Photo fo woman sitting on couch journaling near jack-o-lantern sitting on table. — October writing prompts

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Daily Journaling

Journal through the month of October with me with these October writing prompts! These October journal prompts explore a variety of topics. In October, we’ll journal about how emotions feel in our bodies, self-care, self-talk, happiness, fear, and our relationship with time, among other topics. We’ll also do a few fun journaling exercises involving poetry, free association, our dreams, and personality tests.

P.S. If you’re looking for journal prompts for a different month, find your monthly journal prompts here!

October daily prompts

Journal Prompts for October 1st

Write out something positive you commonly say to yourself. Write out something negative you commonly say to yourself. How does hearing the positive phrase impact you? How does hearing the negative phrase impact you? Were there other people in your life who first said these things to you?

Journal Prompts for October 2nd

When did you feel the happiest today? (If you’re writing in the morning, then write about when you felt the happiest yesterday.) What about the experience made you feel happy? How did you know you were happy (i.e., what did it feel like in your body)? What thoughts were associated with the experience?

Journal Prompts for October 3rd

What does self-care mean to you? What aspects of self-care are relatively easy for you to do regularly? What aspects of self-care are difficult for you to do regularly? What is one simple step that you can take to improve your self-care? How can you implement that one simple step in your life?

Journal Prompts for October 4th

What’s your favorite movie of all time? Summarize the plot in a few sentences. Write about your memory of the first time you saw this movie. Why do you think this movie is your favorite? Do you relate to any of the characters or themes in the movie? How? What can you learn about yourself from reflecting on why this movie is your favorite?

Closeup photo of woman in sweater holding journal and pencil. — *Photo YullaHola/stock.adobe.com*

Journal Prompts for October 5th

What does your morning routine look like? What aspects of your morning routine help put you on good footing for the rest of your day? What aspects of your morning routine are difficult or have a tendency to start your day out on the wrong foot? Are their aspects of your morning routine that you would like to change?

Journal Prompts for October 6th

Write a list of 5 simple things that make you happy. If you need ideas, think about particular sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations, and components of daily routines that give you a little burst of happiness when they occur. For each item on your list, describe what the physical sensation of happiness feels like in your body when you encounter this particular experience. Today, when these things occur take a moment to consciously reflect on the little glimmer of happiness that you experience.

Journal Prompts for October 7th

What relationship in your life has impacted you the most so far? In what ways has this relationship impacted you positively? In what ways has this relationship impacted you negatively? What have you learned from this relationship?

Journal Prompts for October 8th

What activities or practices give you a feeling of coziness? What physical sensations do you experience in your body when you feel cozy? What thoughts do you have in your mind when you feel cozy? Do you have enough coziness in your life? If not, what can you do to cultivate the experience of coziness in your life?

Journal Prompts for October 9th

Take the enneagram test. (If you prefer a shorter version of the test, click here.) Do you think the personality test that you took accurately reflects something about your personality? What about the results of the personality test didn’t surprise you? What surprised you? If the personality test resulted in any new insights for you about who you are, what can you do with this information in your daily life?

Journal Prompts for October 10th

Why do you think we dream? What do you think dreams mean? How do these beliefs influence how you approach your own dreams?

Photo fo woman sitting in round chair in front of window journaling. — *Photo MeganBetteridge/stock.adobe.com*

Journal Prompts for October 11th

What do you do for no other purpose than to have fun? How often do you do something just for fun? Do you have enough fun in your life? What did you do for fun when you were a child? How can you add more fun into your daily life?

Journal Prompts for October 12th

What is intuition? How do you know when you’re connecting with your intuition? How often do you feel connected to your intuition? If you felt more connected to your intuition, how would that impact your life? If you’re looking for intuition development resources, you can find them here.

Journal Prompts for October 13th

Write about seven simple things that you’re grateful for. Write about why you’re grateful for these things. Want to put your gratitude list on a free printable gratitude coloring page? Check out the free journaling printable here.

Journal Prompts for October 14th

How comfortable are you receiving praise? How do you respond when someone compliments you? How does your body physically feel when someone compliments you? Do you feel pleasant sensations, or do you feel discomfort? When you complete a large or small project at work or home, what do you say to yourself? Do you take time to praise yourself and recognize your accomplishments and/or progress?

Journal Prompts for October 15th

Write about a meaningful experience you had with music. What was the piece of music? Why was the experience meaningful?

Journal Prompts for October 16th

What does your body feel like when you’re calm? What does calm feel like in your arms, legs, torso, and head? What thoughts are in your mind when you’re calm? When do you feel the most calm? What helps your body to feel calm?

Journal Prompts for October 17th

If you could do absolutely anything that you wanted to do today, what would you do? Are there aspects of this ideal day that you can incorporate into your day today, or into a day this week?

Journal Prompts for October 18th

What emotion do you dislike feeling the most? Why? What does this emotion feel like in your body? What do you feel in your body at the very beginning of this emotion? What thoughts come into your mind when you feel this emotion? Do you commonly feel this emotion? Do you avoid feeling this emotion? If so, how does that avoidance impact you?

Journal Prompts for October 19th

What sounds make you the happiest? What experiences do you associate with these sounds? What thoughts do you associate with these sounds? What time periods in your life do you most associate with these sounds?

Journal Prompts for October 20th

When do you feel most safe? What does your body feel like when you feel safe? When do you feel the most unsafe? What does your body feel like when you feel unsafe?

Journal Prompts for October 21st

What did you have the most intense emotional response to today? (If you’re writing in the morning, write about your most intense emotional response yesterday.) What happened? What emotion or emotions did you experience? How did those emotions feel in your body? What thoughts were associated with those emotions? Why do you think this experience led to an intense emotional response?

Photo of pumpkin and journal with pencil and maple leaf. — *Photo Syda Productions/stock.adobe.com*

Journal Prompts for October 22nd

Start with the word pumpkin and write down the first word that comes to mind next. Now write down the first word that comes to mind after that word. Try to feel rather than think the next word. Continue until you’re at the bottom of the page. Look back at the page; which word association was the most surprising to you? Why do you think you made that connection?

Journal Prompts for October 23rd

When you’re seeking comfort what do you turn to (a particular book, movie or tv show, person, food, etc.)? Why do you turn to this when you’re seeking comfort? Is this an effective way to seek comfort? Whether or not this is an effective way to seek comfort, what other things can you do to help yourself when you’re in need of comfort?

Journal Prompts for October 24th

Read Beyond the Red River by Thomas McGrath (or choose another poem if you’d like). What emotions do you connect to this poem? What memories do you connect to this poem? Why do you think you made those connections?

Journal Prompts for October 25th

Write out a description of the last dream you remember having. Why do you think you dreamt this? If you want more tips on how to write about your dream to help you understand it, check out the posts on How to Keep a Dream Journal and A Dream Journal Example Entry.

Journal Prompts for October 26th

What is your relationship with time? Does the passage of time during the day, week, month, year, etc. make you feel stress, excitement, or another emotion? Do you feel pressed for time regularly, only sometimes, or rarely? How does your relationship with time impact your emotional health? How does your relationship with time impact your physical health?

Journal Prompts for October 27th

When was the last time you felt afraid? What physical sensations in your body accompanied the fear? Where in your body were the physical sensations located? How did you respond to the feeling of fear? How often do you feel fear? When do you commonly feel fear? Do you more often allow or suppress the feeling of fear?

Journal Prompts for October 28th

In what areas of life do you push yourself too hard? In what areas of life don’t you push yourself hard enough? Why do you think you choose to push yourself in some areas and not others? Are there areas of life you want to focus less energy on so that you can focus on other areas?

Journal Prompts for October 29th

Write about a pattern of behavior in your life that you would like to break. What is the pattern? What causes you to repeat the pattern? When did you start engaging in this pattern of behavior? Did others in your childhood, or others in your life now, model this same pattern of behavior? Why do you think you engage in this pattern of behavior? Write a list of things that might help you break this pattern. Choose one thing from the list and write about how you can implement that change in your life.

Photo of journal and pen sitting on fall forest floor. — *Photo ylivdesign/stock.adobe.com*

Journal Prompts for October 30th

What are you most proud of accomplishing this month? Write about what you accomplished and why you’re proud about it.

Journal Prompts for October 31st

How do you feel about spooky things (haunted house movies, gothic novels, dark romanticism, etc.)? What feeling does encountering spooky things give you in your body (fear, curiosity, etc.)? Why do you think that is? (P.S. If you want more Halloween prompts, Get Into The Spirit With These Happy Halloween Journal Prompts)

Go to Journal Prompts for November.