Powerful Examples of Art and Creativity in Mindfulness Journaling

Real-life examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling

Let’s start where things are most interesting: what this actually looks like in real people’s notebooks.

One of the best examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling is the five-minute feelings sketch. Instead of writing a long entry about your day, you open your journal, set a timer for five minutes, and draw your mood as a simple abstract image. Maybe your anxiety shows up as jagged red lines, or your calm feels like layered blue waves. When the timer goes off, you write one or two sentences about what you see. That’s it. No perfection, just a snapshot of your inner weather.

Another real example: a nurse working night shifts keeps a tiny “micro-moments” journal. After each shift, she draws one small image that stood out—a coffee cup, a patient’s hands, the sunrise on her drive home—and writes three mindful words next to it, like “tender, exhausted, grateful.” Over time, these small drawings become a visual record of her emotional life, not just her schedule.

These are just two examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling, but they show the pattern: short, simple, visual, and honest. No fancy supplies required.

Why creativity belongs in mindfulness journaling (and isn’t just decoration)

Mindfulness is about paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, without judgment. Writing can do that—but so can drawing, coloring, and collage.

Research from the American Art Therapy Association points to creative expression as a way to regulate emotions and process stress, especially when words feel limited or overwhelming. The NIH also highlights how mindfulness-based interventions can reduce anxiety and improve mood over time (NIH overview). When you combine mindfulness with creative journaling, you’re giving your brain multiple channels to process experience: language, imagery, body sensation, and emotion.

So when we talk about the best examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling, we’re not talking about pretty scrapbooks. We’re talking about tools people actually use to:

• Slow down racing thoughts
• Track moods and triggers visually
• Ground themselves during stressful seasons
• Reconnect with joy, curiosity, and play

Creativity here is less about “art skills” and more about attention + expression.

Everyday examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling

To make this concrete, let’s walk through several real-world styles people are using right now. Think of these as different doors into the same house.

1. Mood mandalas and abstract emotion maps

A popular example of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling is the mood mandala. People draw a circle and divide it into sections—each section represents a day or a week. Instead of writing, they fill each slice with colors, patterns, or symbols that match how they felt.

One person might color a day of burnout as heavy charcoal gray with tight crosshatching. A peaceful Sunday might be pastel swirls. Over a month, the mandala becomes a visual map of emotional patterns. You can literally see stress building, softening, or repeating.

A variation: the emotion map. You draw a rough outline of your body and color where you feel tension, warmth, or numbness. Red in the chest for anger. Blue in the shoulders for sadness. Then you write a few mindful notes: “Tight jaw when I read work emails,” or “Warmth in chest when I talked to my friend.” This is one of the best examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling for people who struggle to name feelings but can sense them in their bodies.

2. Breath drawings and line meditations

Another gentle example of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling is the breath drawing. You open your journal, place your pen on the page, and with each inhale and exhale, you move the pen slowly. No plan, no picture in mind. Just line, breath, and movement.

After a few minutes, you stop and look. Maybe the lines are tangled and frantic. Maybe they’re loose and airy. You jot a short reflection: “My breath felt shallow,” or “I didn’t realize how fast I was going.” This practice turns an invisible process—your breathing—into something you can see.

There’s also line meditation: choosing one simple shape (like a spiral or wave) and repeating it across the page while you focus on sensation—the scratch of the pen, the pressure of your hand, the rhythm of your arm. It’s like a visual mantra.

3. Collage pages for values, goals, and grounding

Collage is one of the most underrated examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling. You grab old magazines, printed photos, ticket stubs, packaging—whatever is around—and build a page around a theme like “What I need this week” or “What safety feels like.”

A burned-out founder I worked with created a weekly “energy check-in” collage. She’d cut out images that matched how she felt: storm clouds for overwhelm, an empty chair for rest, a crowded city street for overstimulation. Then she’d add a few handwritten notes: “More white space on my calendar,” “Say no to extra calls,” “Walk outside at lunch.”

This kind of page becomes a mirror. Instead of writing a long list of complaints, you literally see your week’s energy on paper—and that visual can be more honest than words.

4. Gratitude sketches instead of lists

Gratitude journaling has solid research behind it; studies referenced by Harvard Health Publishing show that regularly noting what you’re thankful for can improve mood and well-being (Harvard Health on gratitude).

Now imagine swapping the classic “3 things I’m grateful for” list with 3 tiny sketches. A mug of coffee. Your dog’s face. The plant on your windowsill. Under each sketch, you write one short sentence: “This coffee helped me feel awake and human,” or “This plant reminds me I can grow slowly too.”

This is a simple but powerful example of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling because it forces you to look closely at what you appreciate. To draw something, even badly, you have to notice its details. That’s mindfulness in action.

5. Color-coded day reviews and stress trackers

Some people feel allergic to traditional diary entries but love data. For them, a visual system is one of the best examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling.

Picture a two-page spread with a grid—days on one axis, categories on the other (sleep, stress, movement, connection, creativity). Instead of writing long reflections, you color each box: green for good, yellow for okay, red for rough. Maybe you add small icons—a lightning bolt for conflict, a heart for connection, a spiral for anxiety.

At the end of the week, you sit with the page mindfully and ask: “What do I notice?” Maybe every red square lines up with poor sleep. Maybe social days are mostly green. You’re turning your life into a visual dashboard, but with self-compassion instead of judgment.

6. Lettering, quotes, and mindful typography

If you love words but also love visuals, hand-lettering is a great example of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling. You choose a short phrase—“One thing at a time” or “I am allowed to rest”—and write it slowly in different styles.

You notice the curves of each letter, the thickness of the lines, the spacing between words. You’re not just consuming the quote; you’re embodying it as you draw it. Many people use this at the start of a week as a grounding ritual: pick a mantra, letter it slowly, then let that page anchor you.

This also shows up in 2024–2025 trends on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where people post short videos of their “mindful lettering sessions” as a way to slow down, reduce screen doomscrolling, and reconnect with analog creativity.

7. Digital art journals and tablet-based mindfulness

Not all examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling live on paper. With the rise of tablets and stylus pens, digital art journals have exploded.

People use apps like GoodNotes, Notability, or drawing apps to:

• Create layered mood collages using photos, brush tools, and text
• Track anxiety with color-coded digital stickers
• Build “mindful dashboards” with widgets for sleep, energy, and emotions

The mindful twist is how they use the tech: turning off notifications, working in full-screen mode, and treating the drawing time as a short meditation. For people who travel a lot or feel overwhelmed by physical clutter, digital journals are one of the most practical examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling today.

8. Junk journaling and sensory pages

“Junk journaling” looks chaotic from the outside—ticket stubs, receipts, scraps of paper glued into a notebook. But many people are using it as a grounding, mindful ritual.

Imagine keeping a small envelope in your bag. Throughout the week, you collect little artifacts: a tea wrapper from a slow morning, a receipt from lunch with a friend, a piece of wrapping paper from a gift. On Sunday, you sit down, glue them into your journal, and write a few lines about how each moment felt.

You’re not just archiving your life; you’re savoring it. This is another real example of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling that’s gained traction in 2024–2025, especially among people who want to cut back on social media but still document their days creatively.

How to start your own creative mindfulness journal (without overthinking it)

If your inner critic is already screaming, “I’m not an artist,” you’re in good company. Most people who benefit from these practices say the same thing at first.

Here’s a simple way to begin, using the spirit of the examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling we’ve covered:

• Pick the lowest-friction format. A cheap notebook and a pen are fine. If you’re more likely to use your tablet, start there.
• Choose a time container: five or ten minutes. Short is better than ambitious.
• Decide on one tiny creative action per session. Draw your mood as a shape. Color a simple grid. Sketch one object from your day.
• End with one or two sentences of mindful reflection: “When I look at this page, I notice…”

The goal is not to produce something impressive. The goal is to create a regular meeting place between your attention and your inner world.

If you’re dealing with significant anxiety, depression, or trauma, pairing journaling with professional support can be wise. Resources from the National Institute of Mental Health offer guidance on when to seek help (NIMH resources). Creative journaling can complement therapy, but it’s not meant to replace it.

FAQ: Real examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling

Q: What are some simple examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling for beginners?
Some of the easiest starting points include a daily mood doodle (one small drawing to capture how you feel), a three-item gratitude sketch page, or a color-only spread where you fill the page with colors that match your current energy. Another beginner-friendly example of creative mindfulness journaling is tracing your hand and writing one calming word on each finger.

Q: Can you give an example of a mindful journaling page that takes under 10 minutes?
Yes. Draw a large circle in the middle of the page. Inside, sketch or color what your body feels like right now—tight, heavy, buzzy, soft. Around the circle, write short phrases like “jaw tight,” “shoulders heavy,” “feet grounded.” This is a quick, visual body scan and one of the best examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling when you’re short on time.

Q: Do I need to be good at drawing to use these examples of creative mindfulness journaling?
No. In fact, sometimes the less “skilled” you feel, the more honest your pages become. Stick figures, blobs, and messy lines work perfectly. The point is to access parts of your experience that words alone don’t reach, not to create gallery-worthy art.

Q: Are there science-backed benefits to combining art and mindfulness in journaling?
Expressive writing has been linked to improvements in stress and emotional processing, and creative activities can support mental well-being and stress relief. Organizations like the American Psychological Association and health systems such as Mayo Clinic acknowledge mindfulness and creative practices as supportive tools for managing stress and enhancing well-being (Mayo Clinic on mindfulness). Using the examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling described here is one way to bring those benefits into daily life.

Q: How often should I use these examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling?
Consistency matters more than intensity. Even two or three short creative pages a week can help you notice patterns and feel more grounded. You might experiment with a different example each week—one week of mood mandalas, one week of gratitude sketches—and see what feels most supportive.

If you remember nothing else, remember this: your journal doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. The most powerful examples of art and creativity in mindfulness journaling are the ones that feel honest, repeatable, and kind to your nervous system. Start small, stay curious, and let the pages evolve with you.