What do you write in your journal when you can’t think of anything to write? Well you can always jump online and find some prompts. However, an alternative to responding to journaling prompts is to write lists.
List can be quick, thought provoking and not intimidating as you can write down bullet points without worrying about wordy prose and correct grammar. List can also help you achieve your goals and monitor your progress.
So here are a few lists to get you started.
- Books you’d like to read or books you have read
- Shows/movies you would like to watch
- Your favourite quotes or affirmations
- Places you want to visit or places you have already visited
- Qualities you like about yourself
- Your goals for the next 30 days
- Your goals for the next 12 months
- Your goals for the next 5 years
- Goals you have already achieved
- Activities you would like to do
- Things you love about your partner/kids/pet
- Gifts you need to buy for others or gift ideas
- A wish list for yourself
- Favourite websites
- 10 things you love
- To do list
- 15 things you desire in life
- List of important contacts
- Things I can do when I want to spoil myself or self care activities
- Recipe ideas
- List of journaling pages you want to do
- Timeline of your life
- Things that make you happy
- Feel good songs
- Thoughts that inspire you
- List of things in progress
- Favourite food, meals and restaurants or restaurants you want to try
- Things to do when you’re bored
- List of People you want to meet
- List of topics you want to journal about!
People who want to appear clever rely on memory. People who want to get things done make lists
Lists are a great way to keep important information organised and in an easy to read format. They can help you categorise your thoughts, if you are doing a brain dump, writing things in list categories is a great way to do this.
Lists are particularly handy if you have a special event coming up, such as a wedding or function. A check list of what you need to buy, prepare and do will be beneficial, as will a list of invitees and RSVPs, so you know who is coming.
A list is also a good way to jog your memory, I can’t tell you how many times I have written a shopping list but forgotten to take it to the shops, but because I have written it down previously I remember what I need to get. (Yes, I always forget one thing, but I can do that even if I take the list!)
Lists are easy to share with others, either at work or at home, a to-do list can be shared so work can be allocated. Keeping a list of books or movies you have read, makes it easy to recommend entertainment to friends and family. I list of activities you want to do helps you conquer those “what can we do” days and allows you to tick things off your bucket list.
If the chaos is overwhelming. I start making lists. To write it down puts it into perspective.
You can order your list by priority, therefore making sure the important things on your list are the first things you see. There is nothing quite as satisfying as ticking things off your to-do list. Creating lists with things in priority order stimulate and encourage you to get things done, moving you closer to your goals.
If your to-do list is getting too long and you are beginning to feel overwhelmed, break it up into three smaller lists.
- Must do
- Should do
- To do when the other lists are done
Try not to put more than three things on your Must Do list per day. You don’t want to set yourself up to fail.
Lists also let you get a bit creative in your journal. Draw a bookshelf to list all the books you have read on it, or get a copy of an old fashioned library card. Write the names of your favourite songs on small black discs that look like records. (Yes, I’m old enough to remember records). You can have lots of fun with your lists. The only limit is your imagination.
Let me know which lists you keep in your journal.
