Journal prompts: 100 to start with, sorted by what you need today

The short answer: don't work through a list. Pick the group that matches how today feels, choose one prompt, and write a single line. If more comes, keep going. If it doesn't, one honest line is a complete entry. The 100 prompts below are sorted by what you need today, not by topic, so you can find a question for a good day, a hard day or a busy one in a few seconds.

How to use this list

• Start with how you feel, not with prompt number one. Scan the group names and pick the one that fits today.
• Answer one prompt, not ten. One line is enough. A prompt is there to get you started.
• Keep the ones that work. When a question keeps giving you something to write, save it and come back to it. That short list becomes your own journal.

When you only have five minutes

Good for beginners, and for days when there's no time for more.

• What happened today, in one sentence?
• What's one word for how I feel right now?
• What took most of my energy today?
• What's one thing I want to remember about today?
• What did I do today that I'm glad I did?
• What's on my mind that I haven't said out loud?
• What's one thing I'll do tomorrow?
• What made me smile or laugh today?
• What would I tell a friend who had my day?
• What do I need more of this week?

When your head is full

Get it out of your head first. Sorting can wait.

• Everything I'm carrying right now is…
• What's the loudest thought in my head at the moment?
• Which of these things can I actually do something about this week?
• What am I trying to keep track of that I could just write down?
• What would I stop doing if I could?
• What's the one thing that would make tomorrow lighter?
• What am I putting off, and why?
• What can wait until next week?
• If I could hand one thing to someone else, what would it be?
• What feels urgent but isn't important?

When you're worried

Writing a worry down turns a loop into a sentence you can look at.

• What exactly am I worried will happen?
• How likely is it, honestly?
• What's the smallest step I could take about it tomorrow?
• What's already in my control here?
• What would I do if the worst happened?
• When have I handled something like this before?
• What am I assuming that might not be true?
• What would I say to someone I love who had this worry?
• What part of this can I let go of tonight?
• What do I need to hear right now?

When the day was hard

Psychologist James Pennebaker's studies of expressive writing asked people to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings for about 15 minutes, a few days in a row. You don't need that much. Write as much as you can, as honestly as you can.

• What happened, from the beginning?
• What was the hardest moment, and why?
• What did I feel, and where did I feel it?
• What did I want to happen instead?
• What do I wish someone had said to me?
• What did I do well, even today?
• What do I need tonight to feel even slightly better?
• Who could I talk to about this?
• What will I want to remember about this day in a year?
• What's one kind thing I can do for myself tomorrow?

When you want to notice the good

Gratitude writing works best when it's specific. "My sister called" says more than "family".

• What's one small thing that went right today?
• Who made my day a little easier?
• What's something I usually take for granted?
• What did I enjoy that cost nothing?
• What's a skill I have that I'm glad about?
• What's something I'm looking forward to?
• What's a place that makes me feel calm?
• What did I learn from someone this week?
• What's a recent moment I'd like to live again?
• What about today would I miss if it were gone?

When you have a decision to make

Write both sides out. A choice often looks different on paper than it does in your head.

• What exactly am I deciding?
• What happens if I do nothing?
• What do I want, if nobody else's opinion counted?
• What would I choose if I knew I couldn't fail?
• What's the cost of each option, in time, money and energy?
• Which option would I regret more in five years?
• What information am I still missing?
• Who has made a choice like this, and what did they learn?
• What's the smallest way to test this before committing?
• What does my gut say, in one word?

When you want to understand yourself

There are no right answers here. Notice what you'd rather not write.

• When do I feel most like myself?
• What's something I believe now that I didn't believe five years ago?
• What do I keep coming back to, no matter what?
• What drains me faster than it should?
• What am I proud of that nobody else knows about?
• What do I want people to feel after spending time with me?
• What's a habit I'd like to keep for the rest of my life?
• What am I avoiding, and what would happen if I stopped avoiding it?
• What does a good ordinary day look like for me?
• What's a question I'd like to be able to answer about myself?

About the people in your life

• Who do I feel most at ease with, and why?
• Who have I been meaning to thank?
• Which conversation have I been avoiding?
• Who did I think about today?
• What's a relationship I'd like to put more into?
• What did someone do recently that I didn't expect?
• Where do I need a clearer boundary?
• Who taught me something without trying to?
• What do I want to say to someone but haven't?
• Who would I like to know better?

For the week ahead

Psychologist Gabriele Oettingen's research on goals suggests that picturing the result alone isn't enough. Naming the obstacle and a plan for it helps more. Her four steps are called WOOP: wish, outcome, obstacle, plan. The first four prompts below follow them.

• What's one thing I wish for this week?
• What would be the best result of it?
• What in me is most likely to get in the way?
• When that happens, what will I do?
• What are the three most important things this week?
• What can I say no to this week?
• When will I rest this week?
• What's one thing I can finish completely?
• Who do I need to get in touch with?
• How do I want to feel by Sunday night?

Looking back

Use these at the end of a week or a month. Read the last few entries first.

• What went better than I expected?
• What didn't go to plan, and what did I learn?
• What did I spend the most time on? Was that what I wanted?
• What kept showing up in my entries?
• What's one thing I'll do differently next week?
• What did I start that I want to keep going?
• What can I stop worrying about now?
• Which day was the best, and what did it have in it?
• What surprised me about myself?
• If this week had a title, what would it be?

Make the list yours

After a few weeks you'll notice that a handful of prompts keep working for you. Keep those and let the rest go. A journal built from three questions you actually answer is better than a hundred you skim.

In Awaken Journal, a private journal app by Everything Awaken, the daily page is made of sections, each one a small prompt of its own. Gratitude, Briefs, Learning and Thoughts come built in, and you can add your own, so the prompts you keep can live on your page every day. Your entries are encrypted on your device, so nobody else can read them, us included. Our Guide shows how to start a digital journal, your first day done small. Any private notebook or app works just as well for this list.

If a prompt brings up something heavy

Journaling is a way to notice what's going on, and it isn't therapy. If writing brings up something that feels too big to hold on your own, close the page and talk to someone you trust, or to a professional.

Quick answers

Where to go next

If you're just starting, read how to start a journal and keep it going past week two. If privacy is what's been holding you back, our Guide covers the hesitation everyone has.