9 Journaling Prompts to Inspire Consistent Journaling
Journaling can be an excellent way to untangle the thoughts in your head, but it’s not always easy to think of what to write. That’s why having journaling prompts on hand can inspire you to get started.
Journal prompts offer structure to the creative art of journaling, which can be helpful for people who get nervous about open ended assignments. Here are some prompts you can use to keep your journal filled and avoid the anxiety a blank page can give you.
Gratitude Journal Prompts
Living with a gratitude-focused mindset will help you stay positive and focus on the joy in your life.
Here are some journaling prompts that will remind you to take stock of all you have to be grateful for in your life.
- Gratitude list. If you really want to focus on gratitude, have one dedicated journal for writing your comprehensive gratitude list. Everytime you feel grateful for something, whether it’s as big as having an amazing mom, or as small as the barista getting your coffee just right, write it down. You’ll be amazed how quickly it fills if you really devote time to paying attention to what you have that makes your life bright.
- Daily highlight. Think about the best thing that happened to you today. If you can’t think of anything for that day, you can expand the scope to the week. But write about what happened, how it made you feel, and how you are thankful that this thing happened to you.
Mental Health Journal Prompts
Journaling is a great way to focus on your mental health. For example, if you’re experiencing a bout of anxiety, writing in a stream of consciousness is an excellent coping mechanism. When you’re writing your thoughts down, you gain a sense of control over them.
Here are some journaling prompts if you’re trying to focus on improving your mental health.
- Affirmations and mantras. Figure out what mantras and affirmations resonate with you personally. You can look up examples of what a good mantra looks like, or you can just write down the words you need to hear to inspire yourself to push through your current experiences. Write them down whenever you need encouragement.
- Write a letter to your future self. When it’s all feeling bleak and it seems like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, write a letter to a you in the future who has found peace and happiness in their life, encouraging them to continue pursuing happiness.
- Perfect day. With this writing prompt, you’re going to write down what your perfect day looks like. It could be as simple or as outlandish as you want. Once you write down your perfect day, visualize it with meditation. If it’s walking through the Shire, admiring the flora, fauna, and the smell of baking bread wafting through a hobbit hole, figure out how you can bring those elements into your life. Go start a small nursery in your home with beautiful flowers. Figure out how to bake bread. Bring pieces of that perfect day into reality.
Daily Journal Prompts
Making the choice to journal every day can help keep you committed to the practice of journaling. Here are some journaling prompts on things you can write about consistently in your daily life.
- Rose, thorn, bud. The rose is the best part of your day: a success, a highlight, or just something that made you smile. The thorn was something you struggled with that day: a challenge, a pervasive thought, some bad news. And the bud is something that you are looking forward to: bringing a new thought to life or something exciting happening in the near future.
- Setting intentions. Want to set yourself up for success tomorrow? In the evening, write down your intention for the next day. This could be a one sentence mantra for you to focus on, a practical to do list, or a paragraph on how you want to feel tomorrow.
Women in Business Journaling Prompts
If you’re running a business or are hyper-focused on your career, it can be difficult to untangle your thoughts, especially if you’re a one woman show. When juggling accounting, social media, production, client acquisition, web designing, and more, your brain can start to look like a jumbled, frazzled mess.
Journaling is a great way to decompress your thoughts and put them out on paper so you can more easily tackle them.
Here are some great journal prompts for self discovery as a woman in business.
- 1 year, 5 year, 10 year. We can get so bogged down in the day to day tasks required to keep our business afloat that we forget to take a step back, look at the big picture, and visualize where we are headed. What is your goal for your business in 1 year? 5 years? 10 years? These don’t have to be hard goals, like “make 100k in one year,” but could be something more emotions-based like “feel happy to wake up and go to work every day” or “build a business I’m proud of.”
- Stressors and solutions. Write down every single thing that is causing you stress. Once you’ve filled the page (or three), break down each problem by giving it its own page. Unpack why it is causing you stress and offer solutions to make that stress go away. What action steps can you take to eliminate it from your list of stressors? Do you need to ask for help?
Does a bullet journal not feel like enough of a conversation partner? Would you rather dialogue with someone who knows what it’s like to walk the entrepreneurial path? Feel free to join WBD! We have the community you’re looking for to help inspire you in reaching your goals.
Consistency Is Key with Journaling Prompts
The hardest part about consistently journaling is deciding what to write about. If you want to set yourself up for success and are worried you won’t be able to think of what to say, write a list of journal prompts, cut them into slips of paper, and put them in a journaling jar. When you’re feeling stuck, just pick one at random and start writing. By removing the most difficult part, you’re sure to get that journaling habit to stick in no time.
What are your favorite go-to journaling prompts? Share your best journaling ideas with us in the comments!
Author, Artist, Photographer.
Sarah Margaret is an artist who expresses her love for feminism, equality, and justice through a variety of mediums: photography, filmmaking, poetry, illustration, song, acting, and of course, writing.
She owns Still Poetry Photography, a company that showcases her passion for capturing poetic moments in time. Instead of poetry in motion, she captures visual poetry in fractions of a second, making cherished keepsakes of unforgettable moments.
She is the artist behind the Still Poetry Etsy shop, which houses her illustrations and bespoke, handmade items. She is the author of intricacies are just cracks in the wall, a narrative poetry anthology that follows a young woman discovering herself as she emerges from an abusive relationship.
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