9 Unique Journal Techniques for When You Don’t Know What to Write

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Do you ever sit down, open your notebook, and get ready to write, only to blank out? Whether you’re new to journaling or experienced, anyone can face writer’s block or run out of ideas. Try out these unique journal techniques that will fill your pages in no time.

9 Unique Journal Techniques

1. Have a Usual Set of Questions Ready

Have questions you can answer daily to have a sense of direction immediately. You can write them down on a sticky note that you can move from page to page.

Simply think of it as a literary way of exercising mindfulness, which helps you be present and hear yourself a little more clearly. It’s also an excellent tool for handling stress, depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns. Here are questions to ask yourself every day: 

• How was your day?
• Did you recall a past moment?
• What was your dream like last night?
• What kind of daydreams did you have today?
• Do you have a strong yet silly opinion you just realized?

2. Prepare Different Questions for Different Days

Prepare your journal by adding different questions at the top of the page. Write a query or statement per page for the rest of the week. That way, you have an idea of what you’ll write about while keeping it dynamic.

Here are a few examples you can try out: 

• Monday: What does the future look like?
• Tuesday: What’s your favorite quote and why?
• Wednesday: What’s something good that happened today?
• Thursday: What’s the best decision you ever made?
• Friday: What are three wishes you’d make if you got a magic lamp?
• Saturday: Would you rather stay in or go out?
• Sunday: What was last week like for you?

3. Look Up Journaling Prompts

Online journaling prompts are an excellent resource for getting out of the writing rut. Since they were curated by someone else, they tend to be a little more surprising and thought-provoking. Consider questions that get you out of your comfort zone, like what you learned in previous relationships or where you would live if you could live elsewhere. 

Here are other sample topics to journal about:

• What life decision are you most proud of and why?
• Have you been compassionate toward yourself? How can you improve?
• What was your dream job growing up, and how does it compare to your current one?
• If you were to change one thing about your life, what would it be and what would it change?
• What’s a secret you haven’t shared with the world, and how do you feel about it?

4. Play a Song and Write Your Thoughts on It

A great song can help you get the gears turning. Pull up journaling playlists on your music streaming app or create your own! You can add poetic songs that have inspirational lyrics that will get you excited to write.

If the vocals drown out your mind, consider listening to music from other languages. It’s a great way to have melody and lyrical value without having the song clash with your train of thought. You could also blast lo-fi and instrumental tunes.

5. Head Out for a Scenery Change

Sometimes, you just need the right environment to start journaling. Bring your notebook and pens to your favorite cafe or restaurant for a change of scenery. You can write about the experience of heading out alone or the food you’re ordering. 

You could also try the park, library or any other place where you can sit down and people-watch for a bit. Write guesses about those strangers’ lives, or journal how you feel about other people or humanity in general. 

6. Try Stream of Consciousness Journaling

Rather than running away from not knowing what to write, embrace it. Stream of consciousness journaling is all about writing thoughts as they flow from your mind onto paper. In novels, it is akin to an interior monologue that just lets your words flow unfiltered. 

Write down how you don’t have much to write about and go from there. It could be a jumping-off point to narrate how you’ve been truly feeling lately toward journaling, life and yourself. 

7. Divide Pages into Two Entries

Sometimes, a whole blank page can feel really overwhelming to write on, as it stumps you not to know how to fill it all in. Make the challenge easier by adding a decorative page divider in the middle. That way, you only have to deal with half of the emptiness for one day. Plus, when you look back, you’ll have two entries’ worth of writing to read on a single page. 

8. Change Format with Bullet Journaling

A little structure can simplify writing, especially for people who want to prioritize functionality and efficiency. Try to create a goal about what you want to keep track of, whether it’s your meals, chores, projects or gratitude moments. From there, you can create an index and logs that suit those intentions. 

9. Try Other Journaling Mediums

Writing can take a lot of energy, and it’s OK to take breaks from it sometimes. However, if you still want to fill your page for the day, dip into other journaling mediums. Here are a couple of suggestions to add to the mix:

• Junk journaling: Junk journaling is a popular trend that involves using random materials like food packaging, receipts, newspapers and more to create unstructured entries. Many enjoy it since it promotes joy and gratitude in the most mundane things. 
• Art journaling: Consider sketching and drawing any subject of your choice. It can be lovely to just focus on copying it to your page in your own style. Color it in and write tiny notes if you wish. 
• Video journaling: Speak about what’s on your mind while recording yourself. You can then add it to your Google Drive and generate a scannable QR code. Print it out and paste it onto your journal page to watch when reminiscing. 

Break Out of the Writing Block

It’s natural to have little hiccups when getting your thoughts down in a journal, so try to switch it up occasionally. You might be surprised that you’re actually creating your favorite page of all time in the process.