Morning journal prompts.
Sixty short questions for the first few minutes of the day. Pick one, write for five minutes, and get on with your morning.
Choose one prompt, set a timer for five minutes and write until it rings. There are sixty here in six groups — the last group is one line each, for mornings with no time at all.
Waking up 10 prompts
For the first five minutes, before the day gets loud.
- What is the first thing you noticed when you woke up today?
- Describe the light in the room right now in three words.
- What do you remember from your dreams, even a single image?
- Which sounds can you hear at this moment?
- What are you looking forward to before lunch?
- How did you sleep, in one honest sentence?
- What is the weather doing, and does it change your plans?
- Write whatever is on your mind for two minutes without stopping.
- What would make this morning feel calm?
- What is the first thing you need to do today, and the second?
Today’s plan 10 prompts
Turn a vague day into a few clear lines.
- What is the one task that would make today feel useful?
- Which job have you been avoiding, and what is the smallest first step?
- Who do you need to talk to today?
- What can wait until tomorrow?
- Where will you be at three o’clock this afternoon?
- What will you say no to today?
- If today had a title, what would it be?
- What do you need to take with you when you leave?
- Which part of today is fixed, and which part is free?
- How will you know, this evening, that today went well?
Noticing 10 prompts
Prompts that point your attention at something real.
- Write about something you can see from where you are sitting.
- What does the air smell like this morning?
- Describe your breakfast as if you were writing a menu.
- What is something small in your home that you usually ignore?
- Who will you see first today, and what do you know about their week?
- What has changed outside since yesterday?
- Pick an object near you and describe it in five details.
- What is one thing you want to pay attention to today?
- Which word or song is stuck in your head this morning?
- What is the most ordinary thing you will do today, and how could you do it slowly?
Energy and mood 10 prompts
A quick, honest check before you start.
- On a scale of one to ten, how awake do you feel, and why that number?
- What kind of morning is it: rushed, slow, or somewhere in between?
- How would you like to feel by this evening?
- What are you carrying over from yesterday?
- Which part of your morning routine do you enjoy most?
- What is one thing you can do in the next hour just because you like it?
- What song would suit this morning?
- Is there anything you are nervous about today? Write it down plainly.
- What got you out of bed?
- What would you tell a friend who was starting the same day as you?
Small intentions 10 prompts
Not resolutions. One thing for one day.
- Finish this sentence: “Today I want to…”
- What is one kind thing you could do for someone today?
- What is one thing you will try to do better than yesterday?
- Which habit do you want to practise today?
- What will you learn today, even if it is very small?
- What would you like to remember about today a year from now?
- Choose one word to carry through the day. Why that word?
- What can you finish today?
- What do you want to stop doing today?
- Where can you leave ten minutes of empty space in your day?
Quick-fire 10 prompts
One line each, for mornings with no time at all.
- Three things you can see. Go.
- One thing you are glad about this morning.
- One worry, written down and left on the page.
- One question you want answered today.
- Today’s colour.
- Today’s weather, inside your head.
- One person you want to message.
- One thing to buy, fix or find.
- The best part of yesterday, in one line.
- The first sentence of today’s story.
- Write in the present. Morning entries are about now, so the present simple and continuous do most of the work: I’m sitting by the window. The street is quiet.
- Don’t stop for words. If you don’t know a word in English, write it in your own language in brackets and keep going. Look it up afterwards, not during.
Frequently asked
How long should a morning journal entry be? Five minutes or half a page is plenty to start with. Some methods ask for much more, but a short entry you keep writing is worth more than a long one you stop doing.
Do I have to answer the prompt exactly? No. A prompt is a way in, not a test. If your answer wanders somewhere else, follow it.
More prompts: evening · gratitude · self-reflection · goals · writing in English, or all six themes. New to journaling? Start with how to start a journal.