Self-reflection journal prompts.
Eighty questions about who you are, what you value and where your time goes. They are for thinking on paper, not for judging yourself.
Choose a prompt that makes you pause, and write until you have said one thing you didn’t know you thought. Come back to the same prompt in a few months and compare the answers.
Who you are now 10 prompts
A description of the present, not a judgement.
- How would you describe yourself to someone who has never met you?
- Which three words would your close friends use about you? Do you agree?
- What do you care about more now than you did five years ago?
- What are you curious about at the moment?
- What does an ordinary good day look like for you?
- Which part of your personality do people notice last?
- When do you feel most comfortable being yourself?
- What do you believe that most people around you do not?
- Which roles do you play in a week? Which feels most like you?
- What would your younger self be surprised to learn about you?
Values 10 prompts
What matters to you, in your own words.
- What matters most to you? Make a list of five.
- When did you last act exactly in line with what you believe?
- What would you never do, even if no one would ever know?
- Which value did you learn from your family, and which did you choose yourself?
- What do you admire in other people?
- What kind of person do you want to be at work or at school?
- What makes something worth your time?
- When is it hard for you to be honest?
- Which rule do you follow that nobody taught you?
- What does “a good life” mean to you today?
Time and attention 10 prompts
Where the hours go, honestly counted.
- Where did your time go this week? Be specific.
- What do you do when you want to avoid something?
- Which activity makes you lose track of time?
- What takes energy from you, and what gives it back?
- What would you do with a free afternoon and no plan?
- What do you watch, read or scroll most, and how do you feel afterwards?
- Which part of your week would you like more of?
- What do you say yes to that you would rather not?
- What are you waiting for, and do you need to wait?
- If you had one extra hour every day, how would you spend it?
Strengths 10 prompts
The things you do well, including the quiet ones.
- What do people ask you to help with?
- What is something you do well without much effort?
- Describe a time you solved a problem in your own way.
- Which compliment do you remember, and why?
- What do you do better under pressure?
- What is a strength that sometimes causes you trouble?
- What have you kept doing for years?
- When have you surprised yourself?
- What do you know about that few people around you know?
- What would a friend say you are good at that you never mention?
Change and growth 10 prompts
How you have moved, and how you would like to.
- What have you changed your mind about recently?
- Which habit would you like to build, and what is in the way?
- What did you use to worry about that no longer worries you?
- What is something you are learning slowly?
- What advice would you give yourself from one year ago?
- Which mistake do you keep making, and what usually comes just before it?
- Which skill did you give up on that you might try again?
- How are you different from who you were at the start of this year?
- Which piece of feedback was hard to hear but useful?
- What does progress look like for you right now?
Other people 10 prompts
Friendship, family and everyone in between.
- Who do you feel most like yourself with?
- What do you bring to a friendship?
- How do you usually react when someone disagrees with you?
- Who would you like to know better?
- What do you find hard to ask for?
- Who has changed your thinking, and how?
- How do you show people you care about them?
- Which relationship would you like to give more time to?
- What do you expect from others that you do not always give yourself?
- Is there a conversation you have been putting off? What would the first sentence be?
Decisions 10 prompts
For when a choice is sitting on your desk.
- Which decision are you trying to make at the moment?
- What would you choose if you were not worried about looking silly?
- List the good and the bad sides of a choice you are facing.
- Which past decision are you most glad you made?
- How do you usually make big decisions: quickly or slowly?
- Whose opinion do you ask first, and why?
- What would you do if you knew nobody would judge you?
- What is one thing you could decide today instead of later?
- Which quick decision turned out well?
- What information would make a decision you are facing easier?
Big questions 10 prompts
No right answers. Come back to these.
- What does success mean to you, in your own words?
- What are you most curious about in the world?
- What would you like people to say about you when you are not in the room?
- Which question do you keep coming back to?
- What do you hope stays the same in your life?
- What would you like to have made or done in ten years’ time?
- Where do you feel you belong?
- What does “home” mean to you?
- What are you still learning about yourself?
- Write a short letter to yourself to open in five years.
- Phrases for thinking aloud. I tend to…, I’ve noticed that…, I’m not sure, but…, On the other hand… These are the phrases English speakers use when they are working something out rather than stating it.
- Present perfect for change. I’ve become more patient. I’ve stopped worrying about it. When you describe how you have changed up to now, the present perfect is usually the tense you want. When to use it, and when not.
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 is a self-reflection journal? It is a journal where you write about yourself rather than about events: what you value, how you spend your time, how you make decisions, and how you have changed.
How often should I use self-reflection prompts? As often as is useful. Some people answer one a day; others keep these for a weekly or monthly entry and use shorter prompts on other days.
More prompts: morning · evening · gratitude · goals · writing in English, or all six themes. New to journaling? Start with how to start a journal.