Journaling is a powerful tool for self-awareness, but adding a visual layer—like a colour mood key—can deepen that insight even further. Imagine flipping through the pages of your journal and instantly recognising emotional trends through colour. This simple addition transforms your entries into a vibrant emotional map, revealing patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.
In this blog, we’ll explore how to create and use a colour mood key, the psychological link between colour and emotion, and how this method can be applied to enhance different types of journaling. Whether you're working through anxiety, seeking more joy, navigating heartbreak, or reflecting on your music-listening habits, this technique can enrich your experience.
What Is a Colour Mood Key?
A colour mood key is a visual legend used to represent your emotions through colours. By assigning a specific colour to each mood or feeling, you create a shorthand to record how you're feeling each day—or even multiple times a day. It's a creative and intuitive method that brings mindfulness and emotional tracking together on the page.
For example:
-
🟡 Yellow – Happy
-
🔵 Blue – Sad
-
🔴 Red – Angry
-
🟢 Green – Calm
-
🟣 Purple – Anxious
-
🟠 Orange – Excited
-
⚫ Black – Overwhelmed
-
⚪ White – Numb or Disconnected
This system is highly adaptable. You can use watercolours, highlighters, gel pens, or even small stickers—whatever suits your aesthetic and journaling routine.
The Psychology of Colour and Emotion
The connection between colour and emotion is well-documented in both psychology and art therapy. Warm colours (like red, orange, and yellow) often evoke feelings of energy and stimulation, while cool tones (blue, green, purple) can bring calm, sadness, or introspection. Using colour in your journaling taps into this innate relationship and gives form to emotions that can sometimes feel vague or complex.
Tracking your mood in colours helps externalise feelings. This not only improves emotional regulation but also boosts your ability to recognise and name your emotions—key components of emotional intelligence.
How to Create Your Own Colour Mood Key
1. Choose Your Colours
Select a set of colours you feel drawn to. They should be distinct enough to avoid confusion. Some people like using the traditional colour psychology palette, while others prefer a completely personal code.
2. Define Your Moods
Pick five to ten emotions you experience regularly. Think beyond just “happy” or “sad.” You might include things like:
-
Hopeful
-
Irritable
-
Energetic
-
Lonely
-
Peaceful
-
Stressed
Assign one colour to each emotion.
3. Create a Legend
Write or draw your key at the front or back of your journal. Use swatches, markers, or coloured pencils to make it visually clear. This becomes your reference point.
4. Apply It Daily
Each time you make an entry, include a coloured dot, line, or section that reflects your emotional state at that moment. Over time, you’ll start to see patterns: maybe you’re calmer on weekends or anxious before meetings. This kind of insight can be a game-changer.
Colour Mood Keys and Different Journals
Colour mood tracking can work across various journaling formats, including several unique options from Land of Serenity.
🌿 Anxiety Journal
In the Anxiety Journal, using a colour key can help you monitor triggers and calming moments alike. You could mark each entry with the mood colour at the top, then reflect on what led to that feeling and how you responded. Over time, you’ll begin to identify emotional patterns and triggers, and start learning which activities, people or thoughts promote more grounded, soothing tones.
☀️ Positivity Journal
In a gratitude-focused or Positivity Journal, you might focus your colour key on a spectrum of positive feelings: contentment, joy, connection, peace. Highlight the most uplifting part of your day in colour to visually reinforce your best moments.
🎧 Music Journal
The Music Journal from Land of Serenity is perfect for exploring the emotional impact of sound. After listening to a recommended album or reflecting on a song, use your colour key to note how it made you feel. This creates an emotional playlist mapped out by hue—a beautiful way to pair music discovery with self-discovery.
💔 Breakup Journal
Navigating heartbreak is complex, and colour mood tracking in a Breakup Journal offers a non-verbal outlet for heavy feelings. Seeing how your colours shift from darker shades to lighter tones over time can serve as a visual reminder that healing is happening—even on the days when it doesn’t feel like it.
🌙 Manifestation Journal
The Manifestation Journal lends itself to high-vibrational emotional mapping. Tracking your feelings as you engage in visualisation or scripting exercises helps align your emotional energy with your intentions. You could use gold for gratitude, pink for self-love, or green for abundance.
How to Analyse Your Colour Patterns
Once you’ve been colour mood tracking for a while, it’s helpful to review your entries for patterns. Ask yourself:
-
Are there colours that appear more often during the week?
-
Do certain emotions align with particular events or people?
-
What activities shift your colour tone from dark to light?
You could even create a monthly colour grid, with a small square per day, filled in with your mood colour. This creates an immediate visual summary of your emotional month. Over time, these mosaics help you understand your wellbeing cycles and become more proactive about managing stress and maintaining balance.
Benefits of Colour Mood Journaling
-
Emotional Clarity – See at a glance how you've been feeling over time.
-
Visual Memory – Colour improves recall and helps you emotionally engage with your own story.
-
Self-Awareness – Begin to understand what drives emotional highs and lows.
-
Mindfulness Practice – It brings your attention to the present and invites introspection.
-
Creative Expression – It’s a simple, artistic form of self-care.
-
Encourages Routine – Adding a visual element makes journaling more engaging and less daunting.
Tips for Getting Started
-
Start small: even a single coloured dot a day can be powerful.
-
Don't overthink it—go with your instinct for colour choice in the moment.
-
Consider combining your colour with a one-sentence reflection for extra depth.
-
Keep your materials handy—if you’re using pens or stickers, having them visible reminds you to use them.
-
Be consistent but flexible. Some days you might only use colour, and that’s enough.
Final Thoughts
A colour mood key isn’t just about pretty pages. It’s a bridge between your internal world and your conscious awareness—a creative, visual system for staying connected with yourself. Whether you’re navigating anxiety, exploring gratitude, working through heartbreak, or tracking the emotional effect of music, a colour mood key brings an extra layer of meaning to your journaling journey.
If you’re ready to deepen your relationship with journaling, explore the full range of Land of Serenity journals and find the one that meets your emotional goals. Add some colour to your pages—and your life.