The new year is a natural time to pause and think about what we might want to change in the year ahead. Before setting new year’s resolutions and goals, it’s important to take some time to reflect on what went well last year, as well as what didn’t go quite as planned. Mindful journaling is an excellent tool to reflect on what worked and what didn’t, discover our deeper desires and dreams, and make new goals and intentions. Accessing a list of mindful journaling prompts can be a fun and powerful way to find the clarity, insight, and ease for a new year’s journaling and goal setting practice.

Why use mindful journaling?

Journaling can be a powerful tool to support a mindfulness, yoga or meditation practice. It helps us to focus on the things we need to improve upon, and it also allows us to see ourselves clearly. When we write about our experiences, we gain insight into who we are and what we value. This can be incredibly useful in reflecting on the past year, and helping us decide about our future. Journaling is a great way to figure out what our growth opportunities and goals should be. It’s also a great way to make sure we don’t forget about them when they come around again next year!

Mindful journaling prompts for the New Year

We’ve broken down our list of mindful journaling prompts into two categories, reflecting on the past and looking to the year ahead. We recommend choosing a handful of writing prompts from both to guide your New Year’s journaling. After you’ve selected your list of questions to focus on, plan a time to sit down for your journaling session. Make sure there will be no distractions, and feel free to create a ritual by lighting candles, playing music, burning incense, chanting mantras, or maybe even a fire ceremony. You might want to start with a meditation or yoga practice to help ground and center yourself before writing.

12 Prompts to reflect on the past year

Reflecting on the past is an excellent way to get yourself thinking about what has been going well and what hasn’t. You may have made progress in certain areas of your life, but if you’re feeling stuck or unhappy with something, this is the perfect time to look back at the last year with compassion, curiosity and mindfulness.

1. What were my biggest successes in the last year? What goals did I achieve?
2. What challenges did I face last year? How did I overcome them?
3. What changes did I make in my life last year? How did they affect me?
4. What word best summarizes this last year? Why?
5. What is something that has helped me grow this year?
6. What were my biggest lessons from last year?
7. How did my yoga and meditation practice grow over this past year?
8. What do I want to remember most from this year? What is my favorite memory?
9. What is my happiest moment of the year? What is my saddest moment?
10. Was there anything that I perceived as a failure but now can perceive as a gift?
11. Who inspired me the most this year and why?
12. Who encouraged or supported me the most this year?

14 Prompts to look ahead to the new year

Mindfully journaling about the year ahead is a great way to help you set goals and aspirations for the coming year. If you’ve already written your goals, you can review those and add additional ones. If you have written nothing down yet, now is a great time to mindfully reflect on your thoughts and feelings for the year ahead.

1. What things do I want to learn or experience in the next year?
2. What are my hopes and dreams for the next year?
3. What are my most significant weaknesses, and what can I do to improve them?
4. What can I do this year to bring me closer to my ideal life?
5. What are my top fears and concerns for the next year? How are these fears holding me back?
6. What can I do to become more present and mindful in my life?
7. What can I do or change to create more joy, happiness and peace in my life?
8. What will bring me an increased sense of calmness, contentment, and spirituality?
9. What will bring me deeper compassion, connection, and understanding?
10. Who do I need to forgive and where do I need to let go of anger, frustration and resentment?
11. Are there any bad habits I want to change? What good habits would I like to start this new year?
12. Are there any self-care, health and wellness practices I’d like to try this year?
13. What would make my life more fulfilling and rewarding?
14. What would bring me greater wisdom and insight?

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Science has backed up the idea that when you write down your goals, your brain pays closer attention, and you’re more likely to take action. 

This motivation is why goal-setting journals have become so popular—and so easy to find. 

Looking for a journal with goal-setting writing prompts?

You’ll find links to some of our favorites further down in this post. 

Looking for tips on journaling goals? You’ll find those here, too.

Let’s get started! 

What Is A Goal Setting Journal? 

If you’re looking for a new journal, it helps to know what features will make it easy to use daily. 

We’ll get you started with some essentials to help you narrow down your options: 

• Lay-flat binding and ample space for writing comfortably
• Ribbon bookmark to keep your place
• Thick enough paper to prevent bleed-through
• Compact enough size to easily fit in a handbag, tote, or briefcase

You might also appreciate the following optional features: 

• Prompts or quotes that help you get you into the right headspace for the day
• Built-in guides on how to make the most of your journal
• Extra space for mind-mapping, making lists, and long-term goal planning
• An elastic band to protect your pages when you’re not journaling

With those in mind, we’ve found a few goals journal options worth considering: 

1. The 5-Second Journal: The Best Daily Journal and the Fastest Way to Slow Down, Power Up, and Get Sh*t Donel by Mel Robbins

Made by the author of The Five-Second Rule (among others), this journal is structured in a way that makes it easy for you to get your day off on a good start — and to end it on a high note. 

2.  The Daily Stoic Journal: 366 Days of Writing and Reflection on the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday 

From the guy who wrote The Daily Stoic and The Obstacle is the Way (among others), this journal includes quotes from Stoic philosophers like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus. The goal is to get you thinking, writing, and taking action. 

3. SELF Journal by BestSelf 

Take your year one quarter at a time with this 13-week goal-setting journal. Use it to track your habits, train yourself to practice daily gratitude, and record your plans and progress. Check out the two-page daily layout to see what this journal offers. 

The triple ribbon bookmark helps you easily find your place in different sections. 

4. Paperage Recycled Lined Notebook 

Sometimes you just want a notebook you can write in without any prompts, quotes, or journaling tips. And Paperage offers a variety of 160-page hardcover options with a lay-flat design, high-quality thick paper, and a ribbon bookmark for keeping your place. 

If lined pages aren’t your thing, these are also available with blank or dotted pages. 

How Do You Write in a Goals Journal? 

Once you’ve got your goals journal and picked up your writing tool of choice, take the following steps to get started: 

1. Freewrite to turn on the idea faucet. 

Try to avoid editing, but don’t beat yourself up if you do it anyway (we all have our process).  Let your ideas tumble out of your head and onto the page. 

2. Be honest with yourself. 

As long as no one’s peeking, there’s no need to censor yourself. Write down precisely what you’re thinking — exactly what you want to say. 

3. Jot down the bullet-points version. 

Once you’ve had a moment to dump your thoughts, it’s time to expand on one of them. Jot down a bulleted list of details that come to mind.  

4. Expand on one idea at a time. 

Focus on one goal or thought to explore more deeply or to record your aspirations and your progress. Focusing on too much at once is a recipe for overwhelm, which 

5. Read through your entry and highlight the points that stand out. 

Part of journaling is writing what you’ve read and spending some time thinking about it, and highlighting anything you want to remember and expand on in later entries. 

11 Goal Journal Ideas to Write About 

Now that you’ve got an idea of the kind of journal you want, what are some goals for writing? Whatever area of your life you want to improve, you can get started on that using the tips listed below. The tricky part might be deciding where to begin. 

1. Daily Plans

What are your top priorities for the day? What actions will you take? Try setting three “micro-goals” for the day, and set them as early in the day as possible, when your energy levels are (probably) highest. 

You know your schedule better than we do, though, so adapt your routine accordingly. The important thing is to give yourself a space for planning your day and celebrating your wins. 

2. Relationships (marriage/partnership, friends, family, coworkers, etc.)

Where do you see your most important relationships in a year (or three years or five years)? What would you like to change? And what are you willing to do to bring about those changes? What will you do every day? 

Relationships take work, and we’re guessing you want to give them their best chance. A goal-setting journal could quickly become your best tool for strengthening those connections. It can also help you rekindle the romance in your marriage or partnership. 

3. Career and Professional Development

Where do you (want to) see your career in a year (or three or five years)? What would you like to change? And what are you willing to do to bring about those changes? What will you do every day? 

You have a right to want a career that fits you, and that pays more than enough to keep your head above water. Be honest about what you want. Then go after it. 

4. Money Management & Financial Planning

How would you describe your financial situation, and what would you like to change? What are you willing to do—and what sacrifices are you willing to make—to get to where you want to be in a year’s (etc.) time? 

You care about being a good money manager. So, how do you correct what’s not working, get out of debt (ASAP), and manage your income and investments like a pro? Write about where you want to be. Then use your money goals journal to strategize. 

5. Bucket List

What do you want to do or to accomplish before you die? Jot down a list of at least ten things that come to mind. What will you do this year? What have you always wanted to do that scares you? And how will you get closer to making that happen? 

Having a list of scary, exciting goals helps you feel more awake—and more like the kid who used to answer the words “I dare you…” with “Watch me!” You’re smart enough not to undertake challenges that aren’t worth the risk. But you need some risk in your life. 

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6. Habits to Build

What habits do you want to build this year, this quarter, or this month, and why? Which routine will you start with? And when and how will you begin? It might help to read about the kinds of habits that help others reach their goals. Then pick one that appeals to you. 

Say, for example, you want to build the habit of waking up earlier in the morning. Write about this and your reasons behind it. Then set an alarm, and commit to waking up at that time the next morning. Make whatever changes you need to make this easier. 

7. Problem Solving 

If there are problems or problematic situations in your life, what’s the best outcome you can think of? And what are you willing to do to get closer to the outcome you want? Also, consider how long you’ve had this problem and what you’ve tried so far to solve it. 

Everyone wants to be better at solving problems in their life, but only a small percentage actually use the power of writing about them. Use your journal to clarify your thinking and play with some ideas. Then try something. 

8. Brain Dumping

What’s on your mind right now that is blocking out everything else? Whether you’re working through something or just feeling overwhelmed, get those thoughts down so you can see them more clearly and begin to see past them. 

Sometimes you just need a place to dump out your thoughts to make sense of the chaos in your head. It’s that chaos that often makes it challenging to write about anything else. Use your brain dump journal to let the words out so you can focus on what’s next. 

9. Best Things that Happened Today (Evening/Nighttime Recap)

What are you grateful for? Write down whatever comes to mind, even if it’s something as simple as a sight that warmed your heart or a message that got you thinking and helped you see something differently. 

Write about whatever you remember and appreciate about your day or the people in it. Write about things people said that have stayed with you and challenged your beliefs. Write about what made this day worth waking up for. 

9. Visualizing the Future

Where do you want to see yourself five years from now? How do you picture your life? Where are you living, what do you do for work or fun? With whom do you spend most of your time when you’re not alone? 

Picture a future you would love, and then use your visualization journal to describe it in vivid detail. Make it as detailed as you like. No one else needs to read this. If it helps remove inhibitions, get a journal with a lock. 

10. Progress Log

How far have you come toward one or more of the goals you’ve set? What have you accomplished that you’re proud of? What can you point to as evidence that you’re moving in a better direction? Write it all down. 

Keep track of your progress with your goals journal. For extra motivation, you can also make note of rewards for reaching specific milestones along the way. Choose rewards that feed your motivation and honor the goals you’re set. 

With your journal in hand (or on its way) and having read the goal journaling ideas listed above, which ones stood out for you? And where will you begin? 

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Life can be very overwhelming. There’s a lot of things to be stressed about on a regular basis. If you’re going through something difficult in your life, experiencing high levels of stress or just want to be more mindful in your day to day life, try keeping a journal. Journaling is a great tool to express your thoughts and feelings, that’s simple, low cost, and has incredible benefits on your mental health. Here are some of the top benefits:

Relieves Stress And Anxiety

Keeping things bottled up is never a good thing. If you’re experiencing stress or anxious feelings, journaling allows you to identify emotions and work through them so you can release them. How many times have you been awake at night, unable to sleep thinking about the things you need to get done the following day? Studies have shown that journaling tasks and writing to-do lists help people fall asleep faster.

Learn Through Reflection

Reflection and self-awareness are essential for our growth and personal development. When you journal and reflect on your day, you’re most likely to take away lessons from your experiences. When you’re learning to reflect you can choose to write freely or use journal prompts. Journal prompts are incredibly useful to get inspiration for what to write about. A great reflection prompt is the rose, thorn, bud strategy.

• Rose – The best part of your day or something that made you happy.
• Thorn – A challenge you experienced or something you didn’t enjoy.
• Bud – A blossoming idea, something you’re looking forward to, or something you want to explore.

Improves Gratitude

Keeping a gratitude journal can have such a positive impact on your outlook on life and overall well-being. Research has shown those who practice gratitude were less depressed, less fatigued, and had a boosted immune system. Gratitude journals are incredibly simple yet can dramatically influence your perspective. Everyday write at least one thing you’re grateful for. In stressful or sad times, it can help to look back at your gratitude journal to remind yourself of all the beautiful things in your life you have.

Improves Communication Skills

Making journaling part of your routine can help you express yourself better. This can help you communicate your feelings better with others. Writing your thoughts helps you gain clarity and you become more self-aware making it easier to clearly communicate.

Promotes Healing

Writing about something that hurt you, can help you to overcome it by stopping the obsessive thoughts around it. By writing, you are able to fully express your thoughts and feelings, labeling them and helping you to heal. 

How to Journal

• First decide what it is you want to accomplish for journaling. Do you want to explore your thoughts, heal from something, or chronicle your life? There are many reasons people journal, so having a personal goal you’d like to get out of it will help you get started.
• Try to write every day. If you take days off from journaling it’s likely you won’t continue to make it a habit.
• Chose a time, making a routine for when you journal or simply keep your notebook handy with you when you can. You also can journal on your phone if that works better for you.
• Don’t be so picky about what it is that you write. Be open and honest, letting your thoughts and feelings flow freely.

Conclusion

Journaling has many benefits and it’s a great tool to improve your overall well-being and mental health. If you’re going through something difficult in your life or experiencing any kind of emotional distress, it’s important to address it and adopt healthy coping mechanisms. A licensed therapist can offer support and other strategies to help you manage your mental wellness so you can be the best version of yourself.

*collaborative post

Author Bio

Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health- related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with MyTherapist.com. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.

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How do you write a future self journal?

And how did this become a thing? 

You”ve heard of vision boards and have learned what it means to have a daily mindfulness practice.

In a future self journal, you sort of combine the two, but with a key difference. 

You’ll be using words, not images, to describe how you want your future life to look. 

It’s self journaling, which is probably not new to you.

But in this case, you’ll be writing about the future self you want to grow into. 

So, what does that look like, exactly?

What Is Future Self Journaling? 

While you can begin your future self journal with some information on where you are now — as the backdrop for the changes you want to make — your journal’s primary focus should be the self you want to grow into. 

To that end, feel free to write about any or all the following: 

• Habits you’d like to change — which your future self already has
• What you’re grateful for about your present and future life
• Your personal aspirations — what you’d like to accomplish and why
• Your perfect day and how it begins and ends
• Your home (location, structure, design) and what you’ve made of it 
• Your family — the people connected to you by blood, friendship, or both
• Your career and what it means to you

Write as much as possible about the future self you want to be, what that person does daily, and what that person loves about their life.

Or write about what you’re doing in the present that will make your future self love you forever.

Why Keep a Future Self Journal? 

Here are some of the key benefits of daily journaling with a future self twist:

• Reduced stress — because you have an outlet for your thoughts and feelings. 
• Gratitude journaling can improve your mindset for the entire day. 
• Clarity of purpose — because you’re taking time to get clear on what you want. 
• Excitement for the future — because you have something to look forward to
• Focus — because your big-picture goals remind you of actions you can take
• Problem-solving — writing about problems gets your mind working on solutions. 
• Increased self-awareness — what you want deep down is tied to who you are

Read on to learn how to create a future self journal you’ll love adding to every day. 

How to Practice Future Self Journaling: 11 Ideas to Get Started 

If you already have a journal, some of these steps will sound familiar. But this will be for an entirely separate journal, so we encourage you to choose a dedicated journal or notebook and give it an appropriate title 

• “Dear Future Self” 
• “[Your name], [future year of choice]”)
• “Time Traveling Notebook”

When your journal’s ready, the following tips will help you fill it. 

1. Make a detailed account of your average day. 

Write down how a regular day goes for you, from the moment your alarm goes off (the first time) to the moment you fall asleep at night.

Before you can create the life you want, you need to be aware of the life you’re living now. 

The more aware you are of your daily actions (even the smallest choices you make), the easier it is to make the changes you need in your daily routine. 

Everyone’s got a routine; not everyone is fully aware of it. You need to be self-aware to choose better actions and better habits for yourself consciously. 

2. Identify the habits you want to change. 

List the personal habits you have, whether you’ve consciously cultivated them or picked them up along the way. 

Highlight the ones you’d like to break and what habits you want to cultivate in their place. 

Then focus on building one of those habits at a time. When you write as your future self, write as someone who’s already cultivated those habits. Write about how you feel when you look back on a day well spent, even if everything didn’t go “according to plan.” 

3. Create a template for your journal entries.

A simple, structured template can help you get started with your day’s entry more quickly by immediately giving your mind something to work with other than a blank page. This can make it easier to get your thoughts down in the morning. 

You can use a list of questions, themes, or affirmations to help you focus or get started along with your template. Use them as prompts for a freewriting field in your template. Or write one at the top of the page to keep in mind during the day. 

4. Start with a gratitude statement. 

This statement can be the first part of your journaling template to ensure every day’s writing begins with five or so sentences about what you’re grateful for. 

Picture those things and take a moment to feel the gratitude before moving on to the next section. 

Your future self will be grateful to your present self for making this a daily priority. 

5. Write to or as your future self. 

On any given day, you can choose whether to write to or as your future self in that morning’s entry. 

If you’re ambivalent, flip a coin or take turns from one or one week to the next. It’s your journal, so you can always change your approach when the mood strikes. 

Whatever point of view you choose for the day, keep the good of your future self at heart. 

6. List your short- and long-term goals. 

List all your goals — short-term and long-term — and write about the reasons behind them. 

You know why those goals are important to you, and some of them probably excite you more than others. Pay attention to how you feel as you write about each one. 

Then list specific steps you can take to reach each of the goals that excite you most. 

7. Focus on what you can control. 

Focus your journaling on things you can actually change — not on things you wish would change but that are beyond your control. Put your focus where you can put your energy to good purpose. 

You want peace of mind and soul for both your future and present self. You can’t have that if you’re fretting about things you can’t change. 

8. Design a morning routine that includes journaling. 

A good morning doesn’t begin with grumbling and repeatedly pounding the snooze button. 

Your day should begin with your mind telling your body who’s boss. Your body wants to stay in bed; your mind knows better. And up you go. 

Journaling gives you a chance to start your day with words that do you good. 

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9. Set reminders to help you create a daily journaling habit.

You can even use a habit tracker app to remind you of your commitment to daily journaling — at least until it becomes a habit. With an app like Productive, you can build a streak you won’t want to break. 

And the longer your unbroken streak, the more your new habit will become an automatic part of your day. Plus, it feels good to swipe it off your list for the morning. 

10. Keep your expectations realistic and your plans flexible. 

Don’t expect massive shifts or breakthroughs in your life as a result of journaling. That’s not the goal.

The most lasting changes happen more slowly. Documenting those changes in a journal gives you something to celebrate and be grateful for. 

Things rarely go exactly to plan. Keep that in mind as you make your plans and devise strategies for carrying them out. 

Storms will come, and you need to remember that the more flexible you are, the less damage you’ll suffer when forces beyond your control threaten your progress. 

11. Remember the takeaways. 

Takeaway #1: Ultimately, your future self depends on your present self, which is the one writing the journal entries. 

Takeaway #2: Words, both spoken and written, are powerful. Use them wisely. Your journal should be a place where you practice being impeccable with your word. 

Just imagine reading over your journal entries a year, three years, five years, or more into the future. Which of your present goals, actions, and ideas will you be grateful for then? 

How Can I Develop My Future Self? 

To develop your future self, you need to have a better understanding of who you are in the present, along with where you want to be. You can even use a future self app or website to send messages to yourself. 

And if you’re wondering, “What should I say to my future self?” here are few ideas: 

• Present concerns and how you plan to address them
• Your current goals and actions you’re taking to meet them
• How you see yourself and where you want to be a year from now
• Your daily routine and new habits you’re proud of
• Changes you want to make and how you’ll make them

In short, think about the life you want and describe it as vividly as you can. This is something you’ll do on your own time, anyway. Resist the urge to self-edit. 

Are you ready to start future self journaling?

Now that you know what a future self journal is and how to get started on one, what will you do this week to build this habit? 

Are your fingers itching to start your first future self journal entry? After all, who doesn’t love a valid excuse to daydream for a bit? 

Writing in a journal legitimizes your biggest dreams (not that you need that). It also gives you a chance to test drive a dream future scenario.

Why not start by sending a thoughtful message to your future self?

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