Woman in pink sweatshirt sitting in bed journaling in the winter. — Cozy up inside with winter journaling ideas

Winter journal prompts

Winter is a wonderful time to turn inwards and self-reflect. As you cozy up at home with your journal, check out these winter journaling ideas to make the most of your time inside.

Journal and pink mug of hot chocolate sitting in front of fireplace in the winter.

What is your favorite indoor winter memory? Describe the memory in detail (visual, emotional, scent, sound, etc.).
What is your favorite outdoor winter memory? Describe the memory in detail (visual, emotional, scent, sound, etc.).
What sound do you most associate with winter? Why? When do you first remember making this association? What feelings and memories do you associate with this sound?
What movie do you most associate with winter? Why? What feeling does the movie give you?
What positive impacts does the winter season tend to have on your mental health? What negative impacts does the winter season tend to have on your mental health? Are there ways that you can accentuate the positive impacts and mitigate the negative impacts?
When you were a child, what winter holidays did you celebrate? How did you celebrate these holidays? Did the way you celebrate these holidays change over the years as you got older, or because of other changes in your life? How did you feel about those changes when you were a child? How did those changes impact you then? How do you feel about those changes now?

What food do you most associate with winter? When did you start to associate this food with winter? What memories do you have of eating this food in the winter?

If you had to choose one image to encapsulate how winter feels to you, what would the image be? Describe the image in detail. What feeling does the image give you?
When you were a child, what winter activities did you do? How do you feel reflecting on these childhood memories now?
What scent do you most associate with winter? Why? When do you first remember making this association? What feelings and memories do you associate with this scent?

What is your favorite thing about winter? Why? When did this start to be your favorite thing about winter?

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What book do you most associate with winter? Why? What feeling does this book give you?
Are there activities you do in the winter that you don’t do other times of year? How do these activities influence how you feel about the winter season?
What are you most looking forward to this winter?
Do you spend more or less time outside in nature in the winter? How do you think this impacts you physically, emotionally, and mentally?
Read a poem about winter. What emotions do you connect to this poem? What memories do you connect to this poem? Why do you think you made those connections?
Do your habits and routines change at all in the winter? If so, how do these changes impact you positively? How do they impact you negatively?
Are there any new winter activities that you’d like to try for the first time, or any winter activities that you used to participate in that you would like to try again?
Is your winter season more or less fast paced than other seasons? If so, how does this difference impact you?
If you had to choose a symbol for how winter feels to you, what symbol would you choose? Why do you think you chose this symbol?
What does feeling cozy physically feel like in your body? What physical sensations do you associate with feeling cozy? Imagine the coziest scene you can and describe it in detail. How can you bring more coziness into your daily life?
Start with the word “snowman” 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?

What do you love about winter? What do you dislike about winter?
What positive impacts does the winter season tend to have on your physical health? What negative impacts does the winter season tend to have on your physical health? Are there ways that you can accentuate the positive impacts and mitigate the negative impacts?

What song do you most associate with winter? Why? Does the song bring to mind any certain memories or feelings?
If you had to choose one adjective to describe winter, what would it be? Why do you associate this word with winter?

Photos for this article were created with Adobe Firefly.