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I have a graveyard of half-used journals. Moleskines with three pages filled. A Leuchtturm with one spectacular brain dump dated March 4th and then nothing until a grocery list in July. A bullet journal where I spent four hours designing a habit tracker I never once tracked a habit in.
Sound familiar? Yeah. Welcome to ADHD journaling.
Here’s the thing though — journaling actually works for ADHD brains. Not the “dear diary” kind. Not the aesthetic spreads you see on Instagram. I’m talking about the raw, unfiltered, get-the-chaos-out-of-your-skull kind. The kind where you write “I’m angry and I don’t know why and also I need cat food” and somehow feel 40% less insane afterward.
The problem was never journaling itself. The problem was using journals designed for neurotypical people who can apparently just… sit down and write reflectively for 20 minutes? Every day? At the same time? Must be nice.
So I went on a quest. Tried a pile of ADHD-friendly journals. Abandoned most of them (on brand). But a few actually stuck. Here’s what survived.
Why ADHD Brains Need Journaling (But Hate It)
Before we get to the products — let’s talk about why this matters.
ADHD working memory is basically a whiteboard in a hurricane. Thoughts come in, thoughts get erased, new thoughts arrive before you’ve processed the old ones. Your brain is running 47 background processes and none of them have a progress bar.
An ADHD journal gives those thoughts somewhere to land. It’s not about being organized. It’s about externalization — getting the noise out of your head and onto paper where it stops looping.
Research backs this up. Expressive writing reduces anxiety and improves working memory capacity. For ADHD specifically, the act of brain dumping can lower the cognitive load that makes everything feel so damn overwhelming.
But here’s the catch: most journals demand consistency, structure, and follow-through. You know, the three things ADHD people are famously terrible at. So the journal has to meet us where we are — messy, inconsistent, and operating on vibes.
What Makes a Journal Actually Work for ADHD
After years of trial, error, and abandoned notebooks, here’s what I’ve learned matters:
Low friction. If it takes more than 10 seconds to figure out what to write, I won’t write. The best ADHD journals have prompts, structure, or at least a clear “just dump it here” vibe.
No guilt. Skip a day? Skip a week? The journal shouldn’t make you feel like a failure. Dated pages are the enemy. Undated is king.
Short sessions. Five minutes or less. If a journal expects me to write for 20 minutes, it’s getting used as a coaster.
Visual variety. Walls of lined paper make my eyes glaze over. Some structure, boxes, sections — anything to break up the monotony.
Forgiveness built in. A journal that works on page 1 and page 47 regardless of what happened to pages 2 through 46.
Okay. Let’s get into the actual journals.
Best ADHD Journals for Adults: The Ones That Actually Survived
1. The Anti-Planner by Dani Donovan
Best for: The ADHD person who’s burned by every planner ever made
Dani Donovan is an ADHD creator who gets it, and The Anti-Planner is proof. This isn’t a planner that pretends to be different. It’s genuinely built for brains that rebel against structure.
No dates. No sequential pages. You flip to whatever section feels right — brain dumps, priority sorting, or “things I did today that count as wins even though neurotypical people would call them basic.”
What I love: It uses humor and self-compassion in a way that doesn’t feel cheesy. The prompts are specific enough to be useful but loose enough that you’re not staring at the page wondering what to write. There’s a section that’s literally just for getting your feelings out, and another for figuring out what you actually need to do today (spoiler: it’s probably less than you think).
What I don’t love: It’s not a journal journal. If you want long-form writing space, this isn’t it. It’s more of a daily brain-sorting tool.
Who it’s for: Anyone who needs permission to do things imperfectly. Which is… all of us?
👉 Buy The Anti-Planner on Amazon
2. The Brain Dump Journal by Piccadilly
Best for: Pure, unstructured brain dumping
Sometimes you don’t need prompts or structure. You need a blank page and a title that says “dump it all here” so you don’t feel weird about writing “AAAAAAAHHH” at the top and then listing every task that’s been haunting you for three weeks.
The Piccadilly Brain Dump Journal is simple — it’s got dotted pages with a “brain dump” header area and plenty of space below. That’s it. No guided prompts, no reflection questions. Just space.
For ADHD, this works because it removes decision fatigue. You don’t have to decide what kind of journaling to do. You just open it and let it rip. Grocery lists next to existential thoughts next to work tasks next to song lyrics you can’t get out of your head. All valid.
I use mine specifically for the “my brain is too full to function” moments. Fifteen minutes of dumping and suddenly I can think again.
Who it’s for: People who want a brain dump journal for ADHD without any bells and whistles. Just paper. Just chaos. Just relief.
3. The Five-Minute Journal
Best for: Building a journaling habit without burning out
I know, I know — this one’s mainstream. But hear me out. The Five-Minute Journal works for ADHD because it’s so constrained. Morning: three things you’re grateful for, three things that would make today great, one affirmation. Night: three amazing things that happened, one thing you could’ve done better.
That’s it. Two minutes in the morning, two minutes at night. Your brain barely has time to resist before it’s done.
The structure is key here. With ADHD, “free write about your day” is a recipe for either writing nothing or writing seven pages about that one interaction with the barista. The Five-Minute Journal keeps you focused. Tight prompts. Small boxes. In and out.
What I don’t love: The dated pages. Miss a few days and you’ve got blank pages staring at you accusingly. My fix: I cross out the dates and write my own. Problem solved, perfectionists can look away.
Who it’s for: ADHD adults who want a daily gratitude/reflection practice but know they’ll abandon anything that takes longer than brushing their teeth.
👉 Buy The Five-Minute Journal on Amazon
4. Lemome Thick Classic Notebook (Dotted)
Best for: The DIY ADHD journaler who wants freedom
Not every ADHD journal needs to be ADHD-specific. Sometimes you just need a really good blank notebook and your own system.
The Lemome is my pick for this because: thick pages (no bleed-through, which matters because ADHD + nice pens = inevitable), lay-flat binding (crucial — if I have to hold the journal open, I won’t use it), and dotted pages (more flexible than lines, more guidance than blank).
I use mine for a modified brain dump system: date at the top, dump everything below, circle the 1-3 things that actually matter, ignore the rest. Next page, repeat. No index, no threading, no bullet journal complexity. Just dump and circle.
The beauty of a blank notebook is that there’s nothing to fail at. You can’t do it wrong. For ADHD brains that have been shamed by every structured system they’ve tried, that freedom is everything.
Who it’s for: People who’ve tried ADHD-specific journals and found them too structured, or anyone who wants a brain dump journal they can make their own.
👉 Buy Lemome Dotted Notebook on Amazon
5. The ADHD Workbook & Journal by Theano Press
Best for: Understanding your ADHD while journaling about it
This one’s different — it’s part workbook, part journal. It walks you through understanding your specific ADHD patterns (rejection sensitivity, time blindness, emotional dysregulation) and gives you journaling prompts tied to each one.
I found this genuinely useful for connecting the dots between my behaviors and my ADHD. Like, I always knew I was bad at transitions, but working through the prompts helped me see why and brainstorm actual workarounds.
The journaling sections aren’t free-form — they’re guided prompts with specific spaces to write. This is great if you struggle with the “what do I even write about” problem. Less great if you want open-ended space.
Fair warning: this is more of a “work through it once” journal than a daily practice. But what you learn from it makes all your other journaling better.
Who it’s for: Newly diagnosed adults, or anyone who wants their ADHD journaling to be more therapeutic and less “random brain noise on paper.”
👉 Buy ADHD Workbook Journal on Amazon
6. Rocketbook Core Smart Notebook
Best for: The ADHD person who loses every journal they start
Okay this one’s a wildcard but stick with me. The Rocketbook is a reusable notebook — you write with a Frixion pen, scan the pages to the cloud with their app, then microwave or wipe it clean and start over.
Why does this work for ADHD? Three reasons:
- No commitment anxiety. Nothing is permanent. You can dump your brain without worrying about “wasting” a page or writing something dumb.
- Automatic backup. The scan-to-cloud feature means your brain dumps actually go somewhere searchable. I send mine to a Google Drive folder and occasionally search them when I’m like “wait, didn’t I have an idea about that?”
- Novelty factor. Let’s be honest — the microwave-to-erase thing is cool enough to keep an ADHD brain engaged for at least a few months longer than a normal notebook.
It’s not perfect. The Frixion pens feel different from normal pens, and the paper has a slightly plasticky texture. But for ADHD journaling that actually gets saved and organized without you having to organize anything? Hard to beat.
Who it’s for: Digital-leaning ADHD adults who want physical writing but always lose or forget their notebooks.
👉 Buy Rocketbook Core on Amazon
7. Papier Wellness Journal
Best for: The ADHD person who needs pretty things to stay motivated
Don’t underestimate the dopamine hit of a gorgeous journal. The Papier Wellness Journal is objectively beautiful — customizable cover, high-quality paper, and a thoughtful interior layout with weekly check-ins, mood tracking, and open journaling space.
The weekly structure (rather than daily) is ADHD-friendly. Miss Monday? Start Wednesday. No blank pages of shame. The mood tracking is simple — circles to fill in rather than elaborate scales — and the reflection prompts are short and specific.
I’ll be honest: I bought this partly because it’s pretty and partly because I thought the prettiness would make me use it. It worked for about four months, which is a personal record. The quality matters — when something feels premium, my ADHD brain assigns it more importance and I’m less likely to abandon it on a random shelf.
Who it’s for: ADHD adults who are motivated by aesthetics and want a wellness-focused journal that doesn’t demand daily commitment.
👉 Buy Papier Wellness Journal on Amazon
ADHD Journaling Tips That Actually Help
The journal matters, but so does the approach. Here’s what’s worked for me:
Lower the bar to the floor
Your entry can be three words. “Today was hard.” Done. That counts. The goal is consistency of access, not consistency of output. Keep the journal where you’ll see it — nightstand, desk, next to the coffee maker.
Use a timer
Set a 5-minute timer. Write until it goes off. Stop. This prevents both the “I don’t want to start” and the “I’ve been writing for an hour and I’m late for work” failure modes.
Don’t reread old entries (at first)
ADHD + rereading old journal entries = spiral into self-judgment. Give yourself a rule: no rereading for at least a month. The writing is the therapy. The rereading is optional.
Pair it with something you already do
Coffee and journal. Waiting for meds to kick in and journal. On the toilet and journal (no judgment, it’s a great habit stack). Pairing journaling with an existing routine removes the “remember to do it” problem.
Brain dump when overwhelmed, not on a schedule
Forget daily journaling if it doesn’t work for you. Instead, use your journal as an emergency tool. Brain too full? Dump it. Anxiety spiraling? Dump it. Can’t prioritize? Dump everything, then circle what matters. This “as-needed” approach works way better for a lot of ADHD brains than forced daily habits.
Try voice-to-text if writing is the barrier
Some ADHD people think faster than they write, and the lag between brain and hand is enough to kill motivation. Use your phone’s voice-to-text to dictate into a notes app, then paste or summarize in your journal. Or just keep the voice notes. No rules.
So Which ADHD Journal Should You Actually Buy?
Look, I can’t tell you which one will stick because ADHD is wildly personal. But here’s my cheat sheet:
- Brain is chaos, need to dump NOW: Piccadilly Brain Dump Journal or any good dotted notebook
- Need structure but hate planners: The Anti-Planner by Dani Donovan
- Want the easiest possible habit: The Five-Minute Journal
- Newly diagnosed and processing: ADHD Workbook & Journal by Theano Press
- Love tech and lose everything: Rocketbook Core
- Motivated by pretty things: Papier Wellness Journal
- Want total freedom: Lemome Dotted Notebook + your own system
The best journal for ADHD adults is the one you’ll actually open more than three times. That’s it. That’s the entire criteria. Everything else is bonus.
Start with one. Use it imperfectly. Abandon it if you need to. Try another one. The goal isn’t to become a journaling person. The goal is to give your overstuffed brain a place to breathe.
And if you end up with a graveyard of half-used journals like me? At least you’ve got company. We can start a support group. I’ll forget to show up, but it’s the thought that counts.