Getting out of bed and starting your day can be difficult. One of the best ways to achieve this is through journaling. Journaling can help you process your thoughts, clear your head, and deal with your emotions so you can kickstart your day.
Here, we’ll be showing you 50 great journal prompts you can use if you’re stuck and don’t know what to write about. These prompts will help you process your feelings and improve productivity.
Top 50 Journal Prompts You Should Use
1. What do you do on your ideal day?
We all have our own ideas of what an ideal day looks like. Some enjoy laying down in bed all day. Some prefer going out with friends. Write this down in your journal. Maybe you can make this ideal day a reality.
2. What makes your heart sing loudest and beat strongest?
A great way to kickstart your day is by figuring out what you love and what makes you happy. This way, you can plan your day accordingly.
3. What are the 4 things you are most grateful for?
Starting your day filled with gratitude is always good. List down what you’re most grateful for. Is it life? Live it well today. Is it family? Make sure they feel appreciated today.
4. Where do you see yourself in 6 months? In a year? In 2 years?
Setting goals for yourself at the start of the day can help motivate you. See yourself in 6 months. What do you see? What do you hope to achieve? Work your way towards that goal slowly but surely.
5. Write a poem
If you wake up not feeling so happy, write down your feelings and freely express yourself by writing a poem.
6. When was the last time you cried?
Ask yourself when you cried last and why. Perhaps, this will help you in your journey to self-discovery and help you improve as a person.
7. What’s your favorite movie and why?
A more light-hearted journal prompt you can use is this one. When you meet new people, one of the most common ‘get to know you’ questions asked is what your favorite movie is. Have you tried asking yourself that as you start your day? Remembering your favorite movie might fill your head with warm and wholesome memories.
8. What’s your happiest memory?
Speaking of warm and wholesome memories, what’s your happiest memory? Start the day off with sunshine and rainbows and reminisce on some of your favorite memories.
9. What’s your favorite color? What does it remind you of?
Another commonly asked question is what your favorite color is. For a deeper prompt, ask yourself why this color is your favorite. Does it remind you of something? Does it calm you? Does it look aesthetic? Remember, there is no right or wrong answer to this question.
10. Write a letter to yourself.
Show yourself some appreciation and write yourself a letter. Talk about what you love about yourself. Lift yourself up and make yourself smile.
11. Write a letter to your friends and family.
Aside from writing a letter to yourself, write some to your friends and family. These people have stood by you. Show them you appreciate and love them by writing them a heartwarming letter.
12. What was the biggest mistake you’ve ever made? What did you learn?
Remembering your biggest mistake might be tough but, it is a good way to grow. Don’t dwell on it. Learn from it. Write down your biggest mistake and move on to what you learned from the said mistake.
13. What is success to you?
We all come into this life kicking and screaming. We’re then raised to aim for one thing: success. But what is success? Success differs from person to person. You have to figure out what you think success means for you to become a successful person.
14. What would you tell your teenage self?
As we grow up, we learn new things. What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned as you’ve lived life? What would you tell your teenage self knowing what you know now?
15. What advice would you give to a 5-year-old?
Here’s a fun prompt. If a 5-year-old were to approach you now and ask for advice, what would you tell them? This can be something quirky to something deep and life-changing.
16. What are the three activities that if you gave up, would you give your more time and peace?
You only live once. Don’t do anything you’ll regret. If there are activities you’re doing that weigh you down or don’t make you happy, drop them. Do things deliberately.
17. Who are your biggest heroes?
Remembering your heroes and why they became your heroes will give you someone to look up to and someone to strive to be.
18. What is something you’ve never done but always wanted to do?
The main reason why people have bucket lists is that they don’t want to miss anything before they leave this Earth. The world might have its darkness and negativity but, it could also be positive and happy. It offers a ton of opportunities and a ton of things for you to do. So, why not do the one thing you’ve never done but always wanted to do? It’s now or never.
19. What are your biggest pet peeves?
Another light-hearted question would be about pet peeves. Process your frustrations and anger and write down every reason why you’ve designated these actions as ‘pet peeves’.
20. What distracts you from being productive?
If you’re aiming to be productive today, write down what distracts you. You might want to make sure to avoid these distractions as you go about your day and check off tasks from your to-do list.
21. What stops you from being the person you can be?
If you want to grow, you have to acknowledge what’s not helping you grow. It would be best to be aware of them so you can deal with them accordingly.
22. What are your goals for today?
Taking things little by little and setting goals for the day not only helps with anxiety but, can help make you more self-confident. There is nothing better than the feeling of crossing off a task you had to finish.
23. What is happiness? How do you achieve it?
Like success, a lot of people define happiness differently. You must find out what you think happiness is and how you can achieve it so you can find happiness and peace.
24. What would you do if today were your last day on Earth?
Plan your day as if this were your last day. Go big. Splurge. Do everything you’ve ever wanted to do. Just have fun and live.
25. How do you spend your Sundays?
A journal prompt you can make use of is this one. How do you spend your Sundays? Perhaps this Sunday, you’d like to do something else or try something different.
26. What books, movies, songs, etc. changed your life?
We all have our favorite books, movies, or songs. On a particularly difficult day, you can revisit these and comfort yourself with some of your favorite fictional characters and tunes.
27. What do you love about yourself?
Show yourself some self-love and list down every quality you love about yourself. We’re sure you have a long list of admirable qualities under your belt. You just need a bit of time to see it yourself.
28. What do you need more of in your life?
We’re all aiming to be happy. List down activities that you don’t do often but make you happy.
29. What activities fulfill you?
Like the prompt above, find activities that fulfill you. What makes your soul sing? What makes you smile? Don’t miss out on these activities today. Go and do them.
30. What does your dream vacation look like?
After a stressful week, unwind and relax by planning out your dream vacation. Where do you want to go? What do you want to do?
31. What do you value most in life?
Knowing what you value most in life can help provide some much-needed direction. This will help you prioritize and understand what you want in life.
32. What are you afraid of?
We’re all afraid of something. Get to know yourself further and list down your fears. These fears can be anything! Everything is valid. Nothing is wrong.
33. Draw a picture of something that makes you happy.
Don’t feel like writing? Maybe you can draw instead. Draw a picture of something that makes you happy. This can be anything from your favorite memory or a soothing landscape.
34. What self-care practices will you try today?
Dedicate this day to yourself. You might want to hop into the tub for a long soak or read a book under your favorite tree. Focus on yourself and let yourself heal after all the stress we’re sure you’ve been through.
35. What makes you feel alive?
Knowing what you love to do and what makes you feel alive can help you keep a positive attitude no matter how stressful and hectic your life may be.
36. What can you do today that will get you closer to living the life you’ve always wanted?
Achieving big life goals can be very overwhelming. We often find ourselves with our heads between our hands worrying over how far the finish line is. Take it step by step, little by little. Start today. What can you do today that will bring you closer to that goal?
37. What do you want to be remembered as?
Knowing what kind of a legacy you want to leave behind can give your life purpose. Write down what you want to be remembered and work every day to make sure this want becomes a reality.
38. Who is your favorite celebrity and what would say if you met them?
We’ve always wanted to meet our favorite celebrities. Who is yours? And what would you tell them if you met them?
39. What is your personal mantra for the year?
Most people find it motivating to write down their favorite quotes and mantras. These help them try their best for the day. Give it a try.
40. Describe yourself in one word.
This one might seem simple, but a lot of people find it tough to answer. Describe yourself in one word. A human is so complex that one word might not suffice to describe them but take the challenge and try.
41. If you were given a million dollars, what would you do with it?
A million dollars is a lot of money. What would you do with it if you were given such a large amount? Would you start a business or go on a big shopping spree?
42. If a genie visited, what would your 3 wishes be?
Remember Aladdin? He had a genie who would grant him 3 wishes. What would your 3 wishes be? Maybe there are some you could work towards.
43. What is your childhood dream?
We’ve all had childhood dreams. Some might have wished to be spies or ballerinas. Some might have wanted to be chefs. Write your childhood dreams down in your journal. Who knows? Perhaps one day, you’ll achieve it.
44. Do you believe in yourself?
Believe in yourself. Don’t underestimate what you can do. Once you do that, you’ll sell yourself short and miss out on a ton of opportunities.
45. What helps you get up out of bed every day?
On a particularly tough day, you have to know why you get out of bed. You have to remember what makes living worth it because this is what will keep you going.
46. Who is your biggest inspiration?
Knowing who you look up to can help motivate and inspire you. When you’re feeling down, thinking about your biggest inspirations might help lift your mood and energize you.
47. Do you care about what others think of you?
Be yourself every day. If you care about what others think, that’s perfectly fine. It’s normal however, you have to make sure that this does not, in any way, affect your decisions from something small like what you’ll wear for the day to big decisions like the career path you’ll choose to take,
48. Who do you compare yourself with?
To live a full life, you have to learn to be happy and confident with yourself. A big step to self-confidence is by stopping the habit of comparing yourself to others. Know that you are worth it as yourself. No one is worse or better than you.
49. How do you feel right now?
A good way to process your feelings is by accepting and acknowledging them. So, in your journal, write down how you’re feeling right now. Are you feeling good? Are you feeling bad? Accept this and take this into account as your plan your day.
50. What do you think of when ‘yellow’ is mentioned?
A quirky prompt you can use is this one. Write down what you first think of when someone says the word ‘yellow’.
The Takeaway
These journal prompts should help you through your journey of self-discovery and help you better understand yourself. Life is hard. Make sure to give yourself time to process what’s happened/happening to you and give yourself time to find peace every day.