What to write in a journal when you have nothing to say

Why the page goes blank

The page goes blank because it seems to want a good entry, with a shape and a point.

Ordinary days don’t come with either.

If you’re brand new, the pillar guide on how to start journaling covers the setup. This page is for the night after, when the notebook’s ready and your head isn’t.

Here’s some comfort from 1660. Samuel Pepys kept one of the most famous diaries in English, and his entry for 2 January is mostly errands.

He got to a friend’s house too late for dinner, so he had bread and cheese with a cup of ale in the market instead, and later somebody taught him cribbage.

To be fair, the same entry carries news from Parliament. But it’s the cheese you remember.

What to write when nothing happened

The answer is one small, specific thing.

“Nothing happened” usually means nothing big happened, and small things make good lines.

Pick one thing you can still picture, and write that.

Any one row will do. You don’t need all five.

If a line feels too plain, add one detail, like a number or a place. “Ate lunch” becomes “Lunch at the kitchen counter, standing up,” and now it’s a day you can see.

Copy a line for the day you had

Find the row that matches today and change one word so the line is yours. Every line here is made up, written to be borrowed.

The argument row is a good one to study. You can write that you argued without writing the whole argument, and the line still keeps the day.

Short lines leave room, too.

Read “Got the call” in a year and you’ll probably remember the rest, down to where you were standing when the phone rang.

Do one small thing, then write about it

Some days really are blank. So put something into the day before you write: one small thing, done without leaving the room, and then a line about it.

• Water the plant on the windowsill
• Read two pages of the library book
• Fold the laundry on the chair
• Answer the text you’ve owed someone since Sunday

Something you did five minutes ago still has all its details, like page 41 or the sock with no partner.

Do the small thing first, then write the line.

We make an app around this idea, so we’re not neutral here. A pen works just as well. But it’s easier to write about something you did than about how life is going, so the app starts with the doing.

In Yumemira, the small-steps journal for iPhone, you pick something you want and get one small step a day toward it. When the step’s finished, you tap Mark done.

Mira, the app’s star, says “Nice. That counts.” Then Say how it went opens one question, “How did it go?”, while the answer’s still fresh.

On paper, the same move works with a plant and a pencil.

What to write in a journal for beginners

The easiest start is one of three formats, kept for a week. Changing every night turns into one more decision, and that’s often what keeps the pen in the drawer.

1. 1

   One line.

   One sentence about today, plus a word for how it felt. “Fixed the wobbly chair. Okay.”

2. 2

   A short list.

   A few things from today, a few words each. “Bread. Late bus. Call from home. Rain.”

3. 3

   One question.

   Answer a small question in one line, like “What made you smile today?”

The question format suits nights when your head’s empty, because the question does half the work. And if you’d like more ways to open the page, there’s a separate guide on how to start a journal entry.

In Yumemira, a new entry opens with a question from Mira. If it doesn’t fit, tap Another question, or “Write without one” for a plain line.

The paper version takes one sticky note. Write five small questions on it, and it’ll live inside the cover.

What to journal about daily, without repeating yourself

The trick is one question for a week, then a new one. The same question gets different answers, because even dull days differ.

These come from the app’s evening questions, and they work on paper too:

• “What was the best ten minutes of today?”
• “What made you smile today?”
• “What do you want to remember about today?”
• “What did your step feel like today?”

The first one’s the easiest on a tired night, because somewhere between the alarm and now there were ten minutes that went better than the rest, even if it was only the bus.

You can answer it with the light already off.

For more variety, try a set of beginner journal prompts. And if one line still feels like too much, micro journaling is the even smaller version.

What not to worry about

Handwriting and spelling can wait.

Nobody’s grading this, and the only reader is you, some time next March.

• Messy handwriting is fine, as long as you can read it later
• Spelling doesn’t get marked here
• Plenty of lines will be about soup
• Writing the same thing two nights in a row still gives you two lines

If paper feels like a chore, a phone is fine.

A one-line journal for iPhone or a plain notes app sits closer to your hand at night than a notebook on a shelf.

Worried your days aren’t interesting enough? Pepys wrote down bread and cheese, and people are still reading him.

Your line for tonight

Go back to the cheat table, find today’s row and change one word.

Then look at that underlined date. One borrowed line under it will do.