How To Keep a Cannabis Journal

Whether it’s the traditional diary, the hip bullet journal, habit tracking, free writing, unsent letters, one line a day, or list writing, journaling is popular amongst many different types of people for a ton of reasons. Journaling can be a major stress relief, it can help you keep track of things, and it can help plan your day. Why stop there? If you’re into (or getting into) cannabis, journaling might be a great way for you to find your favorite strain or product. Interested? Let’s get writing!  

What is a Cannabis Journal?

A cannabis journal is exactly what it sounds like; it’s a place for you to track what strains, products, doses, and more. The best part (or worst part, for people like me that like an already-built structure) is that you can make it how you need it to be. Journals should fit your own personal needs and wants, especially when it comes to product tracking journals, like a cannabis journal. 

Why Should I Care? 

Even if you aren’t a huge writer or someone that doesn’t enjoy journaling, tracking what products you use and how they make you feel can help you in a lot of ways. Starting a cannabis journal can help you: 

• Find the best product for your personal uses. 
• Find the product that you enjoy using the most.
• Find your favorite flavors and strains of products.
• Understand which products won’t work for you.
• Try new products you wouldn’t have tested before.
• Find the best products for you at the best price. 
• Help you remember where you purchased the products.
• Finally, journaling, in general, is great for your overall health. 

What To Track In Your Cannabis Journal?

What you choose to track in your cannabis journal is entirely up to you. It will depend on whether you’re using THC products recreationally or for the benefits or both (which usually happens naturally anyway). But I wanted to include a list of what you could track, so you can pick out the things that are most important to you and add them to your journal. 

Here are some items you can start tracking and writing about in your cannabis journal: 

• Product (brand, name)
• Type of product/method of consumption
• Where you purchased it
• Price (include discounts)
• Why you’re taking it (benefits - specific pains, recreational use, both)
• --If it’s for benefits, make sure you’re logging the effects/your pains daily)
• Strain
• CBD vs THC percentage/mg/g
• Dose you took
• When you used the product
• How you felt before using the product
• How you felt after using the product
• --Immediately after, when the peak hit, how long the peak was, how long the effects lasted
• Food/Water intake (will help track what causes the effects to strengthen or lessen)
• Exercise for the day (will also help track if this changes the effects)
• For people with periods: if you’re on your period cycle (could change effects)
• How did you like the taste of the product? (if applicable)
• How did you like the effects? (if applicable)
• Other products you want to try
• Your rating of the product

Of course, don’t limit yourself to the items on this list. If you have anything else you want to add, then add it! It’s your journal and if it doesn’t include what you want, then you aren’t going to use it. Let us know in the comments what I missed!

How to Use a Cannabis Journal

Keeping this journal daily is important, especially if you’re using the products for their benefits. By customizing your journal and what you track/write about in it will ensure you use it and keep up with the products you’ve been using. 

Use your journal daily, preferably as you use your products, so you don’t forget what you were feeling and if your effects were noticeable. To make sure you are giving your products the time they need to get into your system for you to feel the benefits, you should try to consistently use a single product at a time (or at least a single new-to-you product at a time) for about 2-3 weeks. If you decide that you aren’t enjoying that product or you aren’t feeling the effects of it, make that note in your journal and move on to the next. 

In order to feel the benefits and what’s best to write and track in your journal, you’ll have to play around with it a bit. If you’ve ever started a diet or have tried to figure out a food allergy, you know the process. Try mixing up the times of day you’re using your product, try a different dosage, try a different method of consumption - what I’m saying here (and what I tout in almost every single blog I write) is simply; everyone is different. Everyone’s body is different. Everyone has different diets and lifestyles and metabolisms. One person’s THC product, dosage, and diet isn’t going to work for everyone. So, don’t be afraid to experiment with all the different factors and be patient! Long term goals aren’t achieved overnight.

Here Are Some Examples Below

For me personally, when I feel the need to start any sort of tracking journal, I always feel so overwhelmed creating it. So, for everyone out there like me, here are some great examples of how some cannabis journals can look. My takeaway for you from these images is to take what you like from each one and take what you need to track your progress and products from each one. The first draft may not be the cutest, but the more you use your journal, the more you’ll know how you need and want it to look.

For some additional helpful guides, check out some of our blogs below:  

• The “Is My CBD Working?“ blog is especially beneficial if you’re using THC products for their benefits!
• For choosing a THC strain, try our “5 Tips On Choosing Your Delta 8 Strain” blog.
• “What To Look For When Buying CBD” is helpful even with THC products!
• For those of you that are using THC products for benefits, taking them at different times during the day may create different effects. Read more here. 

If you’re still completely lost, try looking at guides to bullet journaling like this one or this one. 

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL JOURNALING

If you’re notoriously bad at continuing something, even though it’s good for you (like me), here’s a short list to help you keep at your writing. 

• Commit to writing daily on a schedule: If you’re using THC for the benefits, then you should be using the products daily and therefore writing daily. If this is the case or if you’re recreationally using products daily, schedule a time you’ll write in your journal about your progress. If you’re using THC recreationally and aren’t using them daily, still try to schedule out a time to write how you’re feeling. Even if you aren’t using the products for the benefits, it’s nice to see (in a journal) that your stress is becoming more manageable or your depression symptoms are lessening. The more successes you see, the more likely you are to continue the journaling habit.
• Keep your journal in plain sight: If you keep your journal either in plain sight for you or next to your products, you are more likely to write in it when you see it. This is especially awesome for people that might forget (me) or have ADHD symptoms and need to do other things while bopping around the house doing chores (also me). 
• Write without distractions or fear of judgment: If privacy is your thing, make sure to find a place where you are relaxed and can focus solely on your journaling/product usage. For those of us using the products recreationally and with friends, steal yourself away for a couple moments so you can even just rapidly jot down some notes that you can come back to later.
• Get creative: I NEED my journal to look fun and inviting. That’s what makes me want to write in it. This is also why I have hundreds of notebooks piled around my house that aren’t completely finished (I MUST stop buying new notebooks before I’m finished with the old ones). Find a really fun journal. Add clippings and drawings to your pages (Google: bullet journal inspiration). Make your journal look like you would be jealous of it if you saw it on a Pinterest board. 
• Get a really good writing instrument: Uhm, hello! Any author or writer you come across is a die-hard [fill-in-the-blank] fan. They live and die by a single writing tool and will never look at another type ever again. Find that for you. Whether it’s a bunch of fun colors, simply black ink, gel pens, sharpies, charcoal, paint pens, puff paint, whatever it is - use that. Make this journal your little craft project, because that, too, will help relieve stress and keep you writing in it!
• Try it on paper first. If you decide you’ll use a digital version more often, create your journal through Word, Excel, an app, or any other medium. Find what you are going to use the most and run with it. 

Let us know in the comments what your journals look like! Or tag us on any of our social media accounts - we want to see your cannabis journals!

READY TO START YOUR CANNABIS JOURNAL?

Grab your journal and pen (or phone/computer), get your product (from us, of course!), and get to testing! If you’re having trouble deciding how to go about starting your journal, what you need to track, deciding what products to try, or any other questions you might have, contact us! Once you’re on your journey, we’d love to hear from you! How is your cannabis journaling going? What products have you discovered since starting your journal? We can’t wait to hear how your journey is going.

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