Journal prompts
20 journal prompts for mindfulness
Mindfulness is mostly noticing. These questions ask what your senses, your body and your busy mind have been doing while you were somewhere else.
There is nothing to sit still for here. These are questions about attention, which is the part of mindfulness that survives once you take away the cushion and the timer. The first few ask what your senses actually did today and how loud your head has been.
The middle turns to rest, and to the specific ways you fill time that was meant to be empty. When you last said no. When you last said yes and regretted it immediately. What you do when there is nothing left to do. These are unglamorous questions and they describe most people's relationship with their own attention more accurately than any breathing exercise. The end is about letting something go and noticing what you have. If you read a question and think you already know the answer, write it down anyway. Known and articulated are different things.
Answer these on an ordinary Tuesday rather than saving them for a day when you feel calm enough to do them justice. The list exists to describe your attention as it actually is, and a deliberately peaceful hour is the one hour that is not representative of it.
The prompts
How would you describe the last time you felt in the moment?
How did you end up there? Is it something you can and would like to recreate?
Which of your senses was most active today?
It's easiest to focus on our five primary senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell, taste. If you are interested, you can also progress this question and focus on physical stimuli instead, such as sound, light, motion, temperature, etc.
How unfiltered have you experienced your senses today?
There's an exercise called "see, hear, feel" by Shinzen Young, an American mindfulness teacher. As you can imagine, it involves placing each raw sensory input in one of these three buckets, rather than letting your mind wander everywhere, it invites your mind and body to work as one.
How do you feel in a quiet room?
This answer may change over time depending on your feelings and recent events. Why do you feel the way you do? Do you find yourself actively seeking distraction and noise?
How would you rate your busy mind today on a scale from 1 to 10?
Determine what too little or too much means to you right now. It helps to pick a topic on your mind and measure it against this scale.
Can you describe how you feel today?
Try to go into details. For passersby, we tend to say "everything is fine" even when it's not. It's normal to be worried, stressed, hurried, and have all kinds of emotions. Which one would you like to turn off for the day?
What emotions and desires are you aware of today?
Sometimes it's easy to be reactive and let the flow of chores control your behavior. Try to see if you felt aware of your feelings and goals today.
If your body could talk, what would it say?
Remove your mind from your body for a short while. Let your senses come through unfiltered. What is your body asking more or less of?
What do you do when there's nothing left to do?
Remember the last time you had a day where you felt you were done. What do you do after your chores are done? Is it to relax, learn, or improve a skill? How do you feel about it?
What restful activity could you do today?
A restful activity allows us to wind down and recharge our batteries. Why not treat yourself to a little recharging for the day ahead?
What have you done recently to relax?
Rest is extremely important for our well-being. It's easy to get trapped into thinking productivity and happiness come in raw numbers; often they don't! How can you wind down and recharge your batteries?
When was the last time you changed your routine to be more mindful?
It helps to provide a definition of mindfulness and what it means to you and your routine. You may not ever be perfect, but it helps to know where your north star sits.
When was the last time you said no?
It can be a grand request or just a little thing. If saying 'no' feels difficult for you, it can be a real relief. And if it comes easily, think about the way you say it.
When was the last time you said yes but immediately regretted it?
Did you feel bad straight away? How would you react if you had a do-over?
Is there something you're holding onto that you'd like to let go of?
This can be a physical object, a promise, a contract, or even an emotion. It helps to focus on your goals and challenges and pick something that can directly influence this in a positive way.
In what ways is stress over things outside your control wearing you down?
It involves the act of 'letting go,' which can be really difficult. If this is something you struggle with, try to be frank in your answer and digest what you can do to reduce stress.
Do you take the love or presence of someone or something for granted?
Often we don't know what we had until we lose it. Try to get ahead of these thoughts and reflect on anything you may now take for granted.
Can you name something you are really grateful for?
Take your time to also reflect on what it feels like to be grateful. Is it a positive feeling?
What is life asking from you?
Life is way too difficult to ask you this question "directly," of course. Usually, it comes from our subconscious mind or a nagging feeling. If you are not able to come up with an answer right away, that is a good thing. Dwell on it for a while and take your time.
In one sentence: what would make you feel truly at peace today?
Truly peaceful can be interpreted in many ways; often it's a sense of warmth, silence, and stillness. By limiting our answer to one sentence, we force ourselves to focus.
Prompts that keep your answers
These lists are yours to use anywhere, and a notebook works perfectly well. If you would rather the questions came to you, and kept every answer in one place so you can read them back later, that is what Luci does. Over 600 prompts across twenty topics, and when a question comes round again it shows you what you said last time.
All journal prompt topicsSee how guided prompts work in Luci
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