Ready to start a morning journal practice but not sure where to start? These 36 morning journal prompts will help kickstart the habit … and your day. Morning journal prompts for productivity, mood, self-reflection and financial abundance.
Do you want to start journaling in the morning but feel completely lost and overwhelmed?
Maybe you think journaling is a ‘Dear Diary’ situation, where you write about your crush and what you had for breakfast. It certainly doesn’t have to be that way.
If you’re ambitious, want to improve your self-care, overcome negative emotions or morning anxiety, and morning journaling practice could turn into your new best friend.
And journal prompts can help get you started.
This article will walk you through what morning journal prompts are and why you need them in your morning routine.
I’ll spill the tea on the benefits of spending a few minutes on morning journal time, and some commonly asked questions about journal writing and using a morning journal prompt.
You’ll also find a list of morning journal prompts for:
- Productivity
- Mood Check-Ins
- Self Reflection and Self Discovery
- Financial Abundance
Ready? Me too.
What Are Morning Journal Prompts?
Morning journal prompts are sentences or questions you use to reflect, express your feelings, set goals, and gain insight into your life. You can use them to get ready for the day, process negative feelings or stressful events, focus on personal growth or positive things in your life, decide on a daily affirmation, overcome yesterday…whatever you need that day.
Oh, and they’re done in the morning, which I’m sure you’ve already guessed.
Why Should You Build a Morning Journal Practice?
Do you ever feel rushed and scattered in the morning? Have you got peanut butter in your hair and your hairbrush in your mouth?
Me too.
For me, journaling in the morning reduces anxiety, processes mental chatter, and helps organize and direct my thoughts. It’s one of the most important morning habits in my own life and routine.
By committing to daily writing for just a few minutes each morning, I think you’ll feel better able to take on the day in a better mood, and set yourself up for success.
What Are The Benefits Of Morning Journal Prompts?
Using a morning journal prompt can help organize your thoughts and create space for the day. It can also help you connect with emotions and process any pent-up feelings.
For example, if you are angry about something that happened yesterday, you are more likely to be unfocused and distracted today. However, if you decide to take a few minutes to remind yourself of everything you have in your life, or to simply do a brain dump to get it off your chest, you’re more likely to start your morning on a more positive footing.
Taking time for a short morning journal entry can also bring your brain up to speed with where you are and what you need to do for the day. As a result, journaling reduces anxiety and depression and increases well-being.
But that’s not all. Morning journaling can also help you learn about yourself and your actions, and refine your personal goals, so you can improve your life and grow over time.
Frequently Asked Questions About Morning Journal Prompts
Most people know that journaling is good for them, but there is so much advice about morning journaling. If you’re a novel journalist, want to try something new, or have journal writer’s block, then using prompts is an excellent place to start.
What Should I Write In My Morning Journal?
Write about anything you want in your journal! However, you’re probably here for a bit of direction, and I’m happy to help. You can use morning prompts, but you can also simply write about whatever suits you at that time and moment.
Below are some writing ideas for your morning journaling time.
Create A To-Do List
Jotting down and coordinating everything you need to do helps your brain focus. Putting your ideas and to-dos in writing is a powerful productivity tool!
Focused work is far more effective than multi-tasking- when you keep flitting from one thing to another. You keep stopping and starting, and by the time you get into the groove, you’re changing tasks again.
A to-do list prevents that from happening because it organizes a jumbled mind. It increases productivity and helps increase feelings of satisfaction at the end of the day.
Write Who You Want To Be And How You Want To Feel
Writing a ‘to-be’ and a ‘to-feel’ list is an alternative to a to-do list. It helps you choose actions that bring you closer to your ideal self – kind of like a quick vision board, without pictures and deep manifestation work.
For example, if you want to be organized, you might plan your week.
If you want to feel calm, you could play soft music and take relaxing breaths.
Who you want to be is up to you, and only you are in charge of your happiness and choosing your own way forward in life.
You can write about your personal or professional life, write loosely about what your best self is, or niche down into tangible goals for being and feeling.
Practice Gratitude
Expressing what you are thankful to have in your life rather than what you don’t releases serotonin (the happy hormone).
Being grateful increases happiness and appreciation for the positive qualities and small joys of life, such as the patter of rain or a heart-warming hug. Over time it can help you break the bad habit of jumping to negative thoughts or conclusions.
It’s also a fantastic way to enhance spirituality and meaning, giving you a sense of purpose and direction.
Pour Your Guts Out
If the above suggestions feel too restricting, then I have an alternative: just start writing.
You can set a timer and journal to your heart’s content.
Take a deep breath and just write, man — word vomit and let the words pour out about everything on your mind! This can be great for mental health, to refine life goals and ideas, practice self discovery, and reflect on the day or your life more broadly.
Talk About Your Feelings
Sometimes it’s difficult to express your emotions to someone else, but writing them in a journal keeps them private. It’s like having a best friend in your pocket.
Start with, ‘Today I feel…’ and see what comes out.
When you visibly write down emotions, you acknowledge them instead of neglect them, and gain more clarity.
The practice helps you process difficult feelings you might want to reject, like anger, so you can move on with more control instead of repressing them.
How Do I Add Regular Writing and Journaling to My Morning Routine?
The best way to journal consistently is to build journaling into your morning routine and create a habit. It can be helpful to have triggers that stack your habits, such as “when you set your morning coffee on the desk, you automatically open your journal without thinking about it.”
It can also help if you know what you want to write because it reduces brain freeze (not the ice cream kind). That’s why journal prompts are helpful.
Another top tip is to get a notebook and pen that spark joy and help you look forward to journaling.
What Is The Difference Between Morning Pages And a Morning Journaling Routine?
Morning Pages is a practice by Julia Cameron (in her book The Artist’s Way) when you free-write 3 A4 pages as soon as you wake up. Journaling can be more structured and include creative elements, such as drawings and collages.
The purpose of Morning Pages is to cleanse the brain by not just writing about surface-level stuff but the deeper parts of your subconscious. The process removes blockages that may be negatively affecting your everyday life. It also unleashes your profound creative potential by unclogging all the brain gunk so that you can have a clutter-free and peaceful mind.
Daily JournalIng Prompts To Start Your Day Each Morning
Now you know why morning journaling is great for your mind, body, and soul, here are some writing prompts to get you started.
Morning Journal Prompts For Productivity
- What are my top 3 goals for today?
- List any barriers I face to reach my goals, and solutions if I can think of them.
- How can I increase my chances of hitting my goals?
- What are the top 3 most essential tasks I need to do today?
- What is the thing I am least looking forward to doing, and when should I do it?
- What practices and habits increase my productivity?
- What time of the day do I work best?
- Do I have realistic expectations of myself?
- If money, confidence, or time wasn’t an issue, what would my biggest dreams be?
Morning Journal Writing Prompts For Mood Check-Ins
- How am I feeling?
- Is anything worrying me? If so, what?
- Is there anything from yesterday I am bringing into today? If so, How can I let it go?
- What practices boost my mood?
- What are some things that lower my positivity?
- How can I care for myself or practice self love today?
- How do I want to feel today?
- What sort of person do I want to be today? E.g., an organized person, a calm person.
- What are 5 emotions that I am feeling right now?
Prompts For Self-Reflection
- What limiting beliefs do I have about myself?
- What positive affirmations do I need to bring into my life today?
- What are three accomplishments in the past month that make me feel proud?
- Is there anyone in my life I need to let go of?
- Write a thank you letter to myself or someone else.
- What advice can I give myself for the next year?
- What have I learned in the past year?
- Is there anything I used to enjoy that I don’t do anymore?
- Is there anything I would like to start doing?
- Is anything affecting my confidence? How can I increase it?
- What are my most positive qualities, and when are they most apparent in my life?
Morning Journaling Prompts For Financial Abundance
- How can I cut back on spending?
- How can I earn more money?
- What skills do I have to help me earn more money in the future?
- What are my big financial goals?
- What experience or skills do I need to level up my career?
- Who else in my life has big financial goals?
- When I am financially free, who will I help?
- Apart from buying stuff and not worrying about bills, why is a high income vital to me?
Daily Morning Journal Prompts Provide Direction And Enhance Wellbeing
Journaling in the morning can feel overwhelming, but using a journaling prompt can provide you with direction, so you don’t have to decide.
Writing for just 5 minutes before starting your day can improve concentration and help you achieve your goals. Jot down your thoughts, feelings, and to-do list to live a productive, healthy, and happy lifestyle.
If you’re feeling lost, use this article’s easy list of journal prompts to get you started.
Choose prompts that you most want to answer as it shows you feel a connection to those questions. However, you should also pay attention to the questions you least want to address, as it may mean you are avoiding something.
Happy journaling!
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131 Gratitude Journal Prompts to Use in your Journaling Practice
