List Yourself

Do you ever have days when writing a journal entry just seems like too much work? Fortunately, there are alternative ways to write that don’t require much of a narrative. Although we usually think of using lists for things to do, grocery shopping, or packing a suitcase, there are many other ways to use lists. Consider the following prompts and examples since the start of the covid-19 quarantine:

• What have you learned about yourself? (There are parts of isolation I actually like)

• What have you noticed about your own creativity? (I seem to be feeling more creative than usual)


• What creative solutions have you tried? (Working out in my living room using soup cans for weights)


• What has made you teary or sad? (Talking on the phone to an elderly cousin when she said, “I may never see you again.”)


• What have you enjoyed listening to, watching, or streaming? (I seem to be stuck on Australian television shows)


• What has made you laugh out loud? (Same answer twice in a row---Australian television shows)


• In what ways are you thinking differently about your future? (Definitely on-line teaching, more virtual clients)

Here are some suggestions for using the above prompts:

• Responses to each of the prompts can be short or later developed into longer journal entries.


• This is a very limited list. Make up your own prompts.


• As always, there are no right or wrong ways to use these lists.

Please take very good care!

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Susan Borkin, PhD is a psychotherapist, author, and speaker. A journal writing pioneer, she has specialized in the therapeutic use of writing since 1978.