New year journal prompts.
Fifty prompts for the turn of the year: a review of the year behind you, what to leave there, and plans for the next one that are small enough to keep.
Do the review first and the resolutions last. Work through “The year behind you” in one sitting with your calendar or photos open, then come back another day for the year ahead.
The year behind you 10 prompts
Before any resolutions: what actually happened.
- What were the three biggest things that happened to you this year?
- Look back through your calendar or photos. What had you already forgotten?
- Which month of this year would you live again?
- What was the hardest part of the year, in one honest paragraph?
- What did you start this year that is still going?
- What did you stop doing this year, and do you miss it?
- Which new place, person or idea arrived in your life this year?
- What surprised you most about this year?
- Describe this year in five words, then explain one of them.
- What did this year ask of you that last year didn’t?
What the year taught you 10 prompts
The lessons, while they are still fresh.
- What is the most useful thing you learned this year?
- Which decision from this year are you glad you made?
- What would you do differently if you could start this year again?
- Which belief did this year change?
- Who taught you the most this year, and what was it?
- Which skill did you improve without really trying?
- What did you worry about this year that never happened?
- What did this year teach you about your energy, and how to spend it?
- Which book, film, song or conversation stayed with you longest this year?
- Write a short letter from you now to the person you were on 1 January.
Letting go 10 prompts
What you don’t need to carry into next year.
- What are you ready to leave behind in this year?
- Which unfinished task can you honestly let go of?
- Which grudge, small or large, could you put down?
- Which habit would you like not to bring with you?
- What would you like to forgive yourself for before the year ends?
- Which expectation of yourself turned out to be unfair?
- What will you clear out before 1 January: a drawer, a phone, a calendar?
- Which goal from this year no longer fits, and is that all right?
- Write down one thing you want to stop agreeing to next year.
- What do you want to say goodbye to, and how will you mark it?
The year ahead 10 prompts
Hopes first, plans second.
- How do you want next year to feel?
- Choose one word for next year. Why this one?
- What would you love to be able to do by next December?
- Which relationship would you like to put more into next year?
- What would make next year a good one, even if nothing big happens?
- Where would you like to go next year, near or far?
- What do you want to be doing more of a year from today?
- Which part of your life is fine as it is, and needs no resolution?
- What are you looking forward to in the first month of the new year?
- Write the opening of next December’s year-end entry, as you hope it will read.
Resolutions that last 10 prompts
Smaller than you think, with a plan for February.
- Write one resolution. Now make it small enough to start on 2 January.
- What will you do on the days you forget your resolution?
- Which resolution have you made before? What happened last time?
- Turn your resolution into a habit: when, where, and for how long?
- Who could you tell about your plan, and how would that help?
- What could you try for one month instead of a whole year?
- How will you know, in March, that it is working?
- What is the reason behind your resolution, in one sentence?
- Which resolution would be kind to you, rather than strict?
- Choose a date in the new year to read this page again. Write it at the top.
- Last year, next year. No article and no preposition: I moved house last year. I’ll travel more next year. Not in the next year unless you mean the coming twelve months.
- Hopes and plans. I hope to + verb or I hope that + clause; I’m planning to for something more definite: I hope to read more. I’m planning to join a book club.
If something you write about feels too heavy to carry alone, you don’t have to. Talk to someone you trust, a doctor, or a support service where you live.
Frequently asked
What should I write in a year-end journal entry? Start with what actually happened: the biggest events, what you started and stopped, what surprised you. Then what you learned, and only then what you want from next year.
How do I write a new year resolution? Make it small and specific, decide when and where you will do it, and plan for the days you forget. The last group of prompts walks through this.
More prompts: morning · evening · gratitude · self-reflection · goals · writing in English · shadow work · self-love · relationships · creativity · 30-day challenge, or all twelve themes. New to journaling? Start with how to start a journal.