Journaling Prompts for Beginners

Have you used journaling prompts before? It’s one of my goals for the New Year to start a journaling routine. I have tried journaling before. But haven’t made it past one entry. When I have my pen and paper I can’t seem to figure out what I want to write. So I plan on using journaling prompts to guide me. 

Prompts are a great way to start journaling. With journaling topics, all you’re doing is answering questions. These topics are a great way to get your thoughts out on paper.

Journaling can be effective at helping people move on from what’s holding them back. Having a regular journaling routine can be beneficial for your mental health.

What are the benefits of Journaling?

Journaling is also referred to as writing therapy and it’s known for its many benefits. It works like a diary, where you write down your thoughts and feelings each day.

But, unlike a diary, you use the journal to analyze your thoughts and feelings. This helps you to connect with your inner self. And work towards overcoming any negative thoughts and feelings holding you back.

Another benefit of journaling is that it can help you to be more mindful. Mindfulness has become a tool for helping people to live a more fulfilled life. It teaches you to live in the present. Rather than thinking about the past. Or worrying about the future.

Journaling also impacts your mental health. It may help improve mental health by increasing self-awareness. And providing a safe space to express emotions.

Also, journaling can help regulate emotions, boost feelings of self-worth, and increase overall happiness. And it can help to relieve stress and anxiety.

How to Make Journaling Beneficial

Make sure you write every day. You need to make yourself write every day to get the benefits. It’s easy to forget or put off writing your thoughts and feelings down.

• You’ll need to make journaling a routine. So schedule a time to write in your journal every day.
• Don’t hold back. This is another thing that may take some practice. You may be used to bottling things up and holding back on how you feel.
• When you’re writing write whatever it is that comes into your head.
• Make sure you’re writing enough. Try to write at least one full page each time you use your journal. If you don’t write enough, you’re going to find it difficult to benefit from it.

30 Journaling Prompts

So you know how journaling can improve your life but how do you get started? If you don’t know what to write about when first starting a journal try these prompts. 

Journaling Prompts about Gratitude

Journaling is a great way to practice gratitude. As it makes us take time out to think about what we have going well in our lives.

1. What is the ONE thing you are MOST grateful for in your life right now?

2. Name 5 things you are grateful for this week.

3. Who is someone you can’t imagine your life without?

4. What is a way you can show more gratitude every day?

5. Do you feel that you appreciate the good in your life often enough?

Journaling ideas about Self-Care and Self-Improvement

Journaling is a great way to keep track of your self-care and self-improvement habits. It can help you set goals for yourself, and identify what strategies have been most successful in the past. Or easily overcome obstacles along those lines. As well as learn how best to take care of or improve yourself next time. 

1. Write a letter to yourself – about the things you LOVE about yourself.

2. List 5 things you can do for yourself today.

3. Come up with 10 things you can do for yourself this month.

4. Name a place you would go to right now if you could go anywhere.

5. What are some words you always try to live by?

Journaling Topics about Memories

Writing about memories is an interesting way to reflect on the past. 

1. What is an embarrassing moment you would love to redo?

2. What has been the best part of your life so far?

3. When you want to cheer up, what is one memory that always comes to mind?

4. What is something that is a little fuzzy, and you wish you could remember better?

5. What is a toy you loved as a kid?

Make a List of…

If you are getting stuck on what to write in your journal, try making a list. These can be as short or as detailed as you want. You can make lists of anything you can think of. Whether you want to get different ideas out of your head and onto paper. Or you want to keep track of something on your mind. 

1. Books you want to read.

2. Your favorite movies.

3. The first show you think of when you imagine your childhood.

4. Concerts you want to go to.

5. Wish list

Write a letter (that you don’t send) to:

Whether it’s someone from your past or younger self; writing a letter you’ll never send provides an opportunity for honesty and expression without any boundaries.

1. Your younger self.

2. Someone who has made a great impact on your life.

3. Your favorite teacher.

4. Someone who inspires you.

5. Yourself, to read on bad days.

Topics to Journal about Health and Wellness

Do you have goals to live a healthier lifestyle and want to take better care of yourself? These prompts can help you to better understand how to improve your health and wellness.

1. What is something you can do to be physically healthier?

2. Do you feel like you made healthy choices today?

3. How can you be better tomorrow?

4. Do you have any fitness goals? List them here.

5. How do you feel your mental health is?

Where to find more prompts

If you need more journaling prompts you can find a ton of topics with Google. Type something like ‘journaling prompts’ or ‘journaling prompts for (whatever subject) and you will get some great results. Pinterest and Instagram are also great places to check.

You can even find journals on Amazon that already have prompts ready for you to answer. Like these:

How do I start a daily journaling habit?

If you’re looking to start a journaling habit, it can be helpful to understand how to make journaling a part of your daily routine.

Here are some tips for getting started:

• Choose a journal that’s comfortable for you. There are all sorts of journals out there, so find one that feels right for you. You may prefer journaling on loose pieces of paper, a small notebook, or with your smartphone.

These journals are inexpensive and come in cute colors 🙂

• Set journal dates.  If you struggle with journaling daily, it can be helpful to set journal dates each week. As you get more comfortable you have something scheduled to look forward to. For example, write “Journal date: Sunday” at the top of each journal entry for the week.

• Start with a few sentences. When you first start journaling, it can be helpful to keep your entries short and sweet. Try writing for five or ten minutes to start. As you get more comfortable, you can gradually increase the time you spend journaling.

Journaling is Not About Perfection

The reason why journaling can benefit everyone is that it isn’t about perfection or doing it right. It is about the journey and what you choose to get out of it that is going to make it worth it for you. 

Your journal is for your eyes only. You have no reason to be perfect in your journal since you are the only one who will ever read it. Even if you don’t want anyone to read your journal, you might have this fear in the back of your mind that someone might stumble upon it.

This can cause you to be careful what you write about. However, if you make sure it is private and kept in a place where nobody in your home can find it, you suddenly don’t care about perfection or even what you choose to write about.

The Last Thing You Need to Know about using Journaling prompts

Now that you have journaling prompts, it’s time to practice writing. With journaling prompts, journal writing can be easy and therapeutic. Journaling is a great way to reflect on your day and work through problems.

Keeping a journal can help you to discover who you are. And what you want out of life. You’ll be surprised by how much you learn about yourself from your journal.

Have you used journaling prompts before? Let me know what they were in the comments:)