Journal prompts
20 journal prompts for productivity
Productivity advice tends to skip the first question, which is what a good day would even look like for you. These twenty start there and work back.
Every productivity system assumes you already know what a good day looks like. Most people do not, and end up optimising towards somebody else's version of one. The first six questions here are about yours: when you work well, what being in flow actually felt like the last time it happened, where the hours currently go.
The middle is about subtraction. What you could automate, what you could let go of, which upcoming tasks drain you before you have started them. That stretch is the most useful part of this list and the part people skip, because adding a system feels productive and dropping a commitment feels like losing. The last few are about habits and about what you want the work to have been for. No apps are recommended anywhere on this page. The questions are about the person doing the work.
This is worth doing at a point when you could act on the answers. It is most useful just before something changes: a new role, a new term, the start of a quarter. A good deal of what it surfaces is commitments you agreed to once and have never revisited since.
The prompts
What makes a day productive for you?
Try to answer why it was so productive, how it made you feel, what happened before and after this day. Is it something you would wish to experience again?
When do you feel at your most productive?
You can approach this question in many ways. What is productivity anyway? It may mean you get a lot of tasks done. But it could also mean time flies, and you are creative, coming up with great ideas for a new project. Describe the environment in detail and see if there are triggers that can help you get in that same state of flow repeatedly.
Can you describe the activity and buildup from the last time you felt in the flow?
When a person is in the flow, time moves fast, distractions are low, and it's generally a really positive feeling.
How are you using your time these days?
It may help to reflect on your wishes, goals, and feelings as well. What do you need from time, and how are you utilizing time to achieve your wants and needs?
How do you plan your days?
Try to use examples. Would you like to be more organized? Or were you perhaps too organized this last week?
Can you describe your perfect productivity methodology? If you don't know any, imagine one.
Popular methods include Scrum (Agile), Waterfall method (sequential work), and others. Researching existing methods can help you come up with a hybrid methodology that works for you.
Which weekly task can you automate for yourself?
If you need to repeat the same thing, especially if the task feels dull and easy, perhaps you can automate it! Now, this is not a course on automation, so feel free to imagine how it could be automated. Is this something actionable for you?
What can you let go of to create space and time for something else?
Consider what thoughts, habits, or commitments no longer serve you. Sometimes we really are creatures of habit, and the original reason we started something no longer applies at all.
Can you name upcoming tasks that de-energise you? And which tasks energise you?
Tasks that de-energize you just by looking at them deserve special treatment. Ideally, we would like to remove them from our schedule, but if this is not possible, try to think of ways that these tasks can be enjoyable to some extent.
What gives you energy throughout the day?
This could be anything. Energy can come from education, friends, events, places, or even just food. What gives you energy right now might not last and can easily be situational. Try to reflect on sources that give you energy and discover the why.
How do you feel saying no to requests?
Ideally, try to pick events that were impactful. If you can't think of an example, try to reflect on this and why you can't think of an event at this time.
What are your limiting beliefs?
A limiting belief is a state of mind or belief about yourself that restricts you in some way. For example: I couldn't possibly resist those delicious chocolates.
How would you approach teaching someone a new habit?
You may wish to imagine a fictional character or an actual person. A habit that you yourself wish to learn can help spark your imagination.
How can you achieve your personal goals?
It helps to set both short-term goals and long-term goals. It's far easier to measure progress on smaller goals.
How likely are you to save the reward until the work is done?
Try to reinforce your answer with an example and what you feel about it. How do you keep play, work, and rest in balance?
What is your biggest challenge?
If you have multiple challenges, focus on one. Why is this (one of) your biggest challenges? How could you overcome it?
Do your actions match your words?
Past behavior is a good indicator of future behavior. Have your words matched your actions in the past?
When were you at your best today, and why?
In the last 24 hours when were you at "your best"? What were you doing and how did it make you feel?
What can you do tomorrow that will make a difference for your motivation?
Plan one action, routine, or mindset shift that supports your energy and clarity. Sometimes this is genuinely hard — but every little bit helps.
How would you like your career to be remembered?
It may help to imagine a documentary is made about your contributions. What would you want viewers of this documentary to remember?
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
Start where you are
Luci is free, works offline, and asks for about ten seconds a day. No account needed.
