As you snuggle up in bed at the end of the day, often your mind goes into overdrive, thinking about everything that happened in the day and everything you have to do tomorrow. Bedtime journalling is a great way to clear your mind and has been scientifically proven to help you get a better night’s sleep. Getting all your emotions onto paper with some bedtime journal prompts will clear your mind, and allow you to rest and fully prepare for the day ahead.

The end of the day is a great time to reflect on what happened and how you’re feeling, and journalling at bedtime is something I do regularly. Whether the day was average, amazing, awful or anything in between, there’s one thing all these days have in common… you learn and you grow. We are permanently learning, growing and moving forward.

Journalling is a wonderful way to check in with yourself and validate everything you’ve been through and everything you’d like to manifest. It’s a great mindfulness exercise to help you put your manage your fear and anxiety and put negative thoughts and restlessness to bed. Bedtime journalling is a great way to draw the line between today and tomorrow and get yourself out of the negative spirals we sometimes find ourselves in. You’ll fall asleep feeling positive after thinking about things you are grateful for and things you’ve achieved today, too.

If you’re completely new to journalling, see my beginner’s guide to journalling here. If you’re looking for some other well-being ideas and practices click here.

12 bedtime journal prompts to reflect on your day and prepare for tomorrow…

What is Journaling? How to start your journal today.

1. Write down one word to describe your day

Honesty is the best policy here. What was the general tone of today? Get down and first with it. Whatever comes to your mind first.

2. Emotions I felt today include…

How are you feeling now that the day is over? How were you feeling earlier today? Why did you feel those things? Good or bad, let it all out. Happy emotions will put you in a positive place, and letting the negative emotions out will give you some closure on the day.

3. My biggest challenge of today was…

What was the most difficult challenge you faced? How did it feel? What did it make you realise? How did you approach it? How did you find the resources to get through it? What did you learn?

4. I’m proud of the way I… today.

Fill in the blank with this bedtime journal prompt. What did you deal with? What did you work through? Is there something you accomplished? What are you proud of yourself for? If there’s more than one… write them all down! The more the better!

5. Something that bothered me today was…

Just because you may be lucky in the grand scheme of things and perhaps your feelings feel like ‘first world problems’ – it doesn’t mean your feelings aren’t valid.

You are allowed to be bothered, disappointed or upset by things, big or small. Get it all out on paper. Why did it bother you? Is there anything you can do to change this situation? If yes, what can you do to help yourself with these feelings tomorrow. If not, note it, feel it, acknowledge it, and let it go.

Allow yourself to grieve things that you missed or felt sad about today, and forgive yourself for something that didn’t go to plan. All emotions are valid.

6. 3 beautiful moments that stand out to me from today are…

Write them down, in detail!

This bedtime journal prompt is all about showing gratitude from the day. Don’t feel guilty for having things to celebrate. What was the highlight of your day? It could be something really big that you achieved or experienced, or something as simple as taking the time to enjoy a cup of tea without distractions. Even if you had a bad day, it wasn’t all bad was it?

7. Today I’m grateful for…

It may be an object, a practice, an activity, the sunshine, a cup of coffee that you really needed, a fluffy friend of yours or a human being that stood by your side and listened when you really needed it. What or who couldn’t you have done today without?

Take a minute with this bedtime journal prompt to write down the things and the people you are most grateful for. The people that have helped you get where you are this evening.

Go the extra mile and, if its a human you’re grateful for, send them a message to express your gratitude for their presence. Kindness is the most beautiful thing to spread.

I’ve designed the below graphics for you to use on Instagram stories… Tell the world how strong you are. Inspire others.

8. Today taught me that…

Write down your biggest takeaway from today. What did you learn? Either something literal that you learned, or something about yourself, someone else or a situation your facing.

9. Something I’d like to achieve tomorrow is…

It could be a personal goal, a career goal, a relationship goal… anything! This bedtime journal prompt is fairly open; it can even be as simple as a to-do list for tomorrow, making sure you prioritise the things that are most important to you. Writing a to-do list before bed can put your mind at ease, giving you a better night’s sleep and a clearer start to the next day.

You might even want to try something new. Go on. Dare yourself. Step out of your comfort zone and write down something you’ve always wanted to try, some things you keep putting off. Learning a language or an instrument, setting a boundary, giving yourself some ‘you’ time… it could be anything! Let tomorrow be the day you give it a go… you never know where it will lead.

If you’re looking at longer term goals, what can you do tomorrow to work towards these? For more advice on goal setting, check out this blog post.

10. Challenges that I have coming up tomorrow/this week include…

Maybe it’s a work deadline, a difficult conversation, or just a busy day. Write down your challenges, big or small. How are you feeling about these challenges? What can you do tomorrow to start preparing for them?

11. What do you want to take from today into tomorrow?

What did you learn today? How did you grow today? What happened today that’s going to help you step more into the person you want to become tomorrow? How can you use what you learned today to positively impact your tomorrow?

Every lesson learned is useful, no matter how hard or trivial it might seem today. Use this bedtime journal prompt to take the best from today and start the next day off on a good note.