If you’re anything like me and have a million thoughts swirling around in your head, you probably want to get some of them down on paper, too! For me, journaling is a way to process and make sense of things. It allows me to articulate my thoughts and feelings on any number of things in my life.
You might want to keep track of a busy schedule, find time to work in some daily creativity to your life, be better organized or work towards a goal. Many people want to keep track of things like gratitude or meditation. Maybe you’re trying to build a new habit, like exercising. You could keep a yoga journal or track your progress as you get in shape. Whatever your purpose is, you can tailor your journaling challenge to meet your needs.
What Are The Benefits Of Journaling
For me, writing is a way to work through my thoughts and articulate my feelings around something that’s been on my mind. The process of writing helps me define, distill and put words to things I may be feeling, but not able to readily identify.
Journaling has been shown to improve mental health by bringing intention into our lives. A practice of journaling – like a 21-day journaling challenge – brings clarity, improves emotional intelligence, builds mindfulness, increases gratitude and strengthens self-discipline. Simply put, by committing to taking time for yourself through journaling, you’re investing in yourself.
How Do I Start Journaling
It’s important to first get a clear idea on what you hope to achieve from starting a daily journal habit. It could be a goal you are wanting to achieve, it could be solving some pain point in your life, or it could be to reconnect with yourself. Whatever it is, take a few minutes to think about it and define what success is going to look like for you.
Once you know your direction, you can determine the smaller, daily steps you need to accomplish that will lead to your larger successes. You’ll want to take that bigger goal and break it down into simple little actions that you can do each day. No matter how big your aim is, find the simplest thing that you think you can realistically do.
The key here is to orient yourself in a general direction and figure out the first step. It’s important to realize that even if you have missteps in this process, you’re at least making forward progress. If you fail over and over, you’ve discovered multiple ways of knowing what not to do. The benefit of making mistakes is having more data to show what doesn’t work and pointing you in the direction of what does.
People will sometimes get in their own heads about figuring it all out or having all the answers, only to give up. Just start, even if you do it badly, you’ll still be ahead of doing nothing.
From there, use some of the prompts I have provided here for you as a starting point. Tweak them for your purposes if you need to, but the main goal is to just put your pen to paper and write. Even if you decide to write about not knowing what to write about, it’s a start!
How To Do A 21 Day Journaling Challenge
Once you’ve laid out your goals, get a journal and a good pen to write with, I’d suggest coming up with a few go-to questions and writing prompts you can always fall back on. Set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes, set aside all other distractions and begin to write.
A Few Basic Journal Prompts To Get Started:
Use these basic journal prompts to get started journaling if you don’t know where to begin.
Basic Journal Prompts
- What’s the big thing you need to get done today?
- What is one thing that you can’t stop thinking about?
- What do you want more of in life/career/love and what do you want less of?
- What would make this day or week a great day/week?
- What guilt am I carrying around with me, how do I address it?
- Create a list: What are 50 things I love?
- What’s something that bothers you and what are different ways you could fix it?
- What are 5 things you need to let go to move forward?
Different Types of Journal Challenges You Can Try
The nice thing about journals is they are super flexible. You can treat it like a diary, set it up like a bullet journal, or have it be purpose driven. Here are a few different types of journal challenges you can try out, feel free to try a few!
Daily Journaling Challenge
This is a great place to start if you’re just getting into journaling. You can morph into whatever you want and can try some of the specific journaling exercises below to see what works for you! All you have to do is grab your journal and pen and then start writing a few pages at a time. Start with 5-10 minutes each day, but if you’re on a roll, go with the flow.
It can be a good idea to block out time on your calendar each day. Many people like to journal in the morning to set intentions, clarity and focus for their day. If you’re like me, I like journaling right before bed to take all the ideas swirling around my brain and get them on paper. This lets me address them head on and allows me to fall asleep more easily with a calm mind.
Daily Journaling Prompts
- I couldn’t imagine living without these things…
- If a younger version of myself were to see me, they’d call me out on ___.
- I feel most energized when I am doing ___
- Create a word cloud of what your ideal self would be, summarize it into three rules to live by.
- What is getting in the way of being happy or reaching your goals, what part do you play in that?
- What are the ways you could build more meaningful connections with friends, family and love interests?
- What things do you say you’re going to do, but ended up not? How can you improve your say-do ratio?
- What are things you like to do that others are willing to pay for; how could you leverage that?
- What’s one project you’d like to spend more time on, why is it important? Bullet out 5 steps to make it happen.
- What’s something that you’re not doing out of fear? How would you deal with the worst-case scenario?
- If your house were to catch on fire, what 10 things would you save from the fire?
Yoga Journal Challenge
While you’re journaling, you might also want to give yoga a try too. Many people who want to add more intention into their lives like to journal and do yoga at the same time; it’s a nice balance of mind and body. I know many yoga instructor certification courses suggest adding daily intention into the mix to help reflect on the process.
Take 15 minutes each day for three weeks to journal about your thoughts and feelings that come up during your 21-day yoga challenge. Journaling can be directly about your process of getting into yoga or it could be wide open as a way to process things to have a more wholistic approach.
21-Day Yoga Journaling Prompts
- What does balance feel like in your life?
- How do you recognize when you’re in “the flow”?
- Where is your focus: on the journey or the destination?
- How can you best serve your future self?
- How do you express your creativity? How can you foster that?
- What things bring energy to your life? What things take energy away?
- What do you need to be more present in your life?
- What is your ideal life? What things bring you closer or further from that ideal?
- What are three words you want to characterize your life? Write about each.
- Who are the people in your life that you’re grateful for and why? Be specific!
Bullet Journal Challenge
A bullet journal is a great system to organize your thoughts, goals and habits. What I like about the system is that it’s both flexible for many needs and structured in a way to keep the chaos manageable. Start the process by setting up your bullet journal index, key and number your pages: I show you the basics of bullet journaling here.
Each day you will create a daily to-do collection page, then spend some time building out the rest of your bullet journal with purpose built spreads that support your goals. If you’re not sure what to put in your bullet journal, check out my post about how to choose what pages to include in your bullet journal.
Once you’ve got your layouts finished, start with some daily reflections and journal on some of these questions. Then, add it to your index. If you’re feeling really motivated, create a habit tracking page to mark each day you journal!
21-Day Bullet Journal Setup
- Index Page – See our Bujo Index page Ideas
- Key Page – See our BuJo Key page ideas
- Number Your Pages – Read how to setup your bullet journal
- Daily To Do Lists – See our Daily Spread page ideas
- Habit Tracking Pages – See our Habit tracker and Goals Tracker page ideas
- Brain Dump & Journaling pages – See some Brain Dump page ideas
21-Day Bullet Journaling Prompts
- What are your top priorities this year? Bullet out 5 steps each to make them happen.
- What things get in the way of achieving your goals? Brainstorm ways to address them before they happen.
- What are the biggest nuisances in your daily life and what could you do to fix them?
- What’s the difference between your actions and your intentions? How could you close that gap?
- What is a favorite memory of yours, what lessons can you pull to apply moving forward?
- What’s the best job you’ve had and what’s the worst one? Write about the differences and how to spot them.
- What types of experiences do you want to have in your life, what about them makes them meaningful?
- What’s an idea that’s consuming you right now? Journal about that idea.
- What’s an area of your life that could be improved? Brainstorm about how you could make progress there.
Daily Gratitude Journal Challenge
If you’re like me, it’s helpful to focus on what is good in your life as a way to stay positive. I once heard a saying “Was it a bad day or was it a bad five minutes that you milked all day”. That really stuck with me because I think my life has a lot going for it, but sometimes I get so wrapped up in the one little thing that didn’t go my way. Having a focus on gratitude can help fix that.
Take 5 minutes each day to just reflect on all the good things that happened. You can journal about what the good things were, how they made you feel and why you are grateful for them. You can also try out some of the prompts below. Consider adding in a mood tracker, which can be helpful to give you an objective view on how things are going.
21-Day Gratitude Journaling Prompts
- Make a list of all the things you are grateful for in your life.
- Write a gratitude letter to someone important, even if you don’t send it.
- Take time to reflect on things you take for granted, what are they and how can you recognize them more?
- Why is a habit of gratitude so difficult? What could we do to change that?
- When everything goes wrong, what do you fall back on? Write about that.
- What kindnesses have others shown you and what did they teach you?
- What failures are you grateful for? What lesson was learned from them?
- What went right when you really needed it to? Write about the experience and how that felt.
21 Day Meditation Journal Challenge
Many of you know introspection has been a big part of my journey through life and that takes a willingness to be alone with my thoughts. Meditation is a great way to settle my mind when I need to be in the right head space for important work in my own life or in business.
There are many great resources on how to meditate, but realize that journaling in and of itself is a form of meditation. You can reflect on your meditation went the thoughts that tried to push their way into your mind while doing it. You can also meditate for 10 minutes and then start to journal with a clearer mind.
21-Day Meditation Journaling Prompts
- My favorite way to spend my day is ___. What lessons can I take and apply from that?
- Make a word cloud of words that you want your life to embody. Summarize them into a single sentence.
- What are the things that bring me back to center when things are stressful or not going my way?
Make a list of what is enough for you. - What was one of your life’s biggest mistakes, what lessons can you take away from that?
- What are three things you could do to live a more fulfilling life?
- What rules should you set to determine when to say yes or no to something?
- What words do you need to hear from important people in your life?
How To Get The Most Out Of Your Journaling Challenge
Taking just a few minutes to journal each day will bring a lot of intention and clarity to your life. Putting down the phone, switching off the TV or breaking from your busy day to spend a moment on self-development and discovery each day can have a huge impact for little investment.
Here are some tips to make the most out of your time journaling:
- Try to take a step back and challenge your assumptions and self-limiting thoughts
- Defend your time for reflection, make it a priority and guard it well during the challenge
- If you don’t know where to start, start badly to build momentum
- Remove barriers and excuses to building a journaling habit before they come up
- Calendar time each day to make it a priority
I hope that was helpful to kick starting your journaling habit. Doing a daily challenge can be a great way to build meaningful habits into your daily routine. So, grab your journal and get writing!
Your Turn!
- What tips do you have for people just starting out?
- What prompts do you like to write about?
A very common thing that I see newbie gardeners do is get excited by what they could grow, but they may not really like things or they try new stuff before they find out if they really like them. If you were to look in your kitchen right now, what vegetables are you purchasing from the store? Many of those could be good contenders for your first year’s short list.
It can be tempting in your first year or two to in addition of starting a garden to also raising seedlings indoors, but my advice is to avoid this. Your first few years to learn gardening is a lot, to add learning to start seeds into seedlings is too much and you’ll just burn out.
There is an old joke that I like to tell. In the city people lock their doors so people don’t steal their stuff, in the country they lock their cars so someone doesn’t leave them a bag of zucchini and squash in their front seat. What is really great about this plant is that it grows really fast, its very simple and it produces a ton of vegetables.
The two main types are “bush” or “pole” beans, the only difference really is that the pole beans need something to climb. I often just stick with bush beans because it’s less poles and structures I have to deal with. These are a great plant to start out with in your first garden.
your time. I realized the biggest challenge that I had to overcome was getting over any uncomfortableness with saying “no”.
Navigating gift-giving around the holidays is often tricky for those with minimalists on their list. After all, how do you find gifts for minimalists when they don’t buy, need, or even want much?
Thin, lightweight, and now waterproof, a 
Right now, an 
Last year, 
Now, society is really good at pulling you back on the conventional path. For example, when I was looking for flexible employment I could do anywhere, I saw hundreds of options for jobs that would have tied me to a 9-5 corporate ball and chain. It was daunting to realize I had to create my dream job for myself. It would have been easier to follow society’s path.
Space: When people consider moving into tiny homes, they think they have to live in a tiny house of 200-300 square feet when it might not be right for them. The truth is, 200 feet isn’t going to work for some people, particularly if you have a family. You won’t feel happy with five people in a super tiny home. So, maybe instead, you sell your 4,000 square foot house and buy a 1,000 square foot house. Find something for half the mortgage and use the money to travel as a family.
Money: It sounds counter intuitive, but even a simple life costs money, there are times where simple living may even cost more than your old life depending on certain factors. If you want to live simply in a city, you still need to earn an income. You still need to understand your budget. On the surface a simpler life may seem cheaper, but you still need to look at your relationship with money. Why do you spend? How can you simplify your finances and still feel satisfied? Is spending 
Wants: You need to get down to the underlying reason you want an item. After all, no one buys a $100 designer t-shirt because they NEED it. They buy it because they want to show they can afford it. Why? Because they want a girl to like them? Why? Because they really want love and companionship. Many people are addicted to (fleeting) happiness they think they can buy, 
Relationships: People run into the obstacle of relationships because they don’t know how to prioritize and say no. Simplifying your life doesn’t only mean tossing out belongings you don’t need and downsizing. It means finding ways to get more control over your schedule. You want to spend time with the people who mean the most to you, doing things your love, in a way that is on your own terms. When I simplified, I cut back to only the people who were important to me and 
Time: Simple living takes time. One of the biggest obstacles I faced when simplifying was realizing I had to go through the process of figuring out what I wanted. I had to get out of debt. I had to figure out how to become location-independent, own my own business, and deal with my own baggage. It took me years from the time I started my blog to quit my job. During that time, I was downsizing possessions, building my tiny house, and navigating my path. What seemed so simple ended up taking me 6 or 7 years to achieve. And guess what, I’m still working at it even today.
Sacrifice: When I started to simplify, my family announced they were going on a trip to Italy. Now, family time is extremely important to me. But I had set really aggressive financial goals to pay off my student loans. I decided between the goal of paying off my loans or going to Italy with my family. In the end, I didn’t go on the trip. I’ve faced many of these 
Identity: Many of us define ourselves by our career. It’s how we earn money. It’s what people pay you to do. When you introduce yourself, you say something like, “I’m a banker.” Well, you might be a banker now, but it doesn’t mean you need to be a banker tomorrow. If living a simple life means finding a fulfilling career path, you may wrestle with your identity. What are other ways to earn money, and what’s holding you back?