paper as you write have the ability to ground you in the present moment. Honestly, it counts as meditation!
Planner Spreads
Years ago, stickers and planner spreads became my hobby. As I grew and changed, so did my style, and eventually, so did my planner. You might have seen those Happy Planner posts from yesteryear, or you may be tuning in now because Sterling Ink has won my heart. I’m what’s known as a decorative planner, which I love, because it allows me to be creative and artsy while I'm also being productive and reflective.
Beautiful planner spreads and journaling layouts are far from frivolous. When the page is attractive and inviting, I find myself wanting to write, schedule, and journal more often. It’s like arriving for dinner and the table is set for a 7-course meal. All you have to do is choose which fork—erm, pen to use.
Gratitude Journaling and Habits
I journal my gratitude daily, even if it’s a tidy bullet-pointed list of the seemingly mundane. In the cold winter months, there are a lot of mentions of coffee, my warm bed, and the snuggly dogs lying in that warm bed. This week, I put a “happy list” in the sidebar of my planner, which allows me to write just one thing a day I’m grateful for.
Your gratitude process doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective.
This year, I also have a daily habits list. I chose three things to focus on rather than select my goals first. Each day, my habits are: mindfulness in the morning before I look at my phone—this is my most consistent and successful goal, movement like yoga, cardio, and even stepping onto my vibration plate once a day, and finally writing.
Jotting these into my planner gives me the visual reminder that these are the habits I’ve committed to. You can also use a habit tracker for each day, or make hash marks to track your progress. Whatever works!
Letting Go of Rules
Your planner doesn’t have to look like mine. You don't have to have the same cover, planner, pens, stickers, or washi tape to have it function for you. Go through your supplies and see what you already have, and then ask yourself if it appeals to you. If not, you have my permission to buy a few things that light you up. Then ask yourself what you enjoyed about my layout. Was it the balance? The colors? The fact that I used what I already had instead of buying new?
Use what you enjoyed as your leaping off point, and then set up your planner or journal in whatever way feels best to you. You end up turning the page eventually, so go ahead and try something fresh.
Let go of any systems, rules, or beliefs that don’t serve you. “I don't like my handwriting” could change to “I am enjoying the process of writing” or “I am learning to love my handwriting.” Remember above all else: use your planner and journal for exploration, experimentation, and fun.
Romanticizing Your Life
This practice of handwriting, decorating, planning, and reflecting is about more than paper and stickers. It’s about choosing to see your life as something worth savoring. The time you take to get to know yourself is time well spent.
Knowing that deeper meaning allows us to anchor planning and journaling practices in imagination, self-care, and inspired action lists. Then your planner pages are more than an itemized to-do list. They’re a ledger that remembers who and how you were at this day and point in time. Form and function!
So allow yourself to play on paper, and practice your penmanship (even if those first brush-tip strokes are as clumsy as a newborn baby deer standing for the first time). Your dreams matter. Creativity matters. What you love matters.
If you enjoy chatting all things romance—including how your handwriting, journaling, and planner spreads can romanticize your life, I’d love to have you on my newsletter. I have two: one for writers and one for readers. Choose whichever one aligns with you most.
xo, Jessica 🍋✨