60 mood journal prompts

everyday check-in

for an ordinary day when nothing much happened.

• — what's the most accurate word for today?
• — where in my body did i notice that feeling?
• — what was the best ten minutes of today?
• — what did i keep putting off?
• — who did i speak to, and how did i feel afterwards?
• — what was today's weather, inside my head?
• — what did i do today that was only for me?
• — how did i sleep, and does it show?
• — what's one thing i'd repeat tomorrow?
• — what am i carrying into tonight?
• — what small thing went right?
• — if today were a colour, which one?

hard days

short ones, for when writing feels like too much.

• — what is the feeling actually called?
• — when did it start today?
• — what made it one percent lighter?
• — what made it worse?
• — what do i need in the next hour?
• — who could i tell, if i wanted to?
• — is this a today problem or an everything problem?
• — what would i say to a friend feeling this?
• — what's the smallest kind thing i can do next?
• — has this feeling passed before?
• — what am i believing right now that might not be true?
• — what can wait until tomorrow?

good days

worth recording — good days are the ones you forget.

• — what exactly made today good?
• — was it people, place, or pace?
• — what did i say yes to?
• — what did i say no to?
• — what surprised me?
• — what did i feel proud of, quietly?
• — what would make tomorrow feel like this?
• — who made today easier?
• — what did i notice that i usually miss?
• — what felt easy today that's usually hard?
• — where was i when i felt best?
• — what do i want to remember about today in a year?

patterns and triggers

for when you're trying to work something out.

• — what time of day is hardest lately?
• — which context keeps showing up — work, people, money, home, health?
• — what happens right before the feeling arrives?
• — what reliably shifts it?
• — which day of the week is consistently worst?
• — what have i been avoiding for more than a week?
• — what did i do differently on the good days?
• — who do i feel most like myself around?
• — how much of this is tiredness?
• — what's the difference between this week and last?
• — which feeling have i logged the most?
• — which feeling haven't i had in a while?

weekly review

ten minutes on a sunday, reading back.

• — what word describes the whole week?
• — which entry surprised me when i read it back?
• — what took the most energy this week?
• — what gave energy back?
• — did the week get better or worse as it went?
• — what did i handle better than i would have a year ago?
• — what's one thing to carry into next week?
• — what's one thing to leave behind?
• — what did i not make time for?
• — who do i owe a message?
• — what would make next week five percent easier?
• — what do i want more of?

using prompts with moodpebs

in moodpebs the feeling is the entry — you tap it and you're done. the note box is optional, which is exactly where a prompt belongs: pick one, answer in a line, and it gets attached to that day's peb. weeks later the note is what turns a small character into a memory.

common questions

how long should a mood journal entry be?

one word is a valid entry. one sentence is plenty. length is not what makes the record useful — frequency is.

what if i have nothing to write?

log the feeling and skip the note. a bare entry still contributes to the pattern, and 'nothing to report' is itself information about the day.

should i use the same prompt every day?

yes, if one works for you. repeating a question makes your entries comparable, which is what turns a diary into something you can learn from.