Here are 116 journal prompts that can help you practice mindfulness throughout the academic year:

1. Where am I on my educational journey? Am I at the start, in the middle, or close to the first milestone?

Imagine that there is a timeline of your educational path. You can put yourself as a game figure on a board in different places. For example, as a graduate, I will put myself a little bit further from the start.

2. What are your 3 educational milestones for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve during the next few years at university/college?

For example, during the next 5 years, I want to decide if I want to stay in academia or work directly with patients. This decision can be made only by direct exposure, thus experience. So, I made a few calls, attended conferences, met the right people, and emailed the right people. I was clear about my goals and intentions, so they offered me an internship. Next week I’m going to the neurophysiology department in the hospital for a shadowing.

Meanwhile, I’m gaining skills in research (eye-tracker, EEG and data analysis) and working on my academic writing skills.

3. What are your big 5 dreams you can achieve while you are at university?

My Big Five included building an experienced portfolio, making the most of living in London, investing in relationships and playing with science.

Of course, with dreams, you should be more precise, but if I tell you about my dreams, they will lose their magical sparkle, right? So let’s make a deal and keep them in our journals. Highlighting them on the first page. Use them to charge your heart and mindset with inspiration.

4. What experience do you want to gain from your university

5. What is your morning routine while you are a student? 

I created my routine 3 years ago based on Dr. A. Huberman’s podcast. It helped me to combine two jobs, social life and academic demands by adapting neuroscience tools to my day. Here I share what I did and still do.

6. How do I reward myself for completing this assignment?

7. What challenges I will have to/may face today, this month, this year? How I can prepare?

8. Which people/coursemates/lecturers can support me when I feel low?

9. Who are my cheerleaders?

10. What are 3 challenges that will help me to grow while I’m at university/college?

11. What are my strengths and how I could develop them at university? (Socials, societies, conferences, networking)

When I started university, I knew I want to improve my public speaking and writing skills. I became a Psychology Newsletter editor, a peer mentor and joined a Music Society to perform with a band on stage.

12. What are my study breaks? How I can make them efficient so my mind and body rest well? 

I follow the simple tool – 90 min study session followed by 20 min break (eg. look at the distance, go for a walk, chat with a friend, do NSDR). It helps my sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems to work in synchrony by optimising focus, adrenaline and cortisol.

13. What skills do I want to develop while I’m at university? (Public speaking, tennis, playing the piano, business)

14. How I can contribute to my university, lecturers, and colleagues?

15. What are the 5 habits that help me to study efficiently?  

Everyone is different, but what helped me was the 5 am club.

I used to wake up at 5, meditate, go to the gym or swim. During those early hours, while my concentration was sharp, I could hear my thoughts. I used to plan my study sessions for the early hours (7-12 pm). Afterwards, I could socialise or meet my friends – my reward after the deep focus work I did.

16. What resources do I need to make the most of my study sessions?

17. What are the habits that prevent me from performing well? 

Clutter. Noises. People.

18. What do I consider my best performance at university?

You need to know your KPI. Is it exam result, grade, networking, new business idea, new business partner

19. What I am avoiding at the moment and why?

20. Do I take enough time to rest after/before my study sessions?

21. How I can remind myself of my long-term goals and why do I study this? (journal, notes, wallpaper)

22. What was the mistake I made recently and did I take the time to review it? What did I learn from it?

23. How do I incorporate self-care routines during a busy day at college/university? 24. What occupies my mind before I go to lectures?

25. What makes me feel peaceful before I start studying? 

I know some people can’t work without music. I’m one of them, that’s why before starting reading or analysing data, I listen to Ludovico Einaudi. His piano music helps me to relax and stay in the present moment.

26. Where do I experience tension in the body when I think about school/college/university/exam?

27. How do I perceive teachers/lecturers? Do I have any conflicts with them? If yes, why?

28. What are 3 events I’m looking forward to this academic year?

29. Before I go to lectures at the college/university, I visualise it. What do I see? What doesn’t work as I want?

30. How does university/college trigger anxiety? What are those triggers? 

Data analysis in Matlab.

31. How I could eliminate those triggers or control my reaction to them?

32. How do I show compassion to myself after making a mistake?

33. What compassion means to me? How do I show it to my coursemates and myself?

34. What is the gap between how I see myself and how I want to be seen at college/university?

35. What makes me feel happy when I think about college?

36. What mistakes I learned will help me to move through this academic year?

37. What are 10 things I like about myself (both academic and non)?

38. What activities at university bring me joy? Do I do enough of those activities?

39. How I can develop compassion to myself in this busy environment?

40. Who is my mentor? Do I have regular appointments/meetings with him to discuss my progress and obstacles?

41. Do I reconnect frequently with my old friends?

42. What modules do I find particularly interesting? Would I like to learn more about them?

43. What are the negative beliefs and cognitive distortions I have at the moment?

44. What are 5 things I have to accept as I can’t change them at university?

45. What emotions do I experience during the study session, lecture, exam, or revision?

46. Am I projecting my mood on others?

47. What is my interpretation of the negative event? Have I evaluated it?

48. What I’m excited about at the college?

49. How do I waste time?

50. How do I see myself in the future? 5, 10 years?

51. What are my role models?

52. What life lessons I learned from my mentors/lecturers/teachers?

53. Do I experience FOMO? When?

54. What prevents me to be fully focused?

55. Where I can steal more time for my hobbies/side projects? How can I make more time?

56. Who do you trust the most? Why?

57. What are the topics you are reluctant to talk about? Why?

58. How do others perceive you?

Ask them in the way Simon Sinek suggests in this video.

59. Where do you find inspiration? 

This one I leave to you. Be creative and write minimum 10 options.

60. What do you spend most of your time doing every day? Why?

61. If your life were a book, what would be the most appropriate title?

I would call my book Caramel Macchiato from Vilnius or 101 spontaneous trips to catch the wind.

62. Imagine that far into the future you were near the end of your life and looking back on this chapter that is just beginning. If you were to look back with a smile on your face, feeling content and satisfied with the choices you made and the way you approached each day, what would daily life need to look like?

63. What three changes can you make to live according to your personal values?

64. When you are feeling at your best, what do your thoughts sound like?

65. When feeling low, what are your go-to responses? Do those responses provide instant relief from the pain and discomfort?

66. If you only get to live once, what impact do you want to have while you are here?

One of the most powerful questions. I find it very useful, as you re-connect with your purpose of life.

67. What kind of person do you want to be for the people in your life? How do you want to interact with them and contribute to their lives?

68. If you were to look back on this next chapter of your life and feel proud and content with how you faced life’s challenges, how would you be approaching daily life? What would the next chapter look like?

69. What do you want to stand for in your relationship with yourself, your health and personal growth? What is important to you about these?

70. What three things would you share with your teenage self? What three questions would you want to ask an older version of yourself?

71. What helps you stay focused and motivated when you feel discouraged?

72. Which emotions do you find hardest to accept (guilt, anger, disappointment, etc.)? How do you handle these emotions?

73. What parts of daily life cause stress, frustration, or sadness? What can you do to change those experiences?

74. Describe a choice you regret. What did you learn from it?

75. Think of a time when you failed at something and someone responded to you with kindness and encouragement. How did that feel? How did that help you to try again and succeed?

76. How do you respond to your own failures?

77. Write a short love letter to some object or place that makes you happy.

78. What place makes you feel most peaceful? Describe that place using all five senses.

79. If all your problems were gone right now, what would you say yes to? What would you say no to?

80. Experiences that made you feel brave today.

81. Three things that you learned today.

82. Three events that made you feel productive today.

83. List down all of the things that you’re worried about right now. Make the list as long as possible.

84. Write a letter to three of your greatest supporters.

85. What are the three things you’d love to be doing for the rest of your life?

86. What are five moments in your life when you can say you were truly happy?

Visualise them, capture them or print them

87. Write down all the strategies you’ve used in the past that helped you cope with anxiety, depressive mood or panic.

88. Is your anxiety trying to tell you something? What is it?

89. List three of the greatest lessons you’ve been given by your anxiety.

90. Think of someone who has caused you pain. Write him or her a letter of forgiveness.

91. List down the questions that are constantly running through your head right now, and then try to answer each one.

92. Write down your favorite inspiring quotes or song lyrics that motivate you.

93. Write a letter to one or both of your parents. You don’t have to give the letter to them.

94. Visualize that you are free from anxiety. Write down the details of this kind of life.

95. Who is my best friend and why?

96. What is the thought or belief that I live my life by?

97. What did I eat for breakfast, and what did it taste like?

98. If I could be any animal for a day, what would I be? Why?

99. What is the biggest risk I’ve ever taken?

100. When is the last time I cried, and why?

101. What makes me unhappy about my job?

102. How easy is it for me to admit when I’m wrong?

103. List 5 things to say “no” to.

104. Describe my most recent dream.

105. Am I happy with the amount of sleep I get at night?

I was happy with the hours, but not the social jet lag I got. As I learned more about the circadian rhythm, I realised I should sleep a same number of hours and follow my sleeping schedule.

106. Write out a resume but include personality characteristics instead of positions held.

107. If I could go back to school and study anything, what would I do?

I would follow my childhood dream and study Polish literature.

108. What would I do with an hour of free time?

109. What would I do if I win a lottery?

110. How much time do you spend on your phone apps and social media? 

I realised I spend more time on social media and screen my setting an app to track time (there are so many available now, so check which one you prefer, e.g. Social Fever, Offtime, Fever or maybe you like me and like to view your weekly report). When I was able to see the number, I knew I can measure it and reduce it by setting myself a goal.

111. How do you spend quality time with your friends and family? 

Is it dinner, travelling, or shopping? Maybe dancing salsa or singing

112. What emotions do you feel when you think about the future?

113. What job you would never do? 

Beautician or molecular lab. Too repetitive to stay creative.

114. Imagine yourself in 20 years. Draw a picture

115. What fictional character you would like to be? 

When I was younger, I wanted to be Xena. Today I think there was a hidden intention for it, as she was strong and brave. Today, I want to be a Flash. Maybe that’s why I go to my S. T. A. R. Labs?

116. How do you recharge your energy batteries? Where do you find peace? 

As soon as you find out what works for you, you will be more effective. Personally, I charge by being with people. Although I don’t like clubs, I enjoy organising and planning parties, trips and events.

In the morning I go for a swim to relax and gain clarity. In contrast, when I feel low and want to change my mood, I search for Maluma or Alvaro Soler music which is my fuel.