6 Powerful Daily Journal Prompts To Get Inspired

Do you keep a journal? For years and years, I did. But then I slowly fell out of it. But as of December 2021, I am officially back into the habit and doing a great job of sticking with it. One thing that’s helped me be more consistent is using daily journal prompts. There are tons of recommendations out there, so today I wanted to share the journaling ideas that have worked best for me. I hope they inspire you!

Change Up (or Get Started) Your Daily Writing With These Journal Prompts

Some days, I just free write in my journal. But when I’m feeling stuck or just don’t know what I want to write, I always turn to a journal prompt. Not only do they often help with self discovery, it’s just an easy way to get started. Especially if you’re still new to keeping a journal and feel overwhelmed. Here are 6 adult journaling prompts that I love to use:

Morning pages

In an effort to make my mornings less stressful, I’ve developed a routine to stay grounded. I typically don’t look at my phone during the first hour of the day. Instead, I spend time letting the dogs out, walking around the property, making coffee, and journaling. The practice of morning pages is to literally write out everything you think of, stream-of-conscious style. Whatever crosses your mind, get it out onto the page and keep going without overthinking.

I love this writing exercise, especially when I am feeling anxious, because it helps me to just get it allllll out. The beauty of morning pages is that I can close the notebook and start my day, feeling like I’ve hit the reset day and have a fresh, open mind now.

Make a list

This is my go-to method for when I truly don’t know what to write. Typically, I give myself a prompt and then bullet point a list based on that. Some of the common list prompts I use are:

• What do I want to remind myself of today?
• What makes me happy right now?
• What accomplishments am I most proud of?
• Make a list of things you want to do this season
• How is life different from a year ago?
• Advice I’d give myself a year ago
• What gives me energy/what takes away my energy
• How do I want my home to feel?
• What do I love about my body?
• What affirmations do I want to tell myself?

I am grateful for…

This grounding journal prompt is wonderful for when I write at the end of the day, typically before bed. Sometimes I just make it a list, sometimes I elaborate on one specific thing. No matter the format, gratitude journaling is a truly beautiful exercise that helps you appreciate life.

I first learned the power of keeping a gratitude journal when I started using the Five Minute Journal. That actually helped me to get started with the practice of keeping a daily-ish journal. And then I branched out to free writing from there.

Relive a memory

Sometimes I just want to take a walk down memory lane. So I’ll just let a memory pop into my head. Usually it’s a fun one, typically from when Sean and I were traveling. Then, I’ll use this journal prompt to tell the full story of that memory, what it meant to me, what I love about it, etc.

I think sometimes it’s easy to think of keeping a journal as a way to hash out negative or stressful situations. But I also like to make sure I’m balancing that out by basking in the warm glow of good memories, too.

Daydream

This daily prompt is a fun way to mentally escape. Basically, I pick a topic and then just write about what I could do if there weren’t limitations. Here are some of the questions I pose:

• If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be?
• Describe a perfect morning/afternoon/evening
• What could life look like a year from now?
• Name 3 things you want to do that you’ve never done before

Write a letter

And lastly, sometimes I use my daily journaling prompts to write letters I’ll never send. Sometimes I write to a family member, someone who is deceased, people I don’t know personally, our pets… I’ve written a lot of letters to many recipients and they have no idea!

It’s a great way to express the things you have always wanted to say and maybe were too scared to share. Plus, you’ll feel freer since you have no intentions of sending the letter.

If you’re in the market for a new journal, here are some of my favorites including writing tools: