Journaling Prompts for Beginners, Grouped by What You Want to Notice

The hardest part of journaling is the blank page. A prompt solves that by giving you one question to answer instead of a whole day to summarise. The prompts below are grouped by what you want to notice, with a note on what research says about each kind of writing, so you can choose the group that fits the day.

How to use a prompt

Pick one prompt, set a short limit, such as five minutes, and answer it honestly. Do not edit, and do not worry about spelling. Two or three sentences count as an entry. If a prompt does not fit today, pick another; the aim is writing, not completing the list.

1. To notice what went well

• What went well today, and what part did I play in it?
• Who made today easier, and how?
• What is something small I enjoyed that I would normally overlook?
• What am I glad I did this week?

What the research says. In a 2003 set of studies, Emmons and McCullough randomly assigned people to list hassles, things they were grateful for, or a comparison topic such as neutral life events, and to keep weekly or daily records of their moods and health. The gratitude groups showed higher well-being on several, though not all, of the outcome measures, and the effect on positive mood was the most robust finding. That is encouraging, not a promise.

2. To name a feeling

• What am I feeling right now, in one word? What brought it on?
• Where in my body do I notice that feeling?
• What would I say to a friend who felt this way?
• Which moment today had the strongest feeling, good or bad?

Naming feelings is the basis of a mood tracker too; keeping a mood tracker covers turning these notes into patterns.

3. To clear unfinished business

• What is on my mind that I have not dealt with?
• What is the next specific step, and when will I take it?
• What am I putting off, and what is the smallest version of it?

What the research says. In 2011 experiments, Masicampo and Baumeister found that unfinished goals caused intrusive thoughts and interfered with unrelated tasks, and that letting people make specific plans for those goals eliminated the effect. A plan only worked if it was earnest: the people who went on to carry it out were the ones whose intrusions stopped. A prompt that ends in a dated next step asks for the same kind of specific plan, though a journal entry is not the lab task those studies used.

4. To work through a hard day

• What happened, in plain facts?
• What did I feel then, and what do I feel now?
• What do I wish had gone differently, and what is in my control next time?

What the research says. Wikipedia describes expressive writing as a technique developed by psychologist James Pennebaker in the late 1980s, in which participants wrote their deepest thoughts and feelings about a past trauma or major emotional issue for 15 minutes a day on 4 consecutive days. Wikipedia notes that many participants reported being upset by the writing but found it valuable, and that the theory behind it has mixed empirical support. If writing about something painful leaves you more distressed rather than less, stop, and consider talking to someone instead.