On the Paper Trail Episode 17 cover art: Journaling for Mental Health Part II

On The Paper Trail Episode 17: Journaling for Mental Health (Part II)

September 30, 2026

Episode 17 continues our discussion on Journaling for Mental Health! September is National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Awareness month, so for these two most recent episodes we have been discussing a topic important to both of us: journaling for mental health and self-care. In Part I we discussed our own personal journaling practices that we use regularly. Part II continues the discussion by diving into less traditional journaling techniques that we have both experimented with in the past, including creative practices such as doodling and ink swatching, quote collecting, handwriting practice, sticker journaling, and more.

Disclaimer: Our discussion here is highly personal and specific to us and our own individual situations. Journaling is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. If you need help, or feel that you need to talk to someone, we strongly encourage you to speak with a mental health treatment professional.

On The Paper Trail: Where You Can Download the Podcast

Get caught up on previous episodes, and find more information about our first On The Paper Trail Live Event, which will be held in Nashville from October 16-18, 2026! Tickets are now on sale! ⁠⁠Check out the main podcast informational page for additional details. ⁠

Show Notes and Links

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. You can also come visit us at our physical stationery store in Nashville, Tennessee.

Journaling for Mental Health Episode 16 of On The Paper Trail — You can watch Episode 16 on YouTube or listen on your favorite Podcast app.

On The Paper Trail Episode 16: Journaling for Mental Health, Part I

September 16, 2026

September is National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Awareness Month, so for Episode 16 we decided to talk about a topic that's close to both of us: Journaling for mental health and techniques we both find helpful for self care. Part I discusses our own techniques, and Part II will discuss additional journaling techniques that we may not use all the time but have tried in the past and break out periodically. Of course, we also make time to discuss the recent San Francisco Pen Show, new shop arrivals, and upcoming events!

Disclaimer: Our discussion in this episode is highly personal and specific to us and our own individual situations. Journaling is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. If you need help, or feel that you need to talk to someone, we strongly encourage you to speak with a mental health treatment professional.

On The Paper Trail: Where You Can Download the Podcast

Show Notes and Links

New Arrivals: Cloth & Paper Sticky Notes to Customize Your Planners and Journals

March 10, 2026

I’ve always been a big annotator and copious notetaker in my everyday life. My planners, journals, and even paperback and hardback books get actively used, meaning that they’re marked up margin notes, highlights, and sticky notes. Cloth & Paper out of Richmond, Virginia makes an expansive range of index flags, sticky notes, dividers, and other accessories to help you annotate and organize, including lightweight and translucent sticky notes that don’t overly bulk-up your notebooks. This past weekend we added nearly a dozen new variations to the shop, including the larger “Sidebar” series that can help you format your journal pages with a task list or a weekly schedule.

We carry the Cloth & Paper line, and many more sticky notes, journals, and accessories in the paper section of our shop. Note that “translucent” sticky notes are intended for use with pencils, ballpoints, and gel pens. Water-based inks, including fountain pen inks, will not adhere to the surface and/or will take a long time to dry. Regular paper or matte sticky notes do not repel ink and should be fine with most pens.

Come see us in our Nashville Shop! Our store is open normal hours (1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm Saturday), so please swing by and see these and more!

New Arrivals: Archer & Olive Notebooks and Vinyl Planner Tabs

August 5, 2025

We’ve discovered lately that everyone loves A5 Slim notebooks - and guess what? We have new ones! These hardcover notebooks from Archer & Olive are the same size as A5 Slim products that use the 4.3” x 8.25” dimensions, and feature 144 pages of thick 160 gsm paper that takes fountain pen ink extremely well, with no ghosting, feathering, or bleed-through. In the past, we’ve carried hardcover notebooks with a similar profile, and I’m excited to have found these to add to our curation. Archer & Olive also makes Vinyl Planner Tabs, which are sold in packs of 24 (two of each month per pack) and allow you to divide any notebook or planner into dated sections.

Archer & Olive Writing Sample with fountain pen ink

We currently stock these Archer & Olive notebooks in three different covers, with two canvas and one vegan leather option. We may add additional sizes and colors as more become available. The Vinyl Planner Tabs are currently available for purchase in two different color schemes: “Storybook” and “Wonderstruck”.

We are back from the 2025 D.C. Pen Show and will be open at our Nashville location this weekend from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday.

Archer and Olive Vinyl Planner Tabs in the Storybook Finish — Archer & Olive Vinyl Planner Tabs in the “Storybook” finish.

My Current Journaling Tools: Pens and Pencils on Top of a Notebook

Ask TGS: Do You Journal? And If So, How?

January 18, 2025

The “Ask TGS” series collects frequently asked questions submitted to the website, and answers those that I feel would be most helpful to the readership at large. You can check out an archive of sorts here, which is periodically updated.

Today’s “Ask TGS” question involves journaling, and it’s one that I frequently get from readers who think they would benefit from a regular journaling practice, and don’t necessarily know where to begin. So do I journal? The simple answer is, “Yes,” but probably not in the idealized way that many people think about Capital J “Journaling”: an hours-long, deep, introspective writing session that involves your finest notebook, your fanciest fountain pen, and the perfect ink. Framing journaling in this way can even be counterproductive, because it keeps some from ever getting started.

I Journal To Get Stuff Out of My Head So That I Can Focus and Think Clearly

90% of my “journaling” takes place during a 20-30 minute stream-of-consciousness writing session, in which I simply jot down in a notebook everything that’s going through my head at the time. Sometimes this takes the form of coherent thoughts, but not necessarily. Sometimes it’s lists of things I have to do that I’m worried I will forget if I don’t write it out. Sometimes it’s random stuff drawn haphazardly across a blank page, with items circled and lines connecting thoughts. Other times it’s true nonsense. This is a variation on the popular “morning pages” technique, though I’ve never read the Julia Cameron book that popularized it, and how I journal is simply something I personally came up with over the years and which I feel helps me settle my mind. Typically I journal in the morning, while I’m having my first cup of coffee, but if I’ve had a particularly chaotic day, I’ll sometimes add a second session before I leave the office or before I go to bed, just to assure myself that I’m not forgetting anything.

The other 10% of my journaling practice is more introspective, and more traditional in the sense that at least once a week I’ll sit down and try to work through a problem or issue at greater length. These are your classic long-form writing sessions, and last as long as it takes for me to resolve something or get to a point where I can’t go any further for the time being. Again, this writing doesn’t take on a specific format, I hardly ever use prompts, and sometimes I won’t even do these sessions in a proper notebook since I may want to shred or destroy the pages after I’m finished.

My healthy back-office notebook stockpile — I don’t need to buy any more journals.

5 Tips For a Journaling Practice That I’ve Found Valuable

Over the years, these five thoughts have helped me keep things in perspective, especially as journaling has become trendier and I’m seeing it more prominently featured on the social media algorithms. The common theme running through all of these tips is “just get started and do what feels helpful/natural to you.” Journaling is not about following rules or impressing anyone else - it’s supposed to be personal.

Journaling Doesn’t Require a Specific Technique or Format. Just get started writing. Don’t ever feel that you “don’t really journal because you don’t do ______.” There’s no set format or rules that you have to follow, and your journal doesn’t have to look pretty. (Honestly, you don’t even have to “keep” a journal. If you want to write out all your innermost thoughts on a legal pad to get them out of your head and then shred or burn it so that you can be sure nobody will ever see it, do that! I do it all the time.)
Use Whatever Materials You have On Hand. While many people who write regularly do gravitate to a favorite brand of notebook, you can journal with anything. All you really need are a pen or pencil and a piece of paper. One of my own personal resolutions this year is to use up as much of my current notebook stockpile as I can rather than committing to a specific system for my journaling.
Less Fancy Materials Are Less Distracting. For the past week I’ve been journaling with a wood pencil and a ballpoint pen. Yes, they’re nice pencils and the pen is the excellent Pilot S20, but I’ve found that when I really need to focus on what I’m writing, I want the tools to disappear and prefer non-fountain pens. If I do use a fountain pen, I use plain blue or black ink.
For Me, More Frequent Journaling Is More Helpful, But I Definitely Skip Days. Like meditation or physical exercise, I find that I get more benefit from a journaling practice if I do at least a little something every day, but stuff happens and sometimes you definitely benefit from a day off. Heck, I’ll miss entire weeks on occasion. Don’t worry about it. Just pick up the pen/pencil and get back at it.
You Don’t Have To Post Your Journals on Social Media. Obviously you can do whatever you want, but if your goal is to journal for personal growth/mental health, make your journal truly personal. Avoid the temptation to make it look pretty for Instagram or YouTube. Not only will it help you to focus on the actual practice of journaling, but you’ll also avoid comparing yourself to professional social media accounts that often do little more than make you feel bad that your journal doesn’t look as nice as a professionally designed product. I’ve actually had multiple conversations with people who stopped journaling or never took the practice up in the first place because “It’s never going to look as good as [X-Influencer].” That’s not what it’s about.

If you feel stuck and want ideas on journaling techniques/including prompts, there are some excellent websites out there that go deep on journaling techniques. Two that I’ve found helpful are Writing at Large and Comfortable Shoes Studio, which I occasionally link to in my Sunday Reading links. Both have extensive journaling guides and resources and discuss many different types of journaling practices.

Thank you for reading! The Gentleman Stationer is supported by the T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you’d like to visit our in-person location, you can view directions and up-to-date hours here.