Screw ‘Journaling Prompts’ When Reviewing Your Year

It’s December. Of course, they lurk around every corner.

These articles. They tell you how to review the past year, plan the coming one, and how to – finally – become super duper self-aware. Yay!

Mostly, they come with a structured framework of questions to guide your review journey – and, funnily, call these ‘journaling prompts’.

As if it was science.

And then, after happily journaling along their prompts, you’ll have the perfect plan for the next year.

Oh, and you leveled up your self-awareness by a count of 7.

Hah. Hah. Ew.

Overengineered and Overvalued

‘Journaling prompts’ all have something in common (besides being highly commercialized, bragging for clicks or money). They have a giant blind spot:

Your unique character.

You cannot press this in a set of 9 questions. Surprise! To unfold your mind, you need freedom. Not freedom in a framework.

How can you find out what truly is on your heart – being asked overly precise and ‘intelligent’ questions about your biggest wins, potential fields, and things that you want to change.

That’s overengineered and can be overwhelming.

And it’s also why therapists prefer to let their clients talk freely a lot. Without specifying a structure.

So you need to find your own priorities and core questions before someone else finds categories for you.

How to do that? Easy!

Take a white paper.

First, Embrace The Chaos

Why do people fall for journaling prompts? First, they want to create better lifes. But then, they feel their thoughts are too chaotic. And want someone else to help sorting.

But let me tell you: Thoughts are great at sorting themselves. Don’t worry!

Put the paper plus pen in front of you. Now write down what you immediately comes to your mind when thinking about your life.

Go wild!

The big topics, questions and all what’s important to you are usually the first things you think about.

Don’t be afraid of the lacking structure. We can do that later.

For example, if you had a hard break-up to deal with, you can just write ‘break-up’ somewhere on the paper. If that gave you certain feelings, add these. If you want to. Or draw something (maybe a middle finger?).

It’s just about getting the shit out of your system and going with the flow of your mind. Without thinking about what any question wants from you.

Pour your heart on the paper. Ask the big questions to yourself, especially if you have no answer.

Go with the flow.

Stop once you feel ready. Or your paper is full. Self-discovery: complete! (For now. We are complex beings. Self-discovery is never complete.)

Second: Give It Structure

Congrats. Now you have assembled the main stuff on your mind. Maybe it looks like a maze, wild graffiti, or just a very orderly listicle (you weirdo!).

We need priorities now to see what your focus should be for the future. Create yourself the categories you want to sort things by. Maybe important to less important? Maybe change and remain? Maybe in my control, out of my control? Or maybe three, four, five different categories.

You’re free.

I experienced that this process helps a lot.

Once you have sorted this, you have a great basis to review your year and form a plan for the next one.

And if now, you want someone to give you a more detailed structure — feel free to go for those pre-formed questions they call journaling prompts.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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