Your secret weapon to better perspective.

Join thousands of other people around-the-world and write your way through difficult emotions, bad habits, and life challenges.

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A perfect fit for your coaching practice.

Join a growing network of therapists, counselors, and coaches who embrace journaling as a core tenet of their practice.

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How It Works

21-Day Journaling Challenges

Identify triggers and overcome bad habits with free journaling challenges. Earn badges and climb our leaderboard.

Daily Check-Ins

We SMS text you at the end of the day with a simple question. Did you abstain from (Insert Habit)? If yes, reply with 1. If no, reply with 2.

Write HOF Speeches

Made it through a 21 Day Challenge? A badge is awarded and you can write a Hall of Fame Speech in our Community Forums.

Freestyle Journaling

Pour your heart and soul into your freestyle journal day-after-day. Record videos, add photos, or let us transcribe your voice audio.

Moderated Community Support

Receive support from Owls & other overcomers in a safe and secure forum. Video chat with your group leaders or 1:1 with others.

1:1 Coaching

Ready for lasting change? Pair up with an Owl to receive 1:1 coaching on a variety of challenges. We’re a community of overcomers!

Watch this 2-minute video to learn more

Featured Blogs

A Biblical Approach to Managing Anxiety

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Kailey Lentsch, MSW

As God’s very Word, the Bible should be our number one source of comfort, peace, encouragement, and hope. But I’ll be honest, as a Christian who struggles with anxiety, there are some verses that have become almost cliché to me. I’m not saying these verses aren’t important or don’t have their place, I know that is not true because I believe God’s Word is inspired and inerrant. However, when I am in the trenches of the despairing moments that anxiety brings, hearing scripture misquoted or of...

Is it Okay to Read my Daughter’s Diary?

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Diary Featured

Dr. Carrie Jackson

As a therapist, many parents often ask me about if they should read their daughter’s diary. Diaries are often a private record of a teen’s day to day life, or they may be more expressive and less frequent in their entries like a journal. Because of the private nature of diaries, this can lead some parents to want to question or read their daughter’s diary to know what is truly going on in their lives.

How to Start a Secret Diary

Friday, June 4, 2021

Diary Featured

Emily Ruiz, MA

Think of your diary like a best friend that you can tell your secrets but never worry about back-stabbing or one of your secrets going out into the world. Your diary is a safe haven where you can be exactly who you want to be and get to know yourself more through the process of writing each day.

Sociopath Test: Am I Living With One?

Friday, April 30, 2021

Featured Mental Health

Imagine the remorseless serial killer from our collective nightmares. He hurts and takes from people without a second thought, seeing them as objects rather than as fellow human beings that deserve the same respect he has for himself. He can be a charming liar—easily evading investigation and throwing suspicion on other people when it suits him, not caring if it means that more innocent people get hurt. He won’t stop rampaging through society until he gets caught or killed, and by the time ...

An Introvert’s Guide to Surviving the Extroverted World

Saturday, April 24, 2021

Anxiety Self Help Guides Featured

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Almost one-half of the population is introverted meaning that most people are trying to survive in an extroverted world. If you are reading this article, you may be an introvert, or you may be wondering if you are an introvert. There is no denying that the world we live in was built for those who thrive in large social gatherings. Because of this, some people can feel shame or embarrassment over being an introvert. That’s in part because there are many incorrect assumptions about what it me...

Is Resentment Holding You Back?

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Featured

Emily Ruiz, MA

Resentment is a bitterness that not many people can forget. You can feel the bitterness in smaller and larger scale acts against you such as from Susie in the 5th grade not giving you back your favorite dinosaur pencil to much more severe cases like gut-wrenching betrayal, abuse, and pain that has its nails in your heart.

Top 101 Mental Health Blogs of 2021

Thursday, January 14, 2021

Anxiety Health & Wellness Featured

Are you focused on your mental health in 2021? If so, JournalOwl's top 101 mental health blogs of 2021 can help. These blogs cover various mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and OCD. Bookmark these blogs so you can use them as resources throughout the year. Of course, we're biased with JournalOwl leading the pack!

A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Personal Memoirs

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Health & Wellness Self Help Guides Featured

If you go to a bookstore, you’ll see book after book that contains someone’s life story. These life stories were written by well-known people, including Barack and Michelle Obama, Maya Angelou, Anthony Bourdain, Stephen King, and others. It’s easy to understand why people want to read their life stories, but what about your account? Does your life story have value?

21 Questions to Formulate a Winning Business Plan

Friday, December 4, 2020

Self Help Guides Featured Business Planning

Your business plan should serve as your company’s foundation (U.S. Small Business Administration, n.d.). It should include information about all stages of your business, from the startup phase to the exit strategy. Because the document is so important, you need to prepare before you start writing.

How to Make $1 Million Before Turning 40 With the Power of Journaling

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Health & Wellness Self Help Guides Featured

Seventy-eight percent of workers live paycheck to paycheck, and almost 75 percent are in debt (Friedman, 2019). You don’t want to find yourself in the same situation, so you need a strategy to put money in the bank and earn your first million before turning 40.

An Ultimate Guide to Journaling for Weight Loss

Saturday, July 25, 2020

Self Help Guides Featured

For countless Americans, reaching and maintaining an ideal weight is a struggle. In 2015–16, 71.6 percent of American adults aged 20 and over were obese or overweight, according to the CDC. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016).

Coping with Change

Recent research indicates that expressive writing reduces intrusive and avoidant thoughts about negative events, while improving working memory.

Research published by APA’s Journal of Experimental Psychology has also discovered that the improvements from expressive writing free up our cognitive resources for other mental activities, including our ability to cope more effectively with stress.

JournalOwl’s pre-launch beta group of Journalers reported a 70% reduction in stress & anxiety associated with overcoming a bad habit. According to participants, the day-to-day journal prompting tailored to the target habit created structure, reduced anxiety, and allowed freedom of expression.

User Reviews

"I like Journalowl. I wasn’t ready for online therapy just yet. The anxiety journaling challenge really helped me feel grounded and regain perspective."

Janet F

Orlando, FL

"Thank God for Journalowl. 2020 was a tough year and the health anxiety journaling challenge helped me reframe and reset. What a blessing!"

Angie D

Seattle, WA

"What can I say? Never in my life did I think writing out my feelings would help me so much. This product has really changed my outlook on life."

Ricky J

Baltimore, MD

"I needed an outlet other than weekend parties with my friends. Expressive writing with Journalowl was exactly what I needed. Thank you!"

Jon A

Austin, TX

Get Started

JournalOwl Free

FREE

Always & forever free!

Journal your way to better habits

Plus earn badges and join unlimited group channels.

Group channels

Engage and chat with other Journalers pursuing the same life goals. Get support, exchange ideas, and tackle your obstacles together!

Safe & secure

100% private and customizable. Your journal entries are double password protected with military grade encryption.

Audio journals

Record daily audio journals with automatic transcription to text.

Mobile friendly

Works with mobile apps, iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Take JournalOwl anywhere you go.

Electronic notifications

Custom email and SMS text reminders to encourage you along.

Theme customizations

Add personality to your journal with your own background, covers, and many different font styles.

Advanced search

Easily tag your journal entries and search across all of your journal entries.

Export and print friendly

Export your Journal to PDF to publish, print, or save.

Multiple journals

Maintain multiple journals covering different aspects of your life: personal, financial, professional, health & wellness.

Connect with Owls

Share journal entries with Owls or Others in a single click for insight and advice to overcoming specific challenges.

Get Started

JournalOwl Premium

$5/mo or $30/yr

Less than a cup of coffee!

Includes all JournalOwl Free features, plus:

Unlimited photos

Add unlimited photos to your journal entries.

Unlimited video journals

Record and upload your private video talks.

Invite family members

Invite your family and friends to specific journal entries to comment, discuss, and update.

TimeCapsule

Write a letter to yourself, your child, or a family member to be opened at a future date. JournalOwl will store it in our vault until a future date.

Private channels

Premium subscribers get exclusive access to private channels and group video chats with JournalOwl coaches.

Goal Trackers

Track your progress toward goal attainment: weight loss, quit smoking, quit drinking, or less stress. Also create custom goal trackers.

Sentiments

Our built-in Artificial Intelligence analyzes your journal entries and ranks your mood: low, indifferent, angry, good.

Insights

Get the insights you need to improve your life. With simple analytics, see how you compare with other journalers enrolled in the same challenge, how you are improving, and where you are falling behind.

Frequently Asked Questions

How secure is JournalOwl®?

JournalOwl has bank-level security for all your media types: the written word, audio, photos, and video. We take security very seriously at JournalOwl. Your information is never shared without your consent. You have the option of allowing therapists, coaches, and counselors to reach out to you - but that is completely your decision. By default, you're invisible. Do your thing, write it out, we are here for you.

What is JournalOwl Coaching?

Our global network of coaches, therapists, and counselors are on standby to help provide you with focused 1:1 or group support through secure video, chat, or audio. Keeping a diary and journaling are often recommended by our coaches to help you gain perspective, set goals, and reflect on your accomplishments. Pairing daily journaling with coaching support has show tremendous benefit to our end users. Coaches are pre-screened and available for a variety of challenges, like: anxiety, anger, addiction & compulsions, bullying, body image, LGBQT challenges, midlife crisis, OCD, unemployment, rejection, self-esteem issues, sleep disorders, weight loss, excessive worry, or workplace issues.

How much does JournalOwl cost?

Journaling is free. You can freestyle journal (write whatever you like), or you can join a challenge with our Journalers around the world. The idea is to move you away from 'external validation' by others and force you to look 'inward' on a daily basis by maintaining a diary or journal. It's a refreshingly simple concept that helps many people overcome the "fear of missing out" (FOMO) in a world driven by external validation over social media. All of the answers to life's toughest questions lie within.

Coaching is either $199/month for TouchPoints, or you can pay by the session (about $150) with your chosen therapist. JournalOwl® TouchPoints is a schedule-free way of receiving on-going 1:1 support. You record a secure video, audio, or write out your issue. A trained counselor listens to your challenges and provides a response within 48 hours. And the cycle continues. Sometimes they assign you journaling homework too!

What are JournalOwl Touchpoints?

JournalOwl TouchPoints is a schedule-free way of receiving focused 1:1 support. No need to align dates & times with your coach. You record a secure video, audio, or write out your issue. A trained counselor listens to your challenges and provides a response within 48 hours. And the cycle continues until you're on the right track. Sometimes they assign you journaling homework too!

What is the research on the benefits of journaling?

According to Psychcentral.com, journaling helps to clarify your thoughts and feelings. It also allows you to know yourself better, reduce stress, solve problems more effectively, and resolve disagreements with others.

We also believe that journaling allows you to track patterns, trends, and improve yourself over time. Nothing happens overnight and journaling is a process like every other life pursuit. Many famous people kept journals, including: John D. Rockefeller, George Patton, Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, John Adams, Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, and Ernest Hemingway.

Other famous people like Albert Einstein maintained a daily journal. It's an essential aspect of an examined life. In the words of Socrates, "the unexamined life is not worth living."

What is "journaling prompting"?

Journal prompting is the cornerstone of our group challenges. We have designed a variety of 21-day challenges with a different "prompt" each day to explore different aspects of your inner being. For example, we have challenges to reduce stress & anxiety where the journal prompts force you to think of better ways to manage situations. We believe that most people already have the answers within. Journaling is a vehicle to help you uncover those answers.

Are your coaches and counselors licensed?

Most of our coaches are licensed, but some very effective life coaches do not have state-issued licenses. Each coach has a profile that you can review and most of them post an introductory video about themselves. If they are licensed, that will be displayed on their coaching profile for you to review. Much like a sports coach, everyone's style is different to achieving results from their players. Some coaches are very aggressive in their approach, whereas others are methodical and easy-going. It is your responsibility to set boundaries and goals with your coach upfront. And if you're ever dissatisfied with your coach, there is no shame in dumping him or her and moving onto someone else. You have options!

How do I communicate with my coach?

It's easy. You can message your coach, record an audio, record a secure video, or video conference 'live' with your coach. You can also find a coach on our growing global network.

Get Matched with an Owl

Owls are pre-screened coaches and therapists with a passion for helping others overcome challenges. You can augment your journaling with 1:1 support from our large network of professional coaches. We match you based on a short questionnaire.

5 Modes of Communication with Your Owl

Secure Messaging • SMS Texting • Live Chat • Phone • Secure Video