How To Create A Luxurious Journaling Practice

I believe just about anything can be elevated into a luxurious experience and for me that includes journaling. Journaling is a routine that I incorporated into my life somewhere back in 2020. We had just moved to Jacksonville, and I was in the midst of creating all new routines and environments for myself.  I had also just turned 36 and could feel that my life was in a place of transition.  I knew that I needed to get clear on what I wanted my life to look and feel like and to really pin down the details of my everyday life as well.  While personal research and thoughts help us to plan such details it can also be easily lost due to the minutiae of everyday life and all that we need to do.  Journaling became a way for me to sit down and really think about what I wanted and gave me a place to record these thoughts so that I could come back to them time and time again. It helped to reiterate what kind of life I wanted to build for myself on the inside and outside and since I journal nearly every morning, it is a constant reminder of what I was curating for myself.

There are many ways to journal, and one can’t get journaling wrong.  Some may journal about their days, maybe they follow a set of journaling prompts or even using subjects such as gratitude journaling, bullet journaling or shadow journaling. I am going to share what I use and how this has helped me create the life that I live now.  I personally journal about my future self and what I want my life to be from the inside out.

Below I will share my own luxurious journaling routine and the elegant journaling prompts and strategies that I use to accomplish my lifestyle goals.

Journaling Ritual

A journaling ritual is just as important as the journaling routine itself. My journaling ritual is a simple, but luxurious one that I created so that it was easy to maintain.  I journal every morning from Monday through Friday as I am able for part of my morning routine. I will make a cup of coffee and retreat to my journaling spot, light a scented candle, put on a luxurious playlist on Spotify and settle in to journal.  Part of what makes journaling a pleasure are using things that I find beautiful and pleasing.  I put in a small investment for pretty felt tip pens as well as lovely journals.  The pens and journals that I get are simply from Target. I make sure to create a luxurious environment to journal in so as to get my luxurious lifestyle thoughts flowing. Environment plays a key role in being able to have elevated thoughts, so be sure to create a journaling spot that puts you in the mindset of luxurious living.

How I Journal

As I mentioned above, journaling is a very personalized pursuit and for me, my reason for journaling is to help gain clarity on the life I want to live. We are inundated day to day with so many thoughts and ideas that it can be easy to lose track of what we are trying to accomplish. When you think of how many hours one can spend simply looking at social media, then you probably have a better understanding of why our thoughts can easily slip by us as distractions are aplenty in the modern day. Journaling helps to keep me on track on the things I find most important to accomplish. How I journal is to create a practice that is forward focused.  I focus on my future self, how I want to be in the world, what I want to create for my life for both the near and further future.  I have found that when I journal in this type of way that I end up creating the future that I journal about. I use journal prompts that are more open-ended and creates a space for my imagination to come up with the answers that elicit feelings of elation about my future.

Below is a comprehensive list of the journaling prompts I use most and some examples of what I might list for each. I like to give myself an open ended prompt and then bullet point ideas below the prompt. You can read through all of the prompts or simply skim them to get ideas for your own journaling. Before revealing all of the prompts though, here is an example of what my journal would look like to help give you a visual idea:

I Am A Woman Who:

• Has timeless style
• Practices quality over quantity
• Plans for the future
• Travels luxuriously
• Practices everyday poise

Journaling Prompts I Use

There are many journal prompts that I use that serves many different aspects of my life. The prompts I use are dependent on what I want to accomplish most at that moment in time when I am journaling.  It could be what I want to create for the upcoming month, seasonal ideas, style, home, lifestyle, personal goals, etc.  These prompts help me to get clear about what I want to accomplish from the inside out.  Here is my extensive list of what I use to give you ideas if you are looking to either start journaling or for a way to freshen it up.

• I Am A Woman Who – I use this prompt to simply describe who I want to be. It helps to reiterate the attributes that are most important to me.  I will write this heading and bullet point all the things I want to create around this subject.  Some of the answers I have provided for this are, travels luxuriously, is discerning, takes exquisite care of her body and health, has a beautiful stylish home, dresses well every day, is well-read and well-traveled, has an impeccable skincare routine.  There are so many things you can come up with and I have many pages full of this prompt as I do this at least once a week.  There are many answers that may get repeated while doing this as well and that’s okay because this is about creating who you want to be and the repetitive reminders will help keep you on point.
• My Dream Life/Day/Home/Etc. – You can really add any adjective to this prompt that you are looking to create.  This helps to clarify what you think your dream life/day/home/etc. would look and feel like.  Again, I will use this for the heading and make bullet points underneath.  The bullet points really help to make going back and reading easier.  Some things that I have written for My Dream Life: Waking up early and working out, regular facials and hair care treatments, living in a luxury apartment, using luxury skincare products, regular travel, etc.. If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that I already do or have accomplished most of these and that is because I have journaled them until they became just a regular part of my life.  When I am clear on what I really want then I can go out and create it.
• This Week I Will… – On Mondays I will start with this journaling prompt and I will go through and plan the things that will help enrich my daily life for the week and not things like appointments, meetings, etc. Some examples would be, workout Monday thru Friday, read a book after work, do an at-home facial on Thursday, do a sauna on Tuesday and Thursday. I will write down no more than 5-7 things to focus on as too much could possibly overwhelm, and then you may not do any of it.
• Slow Living Things – When life gets busy, and it always does at some point, I will journal things to remind myself on how to slow down or to live more softly. I will think of how I can indulge in slower living and I have written things in the past like, go for a long walk in nature, make time for reading, take 3 things off your calendar, say no to things if they do not excite you, listen to my Instrumental Music Playlist, make cookies from scratch. This helps to bring me back to the slow and simple pleasures when life starts to feel a little chaotic.
• My Life Is… – As a way to understand what I want to create overall I will occasionally use this prompt.  From there I will write out what I want my life to be overall using bullet points such as, My Life Is… a soft life, surrounded by style, savored in simple pleasures, full of travel and experiences, financially savvy, simple and organized. This gives me large brush strokes of what I want to drill down into as my life keeps evolving.
• How To Create An Elegant Mindset – We all know that mindset is the foundation to luxurious living and it is creating our lives at this very minute. This is one of my most important prompts as I give myself reminders of how to create a mindset of elegance and luxury using points like: consume only top-quality content (which I also share with you on the Curated Weekly), focus on the positive, keep good company, visit luxurious, elegant places, don’t envy others/be happy for them, and practice mindfulness to savor the moment as a few points. Life always starts with our thoughts first, so this is always a prompt to use to maintain that luxurious mindset.
• What Belongs in My 5-Star Life – I love the over-arching idea of 5-star hotels.  I find them to be beautiful and elegant with meticulous little pleasantries around every corner and I like to bring those ideas into my own lifestyle. So, I created this journal prompt to help me bring this essence into my daily life. I have written down ideas such as a clean, organized, stylish home, simplicity in style, fresh flowers, scented candles, touches of gold accents, luxurious textures such as cashmere, silk  and linen, an organized closet full of beautiful clothes, even a clean and tidy car made this 5-star list.
• How To Add Glamour To Your Day – Kind of on par with the previous prompt, I also use this one as well to elevate the everyday experience. Every day can be beautiful when we start to incorporate glamorous touches to our days. Some ideas I journaled were, invest in the details of your life (such as candles, a beautiful journal, pretty coffee cups, etc.), have an elegance in the way you speak and move, cultivate calmness, practice elegant poise, pick out the perfect lip color and wear it often, edit your life and bring in only beautiful things. This prompt can help give you some ideas on how to add a touch of glamour to your day as well.
• How To Live A Charmed Life – Sometimes you really want to think of your life as simply a charmed life.  This is a prompt I use throughout my journaling seasonally to help achieve this concept. Some of the ideas I have come up with are, creating a slow morning with music, coffee and journaling, not being hurried/moving slower, enjoying picnics outside with a beautiful picnic basket, practicing moderation in all things, sauntering through beautiful boutiques and bookstores, sitting at a cafe enjoying a coffee and croissant, doing a evening swim. This is all about creating the details of how you create your charmed life, especially when life starts to feel monotonous.
• How To Live Elegantly – This is for more of the day-to-day living and how to go about creating elegant days.  Some ideas for this are start the days slowly, dine slowly, eat beautiful foods, sip your drinks and savor, read elegant books, tidy up as you go, simplify tasks, fresh flowers (always a theme throughout my prompts), light the candles, listen to elegant music. Give yourself some ideas on what living elegantly means to you through this prompt.
• Why Life Is Great Right Now – While most of my journaling prompts are future focused, I like to do this prompt at least once a month that is more present based.  It’s not really a gratitude prompt though it’s kind of similar, it’s more of a reminder to stop and appreciate all that you have created.  Results will always keep us moving forward, so it’s nice to be reminded that while we are building towards a great life, that life here is great too.  Some things I have written for this prompt recently is, we are financially abundant, the holidays are here to savor, I bought a few pretty dresses recently that I love, I got to visit with a friend that I haven’t seen in a few years. There is always something happening right now that we can stop and be grateful for in this moment,
• What I’d Like To Do This Season – As the seasons change, I like to use this prompt to help plan for the changing seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. When you can come up with the ideas of what you would like to have done, then you start to plan and schedule them accordingly.  Some ideas I wrote down for this season is, take a few morning walks to enjoy the changing leaves, create a beautiful table for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, enjoy my autumn and Christmas playlists, go to the symphony, etc. Use this prompt to create fun things for each season so that you can get them planned and on your calendar.
• Areas of Life to Upgrade – No matter how well life is going in any moment, there are always some aspects that you may want to upgrade.  About once a month or so I will use this journaling prompt.  It helps to think about where my life is and where I need to concentrate on upgrading for a better overall experience.  Some ideas I have written down before are social media feeds, beauty routines, foods that I eat, the words I use, what I watch on television, my living spaces, my overall health routines, etc. and out from each bullet point I may write in some suggestions on how to do this like incorporate more workouts into your week, eat more whole foods, schedule check up appointments.
• My Luxurious Life Surroundings – If you are like me and dream of living your own personal luxurious life, then you want to know what that looks like in a environmental kind of way.  This isn’t about mindset, this is about what physically surrounds you.  While the mindset sets the foundation of luxurious living, the surroundings sets the stage.  Some examples from my previous journal entries are French skincare products, scented candles, fresh flowers, luxurious lotions and perfumes, elevated pajamas, beautiful coffee table books, chocolate truffles in beautiful boxes, feminine lingerie and elevated music. As I mentioned above, journaling is about designing your life from the inside out.
• How To Create A Soft Life – I have loved the concept of a soft life ever since it came across my social media.  Loosely defined as a life of ease, peace, comfort and intentional happiness. This prompt is about creating more ease into your life and some of the things I have listed for this prompt is cultivate simple pleasures, have finances in order, stay on top of life admin, wear clothes that make you feel beautiful, read enchanting books, romanticize daily life, be understanding and empathetic towards people you interact with. Creating ease is all about leaning into your softer side, so journal about what that may look like for you.
• Sophisticated Things To Incorporate Into Your Life – There are some things in life that are just simply sophisticated and I love to incorporate these things into my life.  It helps me to discern what deserves my monetary investment so that mindless purchases are few and far between. Some things I have on my list are silk pajamas, French soaps, a signature scent, a pair of diamond and pearl earrings, a quality everyday bag, fine China teacups, a silk eye mask, crystal glasses, etc. You can also create a board on Pinterest to help provide ideas of sophisticated things you would like to bring into your everyday life too.
• Attributes of a Sophisticated Woman – It’s not only the things of life that makes one sophisticated, it is also about their deportment.  Think about attributes you would like to practice to help you become a more sophisticated version of yourself.  Some items on my list are impeccable grooming, having better eloquence, being discreet, using etiquette, sending thank you cards, dressing appropriately, elegant decorum, etc. You can use this prompt to list the attributes that are most important to you.
• In One Year I Will Have… – This a prompt to help you visualize what you would like your life to be like in one year, from any day you are journaling. This can help you reverse engineer to start creating those things for yourself now. Some of mine that I have written before is, lived in a luxury apartment, have an afternoon tea at a luxury hotel, do a full spa day, bought a quality everyday bag from Polene, fly first class on a plane, visit luxury lounges at airports while traveling, etc.  All of these have happened for me and I still do this practice occasionally to gain clarity on what experiences that I want to create for my future self.
• Lessons Learned From…This is a prompt I use after traveling.  I will journal about the personal lessons I have gleaned from my travels.  My last trip was to New York, so I wrote in my journal for this trip as an example, take time to savor world class art, always stop for a coffee and a pastry, create space in your life for stillness, time and silence are modern day luxuries to savor. Try to find the lessons of your travels as one of the main benefits of travel is to help open one up to ideas that they might not have been exposed to otherwise.
• Word of the Year Check-In – This idea originally came from The School of Self Image, but I have tweaked it to fit my personal journaling purposes.  I do this on the last day of every month by listing at the top of my journaling page – Word of the Year Check-In: Elevate.  From there I write out these prompts and answer them, How did I practice my word this month? How did I let my word guide my surroundings? Where did I face challenges? How will I practice my word for next month? This keeps me on track to live out my word each month and thereby guiding my whole year.

Journaling has been possibly the most significant thing that I have used to create my life as it is today. The prompts above have helped shape my life with ease in creating the lifestyle I want.  The true work happens outside of the journaling, but the foundation of the plans is always within my journal.  There are so many different types of lifestyles that one can live and no two will be alike.  I draw a lot of inspiration from places like blogs, podcasts, Pinterest and Instagram, but I take these inspirations and refine them into what I want for myself through journaling.

You too can create your own luxurious life by first creating a luxurious journaling routine and from there implement the elements you journaled about into your life one day at a time.