Gratitude journal prompts
A good gratitude prompt asks for something specific enough that you have to remember the actual day. Not "what are you grateful for", which every mind answers with the same three nouns, but the small, dated, particular thing that will be gone by Thursday if nobody writes it down.
How to use these
Take one. Three lines is a finished entry. If the prompt does not fit today, read the next one instead of forcing it, and if none of them fit, write the day plainly and come back tomorrow.
Morning, before the day takes it
Short on purpose. These are meant to be answered in the four minutes before the day starts asking for things.
- What is one thing you are looking forward to today, even a small one?
- Who will you probably see today, and what do you like about them?
- What is working right now that you have stopped noticing?
- What did you sleep in, eat, or wear this morning that someone made well?
- What would you miss most if today were the last ordinary day for a while?
- What is one thing your body did for you this week without being asked?
- Which part of this morning would be worth having again tomorrow?
- What is here today that you were hoping for a year ago?
Evening, once the day is done
Write these after the day rather than about it. The detail you can still see is the one worth keeping.
- What is the smallest good thing that happened today?
- Who made something easier for you, and did they know?
- What went right that you had braced for going wrong?
- What made you laugh today, and what was the setup?
- What did you eat, hear, or see today that you would like again?
- What did you finish today, however small?
- Where did you get more than you expected?
- What is one thing about today you would tell someone who asked how it went?
When nothing feels worth writing down
Flat weeks make the usual gratitude prompts sound false. These ask for something you can actually answer.
- What is one thing that did not get worse today?
- What is still standing that you thought might not be?
- Who has been steady lately, without making it a favour?
- What is something you have now that a younger you was working towards?
- What is the most ordinary thing here that would be missed if it went?
- What has been difficult, and what has it taught you that you did not want to learn?
- What would you be relieved to still have this time next year?
- What can you be glad about that has nothing to do with how today felt?
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