Chances are you’ve heard of Morning Pages—the practice popularized by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way, where you begin your day with three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing. Morning Pages can help clear mental clutter and spark creativity. But if you can’t pick up your journal until the end of the day – that’s OK! Maybe I should have titled this post “In Defense of Evening Pages.”

Journaling doesn’t have to be reserved for the morning hours. And I believe “evening pages” can be just as powerful. Writing at night helps you process the day, reflect on your wins, release frustrations, and set intentions for tomorrow. Evening journaling can calm your mind before bed, improve your sleep, and allow you to end the day with gratitude and clarity.

Since October is often seen as a season of reflection—with the year winding down and autumn inviting us to slow our pace—it’s the perfect time to start a nightly journaling ritual.

To help you get started, here are 31 evening journaling prompts for October—one for every day of the month.

Today the world said “au revoir” to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. (That is until the Paralympics begin on August 28.)

Being the word nerd that I am, I not only celebrated the medals Team USA snagged in sports like basketball, track and field, gymnastics, and swimming, but I was also giddy that journaling was getting time to shine too!

Several Olympians shared before and during the games that journaling is part of their strategy for success.

Writers should journal even if they feel like their schedule is too hectic to make the time. I know that if you’re a busy writer you may feel like journaling is a waste of time. After all, shouldn’t any time that you have to write be spent working on your book or blog or an article, essay, or poem? What’s the point in using that precious time to write words that no one else will see? 

If this is your mindset about journaling, my mission is to change it. 

If you want to journal every day, you’ve got to be intentional and not simply hope that it’s going to happen. You need to plan to journal and then commit to sticking with the plan.

You need a time, a place, and a plan.