A Week of Journaling to Clarify What’s Next
Photo: Marcos Paulo Prado (@marcospradobr) | Unsplash Photo Community
A 7-day practice to reconnect with yourself and begin again
We hear it all the time: journaling is good for you. But how many of us actually do it?
Some people journal daily and swear by it. I’m more of a fair-weather journaler—meaning I tend to pick it up during times of transition or stress. When my brain gets crowded with competing thoughts, worries, and what-ifs, journaling gives me a little breathing room.
This 7-day journaling practice is designed for exactly those moments. It’s not about solving your whole life—just tuning in to where you are right now. Whether you journal daily or sporadically, these prompts are here to help you reconnect with ourself and imagine what might come next.
Let’s begin.
Day 1: Where Am I Right Now?
Start with observation, not solutions.
Think of your brain like an email inbox that’s gotten too full. Before we can make sense of anything, we need to pause and see what’s here. What’s energizing you lately? What’s draining you?
Prompt:
“Describe what your life looks like today—what feels nourishing, what feels depleting?”
Day 2: Letting Go of 'Shoulds'
Unpacking the invisible scripts that shape us.
Over the years, we accumulate a quiet pile of “shoulds”—career paths we’re expected to take, ways we’re supposed to behave, successes we’re supposed to chase. These shape our choices more than we realize.
Prompt:
“What expectations (from yourself or others) might be shaping your next-step thinking? Which ones can you release?”
Day 3: Remembering Joy
What brings you alive—now and then?
What makes you happy? What puts you in flow? We all have activities that light us up, but sometimes we forget them when life gets busy. This is a chance to remember.
Prompt:
“What activities, work, or environments have made you feel most alive in the past?”
Day 4: Naming What Matters Now
Values change. So do we.
Understanding your core values helps anchor your next steps. As we grow older, our values often shift—from achievement to meaning, from speed to depth. It’s worth asking: what truly matters to you now?
If you need help identifying your values, I wrote a separate post on that here.
Prompt:
“If you stripped away roles and titles, what values would still define you?”
Day 5: Permission to Dream
It’s not too late, and nothing’s off the table.
Today, try dreaming without editing. No logistics, no limits. Just possibilities. What have you quietly longed to try—but talked yourself out of?
Prompt:
“If nothing was off limits or too late, what would you be excited to try next?”
Day 6: Small Steps, Big Shifts
You don’t need a five-year plan. Just a toe in the water.
I’m a big believer in small experiments. Instead of a leap, try a step. What’s one small thing you could try this week that points toward something new?
Prompt:
“What one small action could you take this week to explore something new?”
Day 7: What’s Emerging?
Look back—and listen closely.
You’ve spent a week tuning in, one prompt at a time. Now take a look back. What patterns do you notice? What longings keep surfacing?
Prompt:
“Looking back over this week’s writing, what themes or desires stand out?”
You Don’t Need the Whole Map to Begin
It takes conscious effort to break out of our daily flow and check in with ourselves. I hope this week of journaling helped you pause, reflect, and learn something about what matters to you right now.
You don’t need to know all the steps ahead. Just noticing where you are—and what you want—can begin to shift everything.
And if one of these prompts opened something new for you, revisit it in a few weeks. Or share it with someone you trust. Your answers today won’t be the same as next season’s—and that’s the beauty of it. We’re always becoming.
