If you’re here, you probably already know what burnout feels like. You’ve been tired for longer than tiredness is supposed to last. You’ve stopped being able to tell the difference between a hard week and just your life.
Journaling won’t fix that. Let’s be honest about that up front. But it can create a little space between you and the overwhelm, enough space to start seeing what’s actually happening, and what you actually want instead.
To understand where you are
- What did I used to love that I can’t make myself do anymore?
- When did I last feel genuinely rested? What was happening that week?
- What am I most tired of pretending is fine?
- If a close friend described my life from the outside, what would she say she was worried about?
- What do I keep saying I’ll do when things slow down, and what would it mean if they never do?
To find the source
- What takes more from me than it gives back, and how long have I known that?
- Where in my life am I performing energy I don’t have?
- What would I stop doing tomorrow if I believed I was actually allowed to?
- Who in my life makes me feel depleted after I’ve seen them? Who makes me feel more like myself?
- What expectations am I carrying that were never actually mine?
To reconnect with what you want
- What does a good day feel like in my body? When did I last have one?
- What would enough look like, in money, in work, in relationships, in achievement?
- If I couldn’t fail and no one was watching, what would I spend more time doing?
- What kind of woman do I want to be becoming, not achieving, just becoming?
- What’s one small thing that used to make me happy that I’ve stopped making time for?
To give yourself permission
- What am I waiting for permission to do? Who am I waiting for it from?
- What would I tell my best friend if she came to me feeling exactly the way I feel right now?
- What is one thing I could let go of this week that I’ve been holding for someone else?
- What does rest look like for me specifically? Not what it’s supposed to look like, what actually restores me?
- What’s one gentle step I could take this week, not to fix everything, but just to feel slightly more like myself?
How to use these
Pick one. Just one. Write until you stop, not until you’ve reached some word count. If you hit something that makes you want to stop writing, that’s usually the one worth staying with for another two minutes.
The Morning Ritual Workbook has 21 days of this kind of journaling built in, one prompt a day, no pressure, made for exactly this season of life.