Alright y’all, this post is a bit more revealing then most of my planner posts. Because it’s not alllllll about pretty stickers and happy thoughts… if you’re living with anxiety you likely know the feeling of a million little thoughts running through your brain on a daily basis. Hourly basis… even a minute to minute basis.

Keeping a planner can help organize those thoughts so that you can be functional… and even productive! Whether you’re looking to use a planner in a functional way for work or as a personal planning tool such as a bullet journal here are a few tips and tricks to use your planner to lessen anxiety.

Of course, there are so many planners to pick from (bullet journals, discs, travelers notebooks, rings…) if you love the idea of keeping a planner to help with your anxiety but you’re not sure which planner style is for you try going through our Planner 101 post to narrow it down.

Habit Trackers

A habit tracker is a sticker or diagram (heck you can draw one of these bad boys with a pen!) with a space for a label and 7 little boxes to check off. Or perhaps like the ones in the photo with a space for a label and the 7 days of the week to check off… either way the concept is the same.

When you’re dealing with anxiety sometimes the day to day activities of life can become exhausting and hard to remember. Remembering to take pills on a daily basis or go to bed at a certain time can be difficult. Habit trackers are the bomb because they help you to remember the day to day while giving you the satisfaction of checking off those tiny boxes each day!

Even when your anxiety is under control and you’re not trying to tackle the basics of daily life habit trackers are great for forming new habits to lessen overall anxiety. Things like taking a walk everyday or eating fruit for breakfast can help your mental health but be a pain in the rear to start doing everyday!

Ideas of Habits to Track

Taking your Pills
Writing in a Diary
Exercise
Checking your Email
Eating Certain Meals Each Day
Taking a Walk

Brain Dump

Sometimes when you have anxiety your brain is filled with thoughts… an endless loops of thoughts that just. won’t. quit. When things are running through my head before I fall asleep a brain dump is the perfect solution.

Your head is definitely clearer when you write everything down… think of it as taking everything swirling around your head and placing it on the page. A brain dump can look messy like a list of random thoughts or even a bit of organized chaos!

There are plenty of ways to go about a brain dump but my favorite is to set a clock and write down as much as possible during that time period. Theoretically at the end of the clock your brain will feel just a tad bit less loopy and your anxiety will be just a little lighter.

Anxiety Journal

While keeping a daily planner can reduce anxiety and keeping a bullet journal (or regular journal!) can help curb that feeling of panic a disorganized mind brings sometimes you need a little bit more. A specific anxiety journal or insert in your travelers notebook gives you a specific place to work through your anxieties.

Once you write your thoughts down and confront them, you are able to let go of your anxiety. You can spend less time worrying and maybe even spot points in your thought process that are causing your anxiety.

An anxiety journal can be anything from a blank or lined insert in your travelers notebook to a specific anxiety insert or mood tracker. Like the mandala mood tracker up above that helps you see at a glance how your mood changes from day to day and even month to month.

BONUS FREEBIE: If you’re looking for a travelers notebook insert to get started with any of these ideas you can download our FREE Notes Insert at the bottom of this post! Just download, print and get started… score!

Crafting Can be Calming!

An added bonus of keeping a planner is the bit of craftability that comes with it! While there are alllll types of planners my favorite use pretty stickers, floral paperclips, colorful pens, brush lettering and even a bit of drawing! Whether you’re using a Happy Planner with weekly sticker kits, a travelers notebook with fun inserts (and weekly sticker kits!) or a bullet journal where you can freestyle as much as your little heart desires the point is that a little crafting can be calming.

While most of us don’t have time to sit down and spend hours crafting each week (knitting a blanket takes time, painting an entire canvas isn’t a quick project!) yet most of us can take a few hours a day to sit down and write/draw/place a few stickers in a planner.

This bit of down time can be great for revealing stress and help sooth anxious nerves.

Plus pretty washi makes me happy so playing with it in my planner makes me happy too!

To-Do’s

Alright now we’re coming down to the brass tax of it all… while there are lots of psychological reasons to keep a planner. The bottom line is that using a planner to keep track of your day to day to-do’s can keep you on track and running on a schedule.

If you need to remember a doctor’s appointment? Write it in your planner? More importantly… if you need to remember questions to ask at your doctor’s appointment? Write it in your planner!

Write down emails you need to remember to send, baths you need to give your dog, everyday hygiene activities like taking showers, brushing your teeth, taking your medicine. If you have a road map to your day you’re much more likely to reach the end with a bit of productivity… and theoretically a bit of happiness too!

I know I’m much happier when I make it through a day with all my tasks getting done!

Gratitude Log

This may be one of my absolute favorite ways to lessen anxiety! While tackling your fears head on is always a great solution the best way to take the negative, anxious thoughts out of your mind is by filling it with positive thoughts!

A gratitude log is simple… write down one thought or event each day that your grateful for. It can be as simple as a kind word or a yummy brownie! Something that you can sit down at the end of the day and say “something good happened to me today”. A bit of the silver lining in your rainy cloud.

At the end of the month you’ll have an entire list of fun and sweet things to be grateful for!

That’s the perfect way to lessen anyone’s anxiety.

If you loved this post don’t forget to pin the following image to pinterest so you can check back later… and don’t forget to download your FREE Notes pages before you go!