Seasonal prompts
November journal prompts: 30 prompts for shorter days
The short answer
Good journal prompts for November ask one small question a night, sized for a single line. The 30 below follow the dates, from the year so far to Thanksgiving week and the edge of December. Answer tonight’s at a time you already stop, like plugging in your phone. Keep it that small for a week.
In 30 seconds
- The prompt number is the date, so tonight’s question is already picked.
- One line is a full answer. Skip any night without catching up.
- Thanksgiving week gets five prompts of its own, plus a hard-day option.
- On a busy night, write the first true thing and one feeling word.
On Sunday, 1 November, clocks in most of the US go back an hour (opens in a new tab). By Monday, it’s dark before dinner.
The oven clock will stay wrong until March. But the evenings get longer, and a year with two months left makes good company for one small question a night.
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How to use these November journal prompts
Each prompt has a number, and the number is the date. Answer in one line, then stop.
On busy nights, use the 2-minute version:
- Read tonight’s prompt.
- Write the first true answer.
- Add one word for how the day felt: great, okay, so-so, worried or hard.
Any night that doesn’t fit can be skipped. Tomorrow has its own question, and nobody’s grading this.
And if a prompt misses completely, borrow one from our main list of journal prompts instead. The month won’t notice.
Answer in one line, then close the notebook.
On paper, write the date and the prompt number, then your line. Any notebook works, including the one with three pages used since March, and so does a phone journal.
Week 1 (Nov 1-7), the year so far
The first week looks back. Ten months are behind you, and each prompt picks one small piece of them.
The year so far
- If your clocks changed today, what did you do with the extra hour?
- What did you do this year that January you wouldn’t believe?
- Which month of this year would you happily live again?
- What did you start this year that you still do?
- What did you stop doing this year, and not miss at all?
- What’s the most useful small thing you learned this year?
- Which photo from this year would you put on the fridge?
Plain answers work best. “Learned to fold a fitted sheet. Mostly.” is a fine reply to prompt 6.
Looking back over ten months is a big job for a weeknight, especially when the first thing that comes to mind is a list of plans you never got to.
Too much to choose from? Shrink it to one month, one moment.
So the rest of the year can wait for December.
Week 2 (Nov 8-14), small comforts
Week two stays close to home: the warm, dry, slightly boring things that made today easier.
Small comforts
- What’s the warmest thing within reach right now?
- What did you eat today that you’d happily eat again tomorrow?
- Which sound in your home tonight is a good one?
- Which piece of clothing did the most work this week?
- What’s one light you were glad to see after dark today?
- What small job did you finish that makes tomorrow easier?
- What did you hear or read this week that you’d pass on?
Small comforts are easy to miss because they’re small. Say it rained the whole way home and the bus heater was broken. The first thing that went right was a pair of dry socks.
That’s prompt 8, answered.
Answer with a noun, like socks or soup.
On nights when no prompt lands, do one small thing first, then write a line about it:
- Fill a glass of water.
- Water the plant on the sill.
- Read two pages of the book by the bed.
We make Yumemira, the small-steps journal for iPhone, so we’re not neutral here. A pen works too.
Most lines worth keeping are about something you did, so the app starts there. You pick a goal, like reading more.
After you mark today’s step done, Say how it went asks one question while the answer is still fresh.
On a plain entry, Mira, the app’s star, opens with a question. If it doesn’t fit tonight, tap Another question, or tap Write without one and type the November prompt yourself.
Week 3 (Nov 15-21), the people around you
Week three is about people: the ones you see every day, and the ones you think of when the phone lights up.
People
- Who did you talk to today, even for a minute?
- Who taught you something this year, maybe without knowing it?
- Whose message are you glad you got this week?
- Who would you call first with good news tonight?
- What’s one kind thing a stranger did lately?
- Who do you owe a thank-you, and what for?
- Who would you like to see before the year ends?
But one name and one reason fit on one line. “The neighbor who carried the box up three floors.” That’s enough of an entry.
If a prompt brings up someone you’ve lost touch with, write the name and leave it there. The line doesn’t have to fix anything.
Write the name first, then the reason.
When thank-you lines start to sound the same, these gratitude prompts that don’t feel forced ask for one specific thing instead.
Thanksgiving journal prompts (Nov 22-26)
In the US, Thanksgiving is on Thursday 26 November this year. These five lead up to it, and they work just as well if you don’t celebrate it.
Thanksgiving week
- What’s one thing this week you’re looking forward to?
- What dish or job are you bringing this week?
- Which holiday tradition would you keep, and which would you skip?
- If the next two days get busy, which moment do you want to protect?
- What were you thankful for today that nobody else noticed?
Say the day is loud: the oven has been on since morning while somebody hunts for the big serving spoon and the dishes stack up higher than the pie.
But prompt 26 still fits on a napkin.
If you don’t celebrate, Thursday is an ordinary Thursday. And the question works just as well over a bowl of rice and a cup of tea.
The last days (Nov 27-30), ready for December
The last four nights face forward. December is close, so these clear a little room before it arrives.
Ready for December
- What’s left over from yesterday, on a plate or in your head?
- What’s one thing you’d like to finish before the year ends?
- What will you leave behind in November?
- Read this month’s lines back. Which one would you keep?
Prompt 30 is the reward for the other 29. A dull line from week 2 can read differently on the last night of the month, once the day it came from has faded.
Yumemira does a small version of this on the Journal tab, where an old line can come back under Two weeks ago today.
If you’d like a question waiting on your phone, 
try it in Yumemira.
After the 30th, the daily journal prompts give every date of any month a question of its own.
November in one glance
Some nights won’t match the prompt. This sheet matches the night instead.
| If tonight is… | Write… |
|---|---|
| Tired | “Tired. Soup, then bed.” |
| Busy | “Three meetings and a late bus. Home now.” |
| A holiday dinner | “Long table, loud room. The gravy ran out first.” |
| A quiet day | “Nothing happened, except frost on the window.” |
| A hard day | “Hard day.” |
| A good day | “Good news at work. Telling them tomorrow.” |
| Nothing happened | “Rain all day. Rice and an early night.” |
| You skipped a week | “Missed a week. Starting again with tonight’s date.” |
The trick is to copy the shape, then change the words. A row and a date are all tonight needs.
It gets dark early now, so the first lamp comes on early too. Tonight, find the date and write its line before that lamp goes off.
The oven clock can stay wrong until March.
Questions people ask
What should I journal about in November?
One small question a night that suits the month: something that went well this year, a comfort from today, a person you’re glad of. Near the end, one thing to finish before December. One line each.
What are good Thanksgiving journal prompts?
Good ones ask about one specific thing, like a moment you want to protect or something you were thankful for that nobody else noticed. One line each. If the day is hard, “Hard day.” is a true entry.
What if I miss a few nights?
You start again with tonight’s date and skip the catching up: the missed prompts don’t need answers, and the lines you already wrote stay where they are. One line tonight is the whole job.
Can I use these prompts on my phone?
Yes. You can copy tonight’s prompt into any notes app or phone journal and answer below it. In Yumemira, a new entry opens with its own question. Tap Another question to swap it, or Write without one and type the November prompt yourself.
Sources
TopicJournal prompts
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