Pandemic Journaling Prompts

Perhaps you are thinking of starting a journal but don’t know where to begin. The answer: anywhere! The first page, or the second page, or in the middle of your notebook. You don’t need to start a new journal or notebook. I’m sure most of you have already figured out the logistics to that.

In any case, here are some journaling prompts:

1. Write about the food you’re eating. I’m certainly not advocating for a food log in the sense of counting calories, I’m talking more about describing the new things you’re trying out, whether you’re baking bread, instant pot-ing yoghurt, being creative with your pantry, experimenting with new recipes. What’s at the grocery store. Ideas for what to do with the six cans of coconut milk you have in your cupboard.
2. Write about some of the things you are reading or watching. It could be as simple as a few lines about a movie, or writing about what you think of a TV show you’re watching. It might give you a bit of a break from constantly taking things in, and allow you to process a bit. I keep a reading journal normally, which I need to get back on track with.
3. Make a list of things you are grateful for (health, books to read, hot coffee, open windows...).
4. Make a list of things you could do in your current situation that might be nice (sitting on your balcony, dancing, reading a book, taking a bath, ordering some cupcakes). Consider setting an arbitrary number (I like 100, which seems extreme and undoable, but actually unearths quite a bit), and then allowing yourself to repeat ideas that seem nice, have crazy ideas or bad ideas or unrealistic ideas, and then looking over your list.
5. Write about things to look forward to. Consider the starting line: “When this is all over, I’m going to...”. No one knows when things are going to “end” or, rather, how things are going to look on the other side of this, but writing about things to enjoy again can give you something to look ahead to, whether it’s walking into a library or a park picnic. And perhaps it will give you some motivation to do things you’ve been putting off, like finally going on that overnight camping trip, or picking up the supplies do that at home project.

If you’ve been thinking that I’ve been sounding a little manic and unhinged here on the blog, you should see my journal. Things are wild. But it’s always nice to get things out. Julie Cameron has a creative practice called morning pages, where you write three stream of consciousness pages every morning, to clear the cobwebs as she says. If you have the time, I totally recommend it—I wrote a blog post about it a while ago. Clearing the cobwebs, and getting your brain a bit more orderly to get things done and onto the day.