I’m a terrible diarist. I have never been able to foster a daily journalling habit, despite my prolific blogging across the last 10 years. In my teens, I ruined many a diary, had notebooks with scribbled first pages that were never returned to, and I carried a deep discomfort when it came to writing out my days. The space was never enough, yet its blankness was also somehow daunting. Cut to today, and I think I’ve finally found a journal for me: Intelligent Change’s Life Designer Journal.
Despite being a terrible diary keeper, I have managed to work my way through a third of The Life Designer, and I’ve already seen its effects in how I think and move through life. I purchased it on a whim late last year, and I’m so very glad I did (despite my early disappointment, which I’ll come on to). The journal provides structure and exercises that you can dip in and out of – it’s surprisingly thorough. I even took it away on my recent wilderness retreat. If you’re at a crossroads in your life – or simply wish to take stock of who you are, where you are, where you want to go, and how you want to get there – this is the journal for you.
Why I Bought The Life Designer Journal
I had been calling 2025 my “cocoon year”. It was the year where I had entered an incubation stage in my life. After crossing the bridge to 30, it was actually my 32nd year that gave me a wobble. In 12 short months, I’d been diagnosed with an ongoing health condition, shut down my business, visited my extended family in the Middle East for the first time, and applied to a Masters programme to start on a career change. I’m still somewhat in that cocoon, although I’ll occasionally pop out to wear my blogger hat, or my freelancer hat (all sustainably made, of course).
So it was late one night when inspiration hit: why don’t I invest in a journal? Up to this point, I’d been feeling my way through life. There were plenty of obstacles – high rents, horrible flatmates, dead-end jobs – and many helping hands too. But I think I’d been so beaten down by high costs of living and high pressure of self-employment that I could only ever think in 30-day periods, only ever breathing a sigh of relief when I could bank a little money into my savings account. That doesn’t mean I didn’t deserve to dream, but it had fallen out of practice.
And so, I stumbled across The Life Designer Journal. “Design a life that feels like yours,” it said. “The Life Designer Journal walks you through five essential pillars—helping you understand yourself, shaping your mindset, and creating a clear vision for your future 10 years from now. It’s for those who are tired of living on autopilot and are ready to start making choices that truly matter.” And so, I gifted it to myself.
The Life Designer Journal: My First Impressions
I’m familiar with the Intelligent Change brand; it’s one of those designer stationery brands that I would look at but never dare to buy because I knew I’d regret those scribbled first pages and extra expense. However, sat cuddled in a blanket on the sofa, I clicked buy. A few weeks passed, and the journal arrived. The cardboard box was thin, the book, thinner. Disappointingly so. The journal itself feels cheap, the paper stock, flimsy. The pages show through faint printed lines, pencil tracks, and thicker, contemplative rollerball strokes even more so. Intelligent Change attributes this to the book being ‘made sustainably’, printed on recycled and FSC certified paper, and bound in 100% natural fabric. However, knowing a little bit about the print industry, I know they could have chosen a nicer paper. Especially for the £29 price tag.
An Insight Into Myself
I could have stopped here and claimed my 6-month money-back guarantee, but I wanted to proceed with the promised ‘five key pillars of self-discovery’. I went in a little sceptical. Yet I needn’t have been.
The exercises in The Life Designer are thoughtful, thorough, and at times, a little confronting. Balancing the role of fear with the role of desire was tough. Discovering myself without the barrier of societal expectations took work. Yet I came away each time feeling like I’d gotten to know myself a little better.
In my teens, I felt like I was at my most introspective, my most creative, and buoyed by naivety. In my 20s, my character was shaped by the life experiences I went through, some beautiful, some less so. Now, in my 30s, in my cocoon, with this journal, I get to unpick some of the mental knots, and dare myself to dream again.
I’ve purposefully included shots of the journal on blank pages, because I feel I’ve shared some deeply personal insights on its pages, many too personal to share here. However, I’ve been able to address certain parts of my psyche that I didn’t even know existed, like the natural barrier I have around daring to plan good things for myself and my partner. It’s led to fruitful conversations between us, and a feeling of contentment in myself, too. I’ve still got a long way to go – I’m only two of the five pillars in – but I’m enjoying the impact the exercises are having.
My Overall Rating: 9/10
All in all, I’m grateful to my past self for investing in this journal. It has given me a structured space to explore my thoughts, feelings, and wishes that I can pick up and put down whenever I feel. For the price tag, I would have liked a thicker book with a more luxurious paper stock, but honestly, I shouldn’t have judged a book by its cover. I also like the eco credentials. For that reason, it scores a high nine out of 10. If you’re at a crossroads, gift yourself The Life Designer, and see how you get on. You may find you have more potential than you realise.
