What We Keep - October Journal Prompts
Week 1 — What I Treasure
Focus: noticing what already deserves a place in your life.
The Little Things List — List 10 ordinary things you would miss if they disappeared tomorrow.
What part of your life right now do you hope you remember five years from now?
Five Things Worth Keeping — Choose five: a habit, a person, a place, an object, and a feeling. Write why each matters.
What have you learned to appreciate more as you've gotten older?
Tiny Treasure Hunt — Look around your home. Find three objects that hold a story and tell one of those stories.
Finish the sentence several times: “I hope I never stop…”
Week 2 — What I Release
Focus: keeping doesn't mean holding onto everything.
What are you carrying simply because you've carried it for a long time?
Keep / Release — Divide your page in two. Fill each side quickly without overthinking.
What expectation could you loosen your grip on this month?
Write about something you once desperately wanted that you're now grateful didn't happen.
The Autumn Leaf Exercise — Draw five leaves. Inside each one, write something you're ready to let fall away.
What becomes possible when you stop making room for something that no longer fits?
Week 3 — What I Protect
Focus: intentionally caring for what matters.
What deserves more of your attention—not because it's urgent, but because it's important?
My Inner Circle Mind Map — Put ME in the center. Branch outward with People, Creativity, Rest, Home, Joy, Dreams, and Rituals. What do you want to protect in each area?
What boundary has helped you become more yourself?
Make a list of five things you want to say YES to and five things that deserve a NO.
What part of your creative life would you like to guard from comparison, expectations, or productivity?
If your energy were precious currency, what would you happily spend it on?
Week 4 — What I Carry Forward
Focus: choosing what comes with you into the next season.
What lesson from this year deserves to come with you?
Pack a Metaphorical Suitcase — You're heading into the next season. Pack ten things that aren't physical: courage, a memory, a boundary, a dream, a practice, etc.
Write a note to an earlier version of yourself beginning: “I'm still carrying…”
What tradition, ritual, or ordinary routine makes your life feel like yours?
Five Things I'm Keeping — Choose five things from this month's journal pages that you intentionally want more of.
Complete these three sentences: I am keeping… / I am leaving… / I am making room for…