In this post, I’m sharing some of my favorite journal prompts to help you start your journaling practice–or maintain your current practice. I also used these prompts to create a printable list that you can tuck into your journal for whenever you’re feeling stuck. 

“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.” – Gustav Flaubert

I love to encourage others to write, partly because I love to write, but also because I know the joys and benefits of picking up a pen or pencil and a notebook. Even for those who hate to write. Yes, it’s wild. But I saw how it works in my classrooms as a teacher. I have seen how it works in my own life and in the lives of others. 

Writing helps us think. Even if you never share your words and thoughts, a regular writing practice–sometimes called journaling–can be good for you. Journaling can help you reflect, set goals, prepare for your day, or keep a record of various parts of your life. It can help you manage stressful situations, get to know yourself better, and cultivate gratitude. Can you do these things without writing? Sure, but most of us process these things better when we write them down, especially long-form instead of typing. 

But knowing what to write can be one of the biggest hurdles to starting and maintaining a journaling practice. To help, I compiled a concise but thorough list of journaling prompts that cover a range of topics including faith and goal-setting. 

If you’re reading this, maybe you already understand the benefits of journaling, but you’re coming up against one of the biggest challenges: knowing what to write. That’s where journaling prompts can come in handy.

Why Use Journal Prompts 

Journal prompts are questions, suggestions, and ideas to jumpstart your writing. They can help you start and maintain a journaling practice. When you can’t think of what to write, you can refer to your list of prompts. Or, if you’ve been journaling for a long time and you find yourself writing about the same things, you can use prompts to explore a new topic. 

Either way, journal prompts can help you stay inspired and motivated to maintain your practice whether you’re a beginner or a long-time journaler.

You can use journal prompts in a couple of ways:

1. To spark your journaling for the day when your mind is blank. 
2. To provide structure to help you track specific aspects of your life over time. For example, journaling about what you learned each week or journaling about how you’re feeling every day as you’re working to overcome a health struggle.
3. To encourage you to think outside your lane. Sometimes I get stuck and write about the same-old-same-old all the time. When I read a creative journaling prompt, I stretch and dream more. 

How to Use Journal Prompts

How to use your journaling prompts, like journaling itself, is completely up to you. You can use a different prompt every day, a series of prompts each week, or just whenever you need a little inspiration. That’s why it can be so helpful to have a list on hand–reach for it anytime you need an idea. 

Journal Prompt Ideas

Skim this list and jot a few ideas in the front cover of your journal, or click here to download this list for free. You can print it from home and tuck into your journal so you’re never far away from a spark to start your writing. Of course, this list is not exhaustive but offers you a springboard for more ideas!

Morning Journal Prompts

1. Is there something I’m worried/excited/anxious about today? Do I feel this in my body? Where? What do I hear/smell/feel as I sit and write? 
2. If I can only do three things today, what are they? 
3. How can I be a blessing for someone else today? 
4. Who can I thank today? And how? 

Evening Journal Prompts

1. What was something I regret today? 
2. What was the tastiest thing I ate today? 
3. What or who am I grateful for today? 
4. What was one new thing I learned today?
5. What was the loveliest thing I saw/heard/experienced today?

Journaling Prompts for Goal Setting 

1. What is my goal? What is getting in my way of completing it? 
2. What are my personal values and are they reflected in my goals? How?
3. Write my eulogy–what would I like people to say about me when I’m  gone? Am I  living with that in mind?
4. Of all my goals, which will have the biggest positive impact on my life? How can I focus on that goal first? 
5. In my health, work, and relationships, are my current actions aligned with the future I want? 

Journaling Prompts to Ponder Who You Are 

(I used to do some of these with my students, but it’s a fun grown-up list too.) 

1. Are you an introvert/extrovert? How do you know?
2. You win one million dollars, so what now? 
3. You’re stuck on a deserted island, what book(s) will you have with you?
4. What historical person do you want to meet?
5. Write a letter to your 16-year-old self. 

Journaling Prompts to Help You with a Challenge

1. What is something that is hard for me right now? ? 
2. How can I face/solve this challenge? 
3. What are some pros and cons to each potential solution? 
4. Who can help me with this? 
5. Where can I look to find help with this challenge? 
6. How can I apply my own skills or knowledge to this challenge?
7. What are some obstacles to solving this, and how can I overcome them? 

Gratitude Journal Prompts

1. What are three things I am grateful for today? 
2. Who are three people I am grateful for? Why? 
3. What is something I take for granted, and how can I cultivate more gratitude for it? 
4. What are some positive qualities, strengths, or talents of my own, and how can I be grateful for them? 
5. What is a simple delight I have enjoyed lately? 
6. In what ways have I grown in the last year?
7. In what ways have I seen God’s faithfulness in the last year? 
8. What do I like about where I live right now? 
9. How does expressing gratitude make me feel? 
10. What is something I am grateful to have learned, especially recently? 

Fun Journal Prompts

1. What is something that always makes me laugh out loud? 
2. What is a favorite childhood memory that still makes me smile? 
3. What is something I’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet? How can I make it happen?
4. What are some of my quirky characteristics? 
5. If I could be a fictional character, who would I choose and why? 
6. What is the best gift I’ve ever given or received? Why was it so special? 
7. If I could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be and why? What would I do on that day? 
8. If I could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? What would I do once I got there?
9. What activities brought me joy as a child? How can I incorporate those into my life now? 
10. What’s my absolute favorite thing to wear and why? 

Faith Journaling Prompts

1. What am I struggling with in my prayer life? 
2. How do I feel about my church/denomination right now? 
3. What’s my favorite hymn or praise song and why? Maybe write the words to inspire more thoughts.
4. What is the question you most want to ask God when you see Him face-to-face? What do you think His answer will be?
5. Who has impacted my faith life the most? Why? How?
6. What is one fruit of the Holy Spirit I can cultivate in this season?
7. Who am I struggling to forgive and what can I pray to change this?

Want to dive even deeper into journal prompts? I curated and adapted many of these from my own journaling and teaching experiences, but also from online sources:

• 550 Journaling Prompts
• Change Your Life by Journaling – 10 Powerful Questions, Ali Abdaal
• 20 Journaling Prompts I swear By to Get You Out of Your Head

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