Keeping a Journal in 2020: Journaling Prompts

Lifestyle

Jan 5

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to start journaling every single day. This is something I used to do regularly - I have dozens of notebooks at my parents house full of my jumbled pre-teen and teenage thoughts. I have detailed notebooks from the good old college days, travel notes and stories from studying abroad, thoughts and ideas from when I lived in New York City. Unfortunately, with the hustle and bustle of running a business, I stopped journaling on a regular basis.

There are so many benefits to journaling, especially for your mental wellness. If you deal with stress, anxiety, depression, or even if you’re just feeling a bit overwhelmed, journaling can really help. This blog post dives into the benefits of journaling, prompts to use when you don’t know what to write, tips for staying consistent, and links to some beautiful journals!

Benefits of Keeping a Journal:

Writing down your thoughts and feelings allows you to understand them more clearly. It allows you to observe and learn about your own thoughts and emotions in a more concrete way.
Journaling is a way of releasing any repressed thoughts or feelings - it’s like venting to a friend! It’s good to get any pestering thoughts out of your head, even if it’s just onto paper.
It gives you an opportunity to examine your feelings and strengthen your self-awareness. You can view your thought process and emotions from more of an outside perspective, which can help you identify triggers and any troubling thought patterns.
Journaling provides you with a stronger sense of self-identity and confidence. You get to know yourself better as you remain mindful and present.
You’re more likely to crush your goals if you keep a journal! By writing down your goals as well as your thoughts, feelings, and actions regarding your goals, you’re holding yourself accountable. It’s no longer just a thought in your mind and you can keep track of your progress. When we set huge goals, it can feel like we’re never going to get there. But if you keep track of your small steps and achievements, it’s easier to recognize that you’re getting closer and closer to the success you desire.
Spark your creativity by keeping a journal! By writing down your stream of consciousness, you may discover ideas and thoughts that otherwise may never have come to the surface.

Okay so now that you understand that no matter who you are or what you do, keeping a journal will improve your life, let’s talk about how to get started. Personally, I’ve never used prompts while journaling. I always just started writing about my day and then just let my stream of consciousness fill the page. But the lack of structure is probably part of why I fell out of the habit of journaling, so this year I want to start using prompts!

I scoured the internet for prompts and ideas that I want to use on my new and improved journaling journey and I wanted to share them with you too!

Journal Prompts

Who inspires you? Why?
What is something you are proud of?
Write a letter to your high school self.
What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
What is your ideal life? How can you achieve it?
What is going well in your life right now?
Describe in detail what you want your life to be like 5 years from now.
If you had a million dollars, what would you spend it on and why?
Are you living to your full potential? If not, why?
Are holding grudges? Write them down and let them go.
What makes you feel the most confident?
Write a thank you letter to your biggest supporter.
What was your biggest learning moment this week?
Write a thank you letter to your body.
What do you wish more people knew about you and why?
What was your most embarrassing moment and why?
If you could change anything about yourself what would it be and why?
Describe your biggest accomplishment and why it means so much to you.
How would you describe yourself to a stranger?
If you could achieve anything in your life what would it be?

When in doubt, list it out!

Places you’ve enjoyed visiting
The people you admire most and why
Your favorite books
Your favorite movies
Your favorite shows
Your favorite songs
Your favorite podcasts
Your favorite food
Your top 5 short term goals
Your top 5 long term goals
10 best 10 moments of your life so far
What are 3 things you can change to improve your life?
What are 3 things you had to learn the hard way?
What are 5 things you are grateful for?
What are 3 of your strongest personality traits?

journal prompts for business owners

How can you best serve your tribe today?
What are your favorite topics to blog about?
Who do you want to serve?
What was the best thing that happened last week?
What milestones did you reach last week?
How do you want people to feel when they first encounter your brand?
What makes you feel most successful?
What’s a challenge you struggled with last week?
What do you want your legacy to be?
Does your website look the way you want it to?
List 10 things you want to improve in your business.
List 3 non-negotiable daily actions that will move you closer to your goals.
If you could do anything you wanted to do today, what would it be?
How can your struggles help your audience?

journal prompts for anxiety relief

While searching for journal prompts for anxiety relief, I discovered Tiny Buddha, a beautiful blog and community for finding peace and happiness. Tiny Buddha not only offered some amazing journal prompts for anxiety, they also sell their own worry journal!

Tiny Buddha's Worry Journal: A Creative Way to Let Go of Anxiety and Find Peace

Here are Tiny Buddha’s 5 journal prompts for letting go of anxiety:

Today, I choose to let go of the things I can’t control, including…
I recognize that I don’t need to have all the answers right now. Today, I give myself permission not to know…
Dear inner critic: You always focus on everything I’m doing wrong, but I know I’m doing a lot right, including…
I know I’m strong enough to handle whatever comes at me, because I’ve survived a lot, including…
Instead of worrying about making the “wrong” choices, I trust that no matter what I choose…

More journal prompts for overcoming anxiety:

What fear would you like to overcome? What steps can you take to start overcoming it?
What would you do if you did not have any fears?
What is holding you back from going after the life you want?
What are 3 of the biggest lessons you’ve learned from having anxiety?
What are three things you can do to enhance your mental well-being?
Write about a difficult time in your life and how you overcame it.
Get something off your chest. What is something you may be over-thinking?

journal prompts for depression relief

What are 10 things that always make you feel better, no matter what?
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from having depression?
If I didn’t have depression I would have never …
Write down the lyrics to a song that makes you happy.
Reply to your inner critic’s opinions about your actions and decisions.
Are you taking time to care for yourself? Do you allow yourself time to relax and breathe? If the answer is no, what can you do to give yourself this time?
Make a list of the compliments you’ve received from others.

journal prompts for stress relief

What areas of your life could be more organized? How can you accomplish this?
What steps have you taken towards a goal of yours?
What was one problem you had today, and what was your solution to this problem?
Write out a list of the things that are causing you stress at the moment. Looking at them on paper may help you realize that you can do it all.
What past challenge has turned out to be a blessing in disguise? Why?
What are some things you can look forward to after this stress subsides?
How do you usually handle stress? Are you using these strategies now?

Journaling Tips & Tricks

I know first-hand that keeping a journal can be challenging. Life can get messy and journaling can be pushed to the side all too easily. Here are some tips and tricks for allowing journaling to become a daily activity and for getting the most out of your journaling experience:

Be as open and honest as possible. You are writing for yourself - don’t sugarcoat anything!
Bring your journal with you when you travel. If you take breaks while you travel or while your schedule changes, you may forget to get back to journaling when you get home. Plus, your mind tends to clear on vacation which is a great time for journaling.
Create a journaling routine. Decide what time of day you’re going to write in your journal and create a routine around that, such as waking up and journaling while drinking your morning coffee or journaling right before you go to sleep.
Don’t stress or punish yourself if you miss a day, it is bound to happen!
Set reminders on your phone. If journaling is a new addition to your daily routine, having a reminder on your phone will help you turn writing in your journal into a daily habit!
Make your journal your own. Don’t limit yourself to just writing if that’s not really your thing - add pictures or drawing or movie ticket stubs!