27+ Journal Prompts for Moms Who Want a Slower New Year

LifestyleWellness

Dec 12

27 Journal Prompts for Moms Who Want a Slower New Year

January has a very unique energy, doesn’t it? I find that as a mom, it feels totally different than life before kids! Especially once they started to go to school, it really shifted how I set my goals and prioritize my wellness!

Maybe you feel similar. There you are, scrolling away on your phone, when you see constant “new year, new me” content and people creating these long in and out lists and what they are working on, and you are there with a cold cup of coffee, laundry exploding from holiday break, and toy clutter from Santa’s visit.

Though you might sit there and want to have a nice set of goals to achieve this year, the start of January usually looks more like getting back into a school routine, gentle home rhythms, and sorting through the clutter!

So if you, like me, are in this boat but STILL want to work on your own goals, then I am going to help you out with some of my favorite journal prompts that not only reset us for the new year but gently guide us through these winter months, so that we have a better chance of achieving the goals we set for ourselves!

I LOVE journal prompts. If you have been around here for a while, you will know that I try to include them in most of my reset-type blog posts, in my newsletters, and I think practically every freebie you will find on the Well-Rooted Motherhood website. I think they are a great way to reset and refocus, and sometimes having that brain dump to get it all out, whether guided or not, can make a huge difference for our overloaded mom brains.

So enough of my chattering, let’s dive into these new year journal prompts.

Here are a few quick tips

✧ You DO NOT have to sit down and answer all of these in one sitting. In fact, I suggest you review them and see which ones are standing out to you first! This is a great way for your intuition to kick into gear, too!

✧ You can choose a few each day to focus on, or just pick the category that you need the most clarity in.

✧ These are for you to work with—there is no right or wrong!

✧ For some extra clarity, you can download the Wheel of Life.

Wheel of Life – How to Use It

Start by looking at each area of the Wheel of Life and rating how fulfilled you currently feel in that area. This gives you a simple visual of where you may want to focus your energy as you work through the journal prompts.

Prompts to Clarify How You Want Your Days to Feel

Winter is the perfect time to sit back and reflect than take a ton of action. Use the beginning of January to tune into the feeling you want to cultivate, rather than the goals you think you “should” accomplish.

1. What do you want your days to feel like this winter?

Don’t think about what you need to do—focus on how you want to be.

2. What rhythms feel supportive and grounding for you right now?

3. What part of your day currently feels the most chaotic or draining?

4. What season of motherhood are you in emotionally?

Prompts for Nervous System Support & Emotional Well-Being

Motherhood is an emotional roller coaster that literally goes from moments of overstimulation to joy in seconds (sometimes you feel it all in the same moment!) Use these prompts to gently check in with yourself and give yourself reminders of how to ground when in all of the chaos.

5. What has been feeling heavy on your heart lately?

What do you need that you’ve been afraid to admit?

6. What helps your body feel safe, grounded, or relaxed?

List sensory experiences: warmth, quiet, sunlight, music, movement, etc. You can get super specific here—like a specific song or movement you enjoy, a favorite prayer—so that you can come back to this as a reminder when you need to feel grounded.

7. What situations or tasks overstimulate you the most?

What boundaries or micro-changes could help?

8. When do you feel the most like yourself?

9. What would it look like to give yourself more margin this season?

Examples: do you need more rest, ask for help, more quiet time with God… really sit quiet and let your intuition guide you on this one..

Prompts for Rediscovering Joy & Personal Fulfillment

Motherhood and being a wife might be of our highest priorities and vocation, but that does not mean we don’t have other desires outside of these roles that we want to focus on too. These prompts will help us get back into discovering what lights us up so we can be the best mother and wife to our families and accomplish our personal goals.

10. What brings you genuine joy—even in small, simple ways?

Think of those tiny pleasures, that truly light you up!

11. What do you wish you had more time for?

And how could you create just 10 minutes of that this week?

12. What is one thing you would do for yourself every day if time wasn’t an issue?

What need is hiding underneath that desire?

13. What hobbies or interests have you set aside that you want to revisit?

14. What is inspiring you right now?

Prompts for Home Energy, Rhythms & Simplifying Life

Your home holds emotional weight—its energy shapes your nervous system and your loved ones! I designed these prompts to support a calmer space and a starting point for you to create those nourishing rhythms you are craving!

15. What areas of your home feel the most nourishing right now? Why?

16. What space in your home feels energetically “heavy”?

What one tiny shift (decluttering a corner, basket, drawer) would lighten it?

17. What rhythms help your home feel calmer and more predictable?

Which rhythms feel forced or unrealistic?

18. What do you want your home to communicate to your family this winter?

↠ Save this one to explore each season, you may find it changes!

If these sparked joy for you and you want to go even deeper, check out my FREE 4-week email course, Heart + Home. It will guide you in creating intentional rhythms that nourish not only your home, but also your nervous system and the overall tone and energy of your environment.

Prompts for Gentle Goal Setting (Intention, Not Pressure)

Instead of resolutions and goals you need to meet by a specific date, think: alignment, energy, expansion, nourishment.

19. What is one intention you want to carry into this year?

20. What feels possible and supportive for you right now—not overwhelming?

21. What do you want to release before stepping into the rest of the year?

22. What do you hope grows in your life by spring?

23. Who are you becoming as a mother, woman, and person?

Prompts for Self-Compassion & Rewriting Your Inner Narrative

Winter is a good time for reflection and healing. These prompts will help you let go and give yourself grace and compassion. Honor what you have accomplished that no one else has seen or knows about. A lot of our growth happens within, and only you might see it!