What happened today

Start with one scene rather than the whole day. The rest often follows.

  • Describe one scene from today in enough detail that you could picture it in a year.
  • Talk about something that surprised you today, even slightly.
  • Describe where you were at three in the afternoon and what you were doing.
  • Talk about a conversation from today that's still running in your head.
  • Name something small you learned today and where you learned it.
  • Describe the part of today that went differently from the plan.

How it felt

Feelings are the part people skip, and the part they most want to read later.

  • Say whether today felt long or short, and which hour set the tone.
  • Talk about when your energy was highest today and when it dipped.
  • Describe a moment today you'd have missed if you'd been looking at your phone.
  • Talk about something that annoyed you today, and whether it still does.
  • Describe how you feel right now compared with how you felt this morning.

Setting it down

These help you close the day so it doesn't follow you to bed.

  • Talk through anything you're worried you'll forget by morning, so it's said somewhere.
  • Say what you'd do differently if you could rerun one hour of today.
  • Name one thing you did today that tomorrow's you will be glad about.
  • Describe what you're choosing not to think about until tomorrow, and why it can wait.
  • Talk about the first thing you'll do tomorrow.

Short nights, a minute or less

For nights when you're tired and one line will do.

  • Say the headline of today, like the title of a newspaper story.
  • Name the high point and the low point of today in a sentence each.
  • Name one person, place or thing that sums up today.
  • Describe today's sky, or the last thing you saw outside.
  • Say who you talked to most today.
  • Talk about one thing you'd like to tell someone tomorrow.

How to use these prompts

Record at the same point each evening, such as after brushing your teeth, so the habit hangs off something you already do. Read the prompt aloud, answer it and finish with one line about tomorrow.

  • Tie it to something you already do every night
  • Say the prompt aloud before you start
  • End every entry with one line about tomorrow
  • On busy nights, answer one short prompt and stop

Questions about evening journaling

How do I build an evening reflection routine?

Attach it to something you already do before bed, keep it to a few minutes and open with the same prompt most nights. The evening reflection guide walks through a full routine.

What if I fall asleep before I journal?

Move it earlier, to dinner or the walk home. An evening entry doesn't have to happen in bed. A daily reminder at a set time can help too.

Can I get a random evening prompt?

Yes. The journal prompt generator picks a prompt at random, so you don't have to choose one when you're tired.

Set the day down out loud

Set one daily reminder for the evening and tap the sun when it arrives. Dawn Light keeps each night's entry on the calendar, with a small sun under every day you talked.

Get Dawn Light free

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