The Best Easy Yet Thoughtful Journaling Prompts to Keep Your Year on Track

We can't be the only ones who jump into a new year feeling re-energized and ready to completely reinvent ourselves, only for that passion to dwindle before we can reach the end of January.

Sometimes, our ambitions for self-improvement can be too big. Instead, it's not uncommon that the most effective adjustments we can make are less about changing our lives and more about reflection and self-awareness. That's why we've fully fallen in love with journaling as a daily self-care practice, especially with the help of a prompt. These help us narrow our focus with a specific question or theme, generating structure while also getting our ideas flowing. Whether you're a seasoned journaler or are just getting started, below are some of our favorite easy yet thought-provoking journaling prompts to keep your year on track.

What Worked Well for You Today? What Didn't?

At the end of the day, it can be super helpful to look back on the last 24 hours and break down your day into what worked for you and what didn't. This is all about your unique perspective, so this can pertain to anything, from your mood and overall well-being to your progress on a specific goal. What habits kept you on track, created joy and brought fulfillment? Which actions are holding you back, making you unhappy or making you stray from the course? From there, you can think about making more time in your life for the things that inspire you, and less for the ones bringing you down.

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Also read about: 9 Helpful Ways to De-Stress and Promote Relaxation in Just 10 Minutes

 

What Did I Learn Today?

Take some time to look back on what you learned today, no matter how simple or mundane. Can you summarize what you learned, demonstrating your understanding of the topic, or at least part of it? If not, and it's important to you, you may want to revisit the subject to solidify that knowledge.

And it's not just about what you learned, but how learning makes you feel. Do you feel a sense of accomplishment? Do you feel wiser, or more prepared for the future? If so, it makes sense to invest more time in investigating the subject more deeply, or studying similar, related topics. However, if it feels like you've just been cramming your head with useless trivia, unless it's something you have to soak up for school or work, it could be worth refocusing your attention elsewhere and making the learning process more satisfying for yourself.

 

What's My Biggest Goal Right Now, and How Do I Get There?

Everyone has different goals in life, but regardless, you're not going to achieve them unless you put in the effort to do so. Truly, this can be anything, from furthering your education to broadening your skills to nab that dream job, saving up money for something important, working on yourself personally, forging relationships or countless other ambitions, but that goal is just a dream if you don't take measure to make it reality. Once you've thought about your goal, figure out what it will take to get it. Then, see if you can take a single step—no matter how tiny—toward that goal each and every day to manifest the future you want for yourself.

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Also read about: How to Create the Ultimate Dating Strategy for 2025

 

What's Worrying Me Right Now? Why?

It may seem counterintuitive, but one of our favorite ways to relieve worry is to dump all of those worries out onto paper. Simply taking the time to list out all of the things that are stressing you out in the moment can help you stop the process of circulating them in your head, instantly making you feel at least a little bit better. You can take this exercise even further by examining each of these worries. For example, if you're envisioning a hypothetical scenario, you can try to make a list of various outcomes instead of just focusing on the worst case scenario. Could it actually turn out well, or at least result in something neutral? This practice can help ease an overactive mind with a sense of hope and perspective amongst the gloom and doom.

 

How Do My Body and Mind Feel Today?

We can spend so much time in our heads every day that we forget how important it is to nurture both our minds and bodies throughout the day. Taking some time to reflect on how they both feel can be a helpful first step in balancing both. Pay attention to your body, noting things like pain, hunger and energy levels, and develop an understanding of what's normal for you and your body. Have you been pushing yourself too hard physically, or not moving around at all? Fueling your body properly and staying active looks different for everyone, so it's about finding the right balance for you.

And often, the same things that can help you body feel great will improve your mental state as well. Take time to look at your mood as well as your mental energy and ability to focus, and how the things you did today, from fitness to sleep to screen time, might have impacted them. Examine whether certain changes improve them, make them worse or keep them about the same, and if there are any persistent down feelings that might be worth looking into.

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What Are You Most Grateful for Today?

There's a good reason you hear about gratitude in almost every discussion about journaling. Taking time to focus on the things in your life that you're most grateful for can have all kinds of benefits, from boosting confidence and resilience to enhancing your mental, emotional and physical health. Whether you want to reflect on one big thing you're grateful for or make a list of a hundred things, it's always good to remember how much is going right in your life and take some time to appreciate them.

 

Want to spend less time on social media this year? Click HERE to learn some of the reasons it might be making you unhappy, and what else you can try instead.