30 Fall Journal prompts

Around here, fall is our favorite season. The seasonal foods (apples! squash! pumpkin spice in increasingly weirder foods!) are the best, the air smells wonderful, and everything seems cozier. It’s also time to prepare for the winter ahead and for harvesting the fruits of our year’s labors—a season of celebration before a season of difficulty.

These journal prompts are a great way to celebrate.

Why Keep a Journal?

Journaling is surprisingly beneficial! Writing down your thoughts and experiences can help you process emotions, track personal growth, and even spark creativity. As you describe your favorite autumn memories, try to write with as much detail as possible to make the memory come alive.

Writing Practice

First, in case this needs to be said, writing more improves your writing skills. Like anything, practice matters when it comes to writing.

That means journaling can help improve the writing you do in other areas of your life! For example, journaling can be a great way to write a story about your back to school memories.

Reflect on Your Goals

Depending on what you journal about, it can be an opportunity to focus on your goals and progress. Write about why you want to achieve the goals you’ve set and brainstorm ways to achieve them.

And don’t forget to track your progress in your journal!

Similarly, you can use your journaling time to think through an aspect of or situation in your life—even simply yourself—to sort out how you feel about it and how you want to address it.

Consider journaling about your plans and goals for the upcoming school year, work season, or stage of life.

Improve Your Health

Studies are showing that journaling may also reduce stress, improve your immune system response, and even boost your memory. Here’s an article from Intermountain Healthcare about it.

Journaling can also help process feelings as fall leave change and the days get shorter.

So with those benefits in mind, let’s get started!

30 AUTUMN Journal Prompts

We’ve divided the following writing prompts into September, October, and November to help you organize your autumn journal. But please feel free to pick and choose!

September Journal Prompts

1. Fall is a time of major tradition, from summer heat to winter snows. What transitions, major or minor, are you working on in your life this season? What are your plans for them?

2. Tap into that back-to-school energy. What are your goals for this season? How will you achieve them?

3. What do you look forward to in the change of the seasons?

4. Write about a friend’s life transition that you admire. How did they change their life for the better?

5. As we harvest our actual vegetables and grains, take a moment to think about the things you are harvesting metaphorically, from past work you have done. What work are you reaping the benefits of?

6. What is your favorite fall food and why?

7. Winter is coming, so it’s time for a fall to-do list. What can you do before December 21 to shore up your home and/or protect your family? (This can be literal, but it can also be metaphorical—so canning food counts, but so does decluttering.)

8. Write about a major transition you’ve gone through. What did it teach you?

9. What have you done (or are you doing) to enjoy the outdoors this fall?

10. What were your annual goals this year? How close are you to achieving them? How can you wrap them up before the end of the year, or pivot to an achievable goal you can achieve in time?

October Journal Prompts

11. What goals for the year have you achieved so far? What were the payoffs? How do you feel about your accomplishment?

12. What are you doing to express your creativity this season?

13. In many places, the last part of the year includes a holiday season. What is your favorite holiday or seasonal tradition and why?

14. The plants and leaves are dying back to be reborn in the spring. Do you have a habit or another element of your life that you would like to say goodbye to with the fall leaves? How will you do it? How will your life be better in the spring?

15. We all have a list of unfinished projects. Take a moment to write yours down and go through it. Which projects would you like to complete and when? Which projects would you like to officially abandon? (And how will you do that—pass them on to someone else, disassemble them, etc.?) Which are you undecided on and why?

16. Write about a friend who has accomplished a lot this year. How can you celebrate them?

17. Whether it’s the leftover impulse to go back-to-school shopping or a deep love of sweaters, fall is undeniably associated with fashion! What is your look going to be this fall?

18. Did you know the amazing northern lights can be seen best this time of year? What is something amazing that is happening in your life or near you, that you can see right now?

19. This can be a busy time of year. How does your schedule look through the end of the year? How will you make time for rest and self-care?

20. What is your regular gratitude practice? How does it make you feel? What are some things you have been grateful for lately and why?

November Journal Prompts

21. What is your favorite fall color (or color combination) and why? How does it make you feel?

22. How will you celebrate the season—and even the whole year? Write about what you will be celebrating and how you will do it.

23. How do you handle change?

24. Where in your life do you have abundance? What is in your cornucopia?

25. The autumn equinox marks one of two days a year that night and day are the same length. Use that balance as inspiration—how could you introduce more balance in your life?

26. Think about your personal finances as a way of storing your harvest. Are your spending and saving in balance? How does your retirement fund look? What debts do you have? Where are you on your finance journey and how do you feel about it?

27. The days getting shorter often reminds us of our own mortality, and of loved ones who have passed on. What is a happy memory you have of someone who is gone?

28. What have you read lately that sticks with you? What did it teach you?

29. As you celebrate your “harvest” this year, how will you share some with others?

30. What about yourself are you truly proud of? How will you nurture that part of yourself this season?

How to Start Your Fall Journal

Autumn is a great time for settling in with some apple cider and journaling. Here’s how to get started!

Choosing Your Journaling Materials

Fortunately, you don’t need much. You need something to write with and something to write on, and at journaling’s most basic, that’s it.

Choose a journal that you like, because if it makes you happy, it will be easier to pick it up. Consider selecting a journal that reflects the autumn season to inspire your writing.

Physical Journals

If at all possible, try to hold your journal in person before you buy it. Get a sense of whether you will reach for it and enjoy using it.

Journal Binding

Determine if the journal will lay flat. That is, can you open it to start writing and have it stay open? This will go a long way toward a more pleasant experience for you.

Is the journal’s binding sturdy? It might be difficult to tell when the journal is new, but check reviews or try to get a sense of whether the cover is going to get detached from the block of pages as you write.

Careful with spiral bindings, too. They lay flat really well, but sometimes they’re too loose and pages start to fall out. Look for a sturdy one.

Journal Size

Think about whether your journal’s size suits you. If you’re going to leave it on your desk and write there, maybe you want a bigger trim size. If you’re going to pop it in your purse and take it to the coffee shop or the art museum, does it fit in your purse or backpack?

Journal Paper

Consider the paper texture. If it’s too glossy, that limits your pen options. A standard ballpoint will probably work, but if you want to use pencil or other type of pen, it might not make a mark or it might smear easily.

Journal Extras

This isn’t necessary, but a ribbon marker is a nice touch on a journal.

If this is going to be a portable journal, an elastic closure keeps it from splaying open inside your bag. Other clasps can be bulkier, so make sure the journal still lays open comfortably if you look at those.

Digital Journals

What digital journals lack in book-nerd cache, they make up for in portability and convenience.

They’re especially handy if you’re journaling about ideas you might want to use later—don’t underestimate a good search feature.

You also have plenty of free and very inexpensive options, from Google docs to specialized apps like Penzu.

Tips for Establishing a Journaling Habit

Establishing a habit can take time, and that amount of time varies. So while you are starting out, it’s worth it to focus on intentionally creating space and time for your new practice and exploring some journaling ideas that you might like to incorporate.

Make a Journaling Spot

Think about what will invite you in. Create an irresistibly comfortable place to write. Stock it with your favorite pens and journal. Will you drink tea (or iced coffee or water) while you write? What else will help you journal or write a short story about your autumn experiences?

While you’re at it, remove any obstacles that will keep you from journaling.

Set an alarm

Pick a time of day to write and set up a recurring calendar appointment to remind you.

Intentionally make space to write at that exact time for the next few weeks, until you’re comfortable enough with the habit to vary it.

Set a timer

If it feels overwhelming to sit down and write for an indeterminate amount of time, try setting a timer for 10 minutes and telling yourself to write that long.

Too long? Try 5 minutes.

Still too long? Try writing one line a day.

Try a habit tracker

Add journaling to your favorite habit tracker, be it standalone or in your planner. There’s nothing as satisfying as filling in another habit tracker box!

(We have a few downloadable habit trackers if you need one!)

Make Journaling Your New Favorite Autumn Memory

Please feel free to try and discard—or try and keep—any of these journaling ideas. Personalize your practice and create something that works for you long term. Happy journaling! (Before moving on, take a moment to reflect on your actual favorite autumn memory. Perhaps it will inspire some writing!)

What’s Next?

Winter journal prompts, of course!

Are you finished with these fall journal prompts but want to keep going? Look no further—we’ve got plenty of journal prompts for adults.