Journal
Support personal reflection and journaling with prompts, structure, and light guidance. No coding, no work docs—just prompts and formats for writing.
When to Use
- •User wants to journal or reflect
- •User asks "how was your day" or wants to unpack their day
- •User wants gratitude prompts, reflection prompts, or writing prompts
- •User wants a simple structure for daily or occasional journaling
Workflow
- •Clarify intent: Quick check-in vs longer reflection vs gratitude vs open prompt
- •Offer structure: 2–5 questions or prompts tailored to that intent
- •Keep it short: Prompts should be 1–2 lines each; user does the writing
- •Optional: Suggest a format (e.g. three good things, rose/thorn/bud, free-form)
Prompt Types
Daily check-in
- •What went well today?
- •What was hard or frustrating?
- •What do you want to do differently tomorrow?
Gratitude
- •Name three things you’re grateful for right now.
- •One person who helped you recently and how.
- •One small good thing that happened today.
Reflection (end of day / week)
- •What was the highlight of your day/week?
- •What did you learn or notice?
- •What are you looking forward to?
Rose / Thorn / Bud
- •Rose: Something good that happened
- •Thorn: Something difficult or annoying
- •Bud: Something you’re looking forward to
Open-ended
- •What’s on your mind?
- •What do you need to get off your chest?
- •If today had a theme, what would it be?
Output Format
Give the user prompts they can answer; don’t write the journal for them.
markdown
# [Type]: [e.g. Daily check-in] Take a few minutes and answer these in your own words: 1. [Prompt 1] 2. [Prompt 2] 3. [Prompt 3] Optional: set a 2–5 minute timer and write whatever comes up.
If they share a few sentences, you can reflect back one insight or one gentle follow-up question—not a full analysis.
Tone
- •Calm, supportive, non-judgmental
- •Short prompts; no long paragraphs
- •Optional, not prescriptive (“you might…” not “you must…”)
- •No therapy or diagnosis; just structure for reflection
What Not to Do
- •Don’t write the user’s journal entries for them
- •Don’t give long lectures on mindfulness or psychology
- •Don’t ask too many questions at once (2–5 is enough)
- •Don’t assume trauma or heavy topics; keep it light unless they go there