How to keep a dream journal

A dream journal is simply one place where you write your dreams down in the same way each time, so you can look back on them later. The format matters less than the routine: a few lines in a steady order are enough. Over weeks and months, those lines add up to something you can read like a map of your own inner world.

Where to keep it

• A paper notebookChoose one that is only for dreams. A small, plain notebook is enough. Writing by hand feels slower and more personal, and some people find that it suits dreams well.
• Notes on your phoneA single long note or a folder of notes is just as good, especially if your phone is always nearby. Start each entry with the date so you can scroll back easily.
• Just one placeWhatever you choose, keep all your dreams together. Dreams scattered across scraps of paper and different apps are hard to read back as a whole.

What to write in each entry

• The dateUse the date of the night, not the day you wrote it up. If you remember two dreams, give each one its own entry under the same date.
• A short titleTwo to five words you'll recognize later: "The flooded kitchen", "Train to nowhere". Titles make it easy to find a dream again.
• What happened, in orderTell it plainly, from start to finish, as far as you can. Where were you? Who was there? What did you do? Leave gaps where you don't remember, and don't fill them in with guesses.
• How it feltName the feeling during the dream and when you woke: scared, amused, curious, sad, relieved. If the feeling changed halfway through, note that too.
• One detail that stood outMost dreams have something odd or vivid in them: a blue horse, a door in the wrong place, a voice you knew. Write down the one that stays with you. It may well be the best symbol to look up.

How long an entry should be

Short is fine. Most entries need only five to ten lines. A long, vivid dream deserves more space, and a scrap needs only a single line. The test is simple: in a month's time, can you read the entry and still picture the dream? If you catch yourself explaining what the dream means while you write, stop and move that to a separate line at the end, marked "My thoughts". That keeps what you dreamed apart from what you think about it.

Naming people and places that come back

Some figures and settings appear again and again. Give each one a fixed name and use it every time: "the big house", "the woman in the gray coat", "Grandma's kitchen", "the endless corridor". If a place looks different but feels like the same one, use the same name anyway. Fixed names make patterns much easier to spot. You can also keep a short list on the last page of the notebook, or at the top of your notes, with each name and the date it first appeared.

A sample entry

March 14. The train that wouldn't stop. I'm at a small station with a heavy bag. A train comes but doesn't stop, then another one. My brother is on the platform, laughing, but kindly. In the end I walk along the tracks, and the station turns into the street I grew up on. Feeling: rushed at first, then oddly peaceful. Detail: the bag was full of oranges. My thoughts: a lot of waiting around this week.

Reading it back

• Once a monthPick a quiet moment and read the past month's entries in one sitting. Try to read them as if someone else had written them.
• Underline what repeatsMark the people, places, objects and feelings that turn up more than once. Copy them onto a separate page and add a check mark each time they appear again.
• Look up what you underlinedIf a symbol keeps appearing, you can look it up in the dream dictionary on this site and see which reading fits your life. Your own sense of the dream always comes first.

Keeping it private

A dream journal is for you. Dreams can be strange, embarrassing or very personal, and that's exactly why it's worth writing them freely. Keep the notebook somewhere only you look, or keep your phone locked. You decide what to share, if anything. If you do tell someone about a dream, you can put it in your own words without showing them the page.

Related symbols

Diary · Notebook · Pen · Pencil · Writing · Book · Letter · Photo · Map · Secret · Drawing · Train · Train station · Childhood home · Stranger

More guides

How to remember your dreams · Recurring dreams: what they can mean · Nightmares: what the most common ones can mean

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