What to Journal About: 24 Prompts for When You Feel Stuck

A blank page often means “write about today” is too broad. The phrase asks you to choose a subject, decide what matters, and find an opening all at once.

Make the task smaller. Read until one question brings an image to mind, then begin there. Some prompts draw on the writing ideas built into Inks and are grouped here for different kinds of days.

Begin with one detail

• What detail from today is still on your mind?
• What made you laugh most recently—the person, the words, or the scene?
• Which sound, scent, light, or temperature is worth keeping?
• What did you pick up, pass, or notice several times today?
• If you could save one image from the day, what would it be?
• Which ordinary moment might only you have noticed?

Begin with a person

• Who did something small and specific that you still want to thank them for?
• Which unsaid sentence belongs to someone in particular?
• When did you last feel understood?
• Who have you not spoken to in a while, and which shared experience brings them back?
• Who close to you seems a little different lately? When did you first notice?
• Who recently took care of one small thing for you? What did they do?

Begin with change or choice

• What small change has quietly altered how you live?
• Which situation used to overwhelm you but now feels manageable?
• Are you considering staying, leaving, or changing direction? What makes the choice difficult?
• What result are you waiting for? How did the waiting shape today?
• Which recent choice was entirely yours? What responsibility came with it?
• If you could do one thing less next month, what would it be? What would you keep?

Begin with pressure or rest

• What keeps occupying your attention?
• If you did not have to solve it today, how would you describe the real concern?
• When did you feel tired without having room to say so?
• If rest did not need to prove its value, how would you slow down?
• Was there a part of today when you were not completing a task? What were you doing?
• What should next month's you remember, and what can they put down?

Four ways to use a prompt

• Choose the question that creates an image, not the one that sounds deepest.
• Write facts before interpretation. Name who was there, what happened, and what you noticed.
• Let three sentences be enough. A short entry is more useful than one that never begins.
• Follow a new thought when it appears. You do not have to return to the original question.

A three-minute example

Prompt: What detail from today is still on your mind?

In the elevator after work, someone was holding a bunch of unwrapped sunflowers. Water from the stems touched their sleeve. They kept looking at the flowers instead of their phone. I did not know who they were for, but the yellow stayed with me all the way home.

The entry does not summarize the day or reach a lesson. Years later, it may still bring back the flowers and that evening after work.

If speaking to someone feels easier

Turn the prompt into a letter: “I saw a bunch of sunflowers in the elevator today and wanted to tell you.” The addressee can be yourself, another person, or your future self. The letter never has to be sent. See How to Keep a Letter Journal and How to Write a Letter to Your Future Self.

You do not have to use a prompt every day. Use one when it helps you notice something worth keeping.

5 min read · 2026-08-24 · 2026-08-24

By Wenpeng Wang, Developer of Inks.

Inks feature statements were checked against App Store release 1.1.6 on the date shown above. Adapt the general guidance to your own situation.