My new fun journaling technique is list-making. I have been finding it cathartic and a lot of fun to pick a topic and dump out whatever comes to mind. List-making is an easy entry into journaling — we know what to do. Below is a list of list-making prompts for your journal. Before you begin, a few guidelines to keep in mind:
- You can write your list in any form — bullet points, fragments, sentences, paragraphs, drawings.
- You can add to individual lists over time, or use the same prompt multiple times to see how your lists change over time.
- Lists can catalog the concrete or the abstract, inspire vision and stimulate creativity, synthesize and distill wisdom, process and integrate experiences.
- Lists may pertain to the past, present, or future.
- Lists can be realistic or fantastical, literal or interpretative, long or short.
- A list can be a working document. If an item comes to mind, add it to the list for the time being; you can always reflect on and edit your lists later.
Without further ado, a list of lists (I should really categorize these prompts but I haven’t, so…):
- Fears to overcome
- Advice for relationships
- What to bring with me when I go away for Shabbos
- How to be a gracious hostess
- Favorite literary meals
- Favorite literary moms
- Day trips nearby
- Recipes to try
- Things to remember about children
- Winter favorites
- Spring favorites
- Summer favorites
- Fall favorites
- Retirement plans
- What I learned from people I dated
- What I like about my job
- What I am anxious about right now
- Best school memories
- Rooms in my dream house
- Favorite artworks
- What I want to learn about
- How to spend my lunch break without looking at my phone
- Proudest accomplishments
- Roads not taken
- Failures, flops, and missteps
- Sensory/bodily experiences
- Things to do with my children
- How to be thoughtful
- Terms, expressions, and words I don’t understand
- Gift ideas
- Titles for my memoir
- Ways to spend time in nature
- Favorite articles of clothing from my past
- Board games that are fun
- Books on my shelf I bought and haven’t read
- Kindnesses that touched me
- Favorite words
- What I want to tell the world
- Ways I have grown
- Differences between how I thought my life would be now and how it is
- Work and career advice
- Contexts where I am in the flow
- Role models and mentors
- What I want to stop carrying
- Revelations
- Questions
- Adventures and expeditions
- Book characters I identify with
- Easy wellness upgrades
- Wishes for other people
Grab a pen, pick a topic, and start writing! I hope this is helpful to you – I know it’s been to me. Wouldn’t it be fun if we could share our lists?
