Journaling & Field Notes

What to Write in a Journal: 25 Prompts for Blank Pages

Stuck on what to write in a journal? Here are 25 easy prompts for beginners, grouped by mood, plus a few made for cafés and walks around Marikina.

A blank page is only scary when you think it has to be good. Use a prompt, write for five minutes, and stop.

When you have two minutes

1. Three things I can see right now.
2. The best thing I ate this week.
3. What I am avoiding.
4. Something I said yes to.
5. Today, in exactly ten words.

When you want to think

1. What would I do this year if nobody were watching?
2. A decision I keep postponing, and the smallest next step.
3. What am I good at that I never count?
4. Who do I miss, and what would I tell them?
5. What did I believe five years ago that I no longer believe?

When you want to remember

1. The street I grew up on, from one end to the other.
2. A teacher who changed something in me.
3. The first time I took a jeep alone.
4. A song and the exact place I first heard it.
5. A meal someone cooked for me.

When you are out in the city

1. The café I am in, described to a friend who has never been.
2. The most interesting stranger today.
3. What this drink tastes like, without using the word "good."
4. Something in Marikina that was not here last year.
5. A shop sign I have always wondered about.

When you want to play

1. A list of small luxuries under ₱100.
2. My perfect Sunday, hour by hour.
3. A letter to myself one year from now.
4. Ten things I would like to learn. Guitar and French count.
5. The worst coffee I ever had, in loving detail.

Prompts 16 to 20 are the heart of the Marikina Field Notes, our handmade notebook for noticing the city. For more local prompts, see 15 journaling prompts for a walk around Marikina.