✨Mid-Year Journal Prompts✨

Documenting, Assessing, Rerouting, and Dreaming about 2026 (so far)

Stopping in the middle of anything to document, assess, and dream is as important as the planning you do in the beginning or the reflecting you do at the end. This goes for a life, a project, a journey, or a year.

And here we are, in the middle of 2026, and it’s time to take an honest look at how the year is going and what we want out of the second half.

I’ll be hosting one of my ✨Journal Parties✨ this Saturday, July 18 at 10am PT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET.

You do not have to be a regular journal-er to join the Journal Party or to do this exercise on your own. You do not need a fancy notebook. You do not have to like your handwriting. You do not even have to write in complete sentences.

The goal of a mid-year journal session is:

• Document what’s happened in the year so far

• Assess how things are going in your home life, career, health, relationships, or anything else that’s important to you

• Dedicate time to connect with how you REALLY feel (and what you might be avoiding)

• Dream about what you want out of the second half of 2026

I’d love for you to join me for the Journal Party (and a REPLAY will be available if that time doesn’t work for you). It’s surprisingly fun to journal in community, and it also forces you to sit down and do the journaling, instead of just thinking it’s a great idea and never getting to it.

OR you can always do this on your own or with a friend. (Prompts are below)

All you need for a mid-year journaling session is:

• A notebook (simple is recommended, so that you don’t get too in your head about “messing up” a fancy journal)

• A writing utensil (I strongly suggest journaling by hand if you’re able, science proves it does something different in your brain. However, as this specific journal topic might be lengthy and possibly less emotional than others, typing on a device could be just as effective here)

• A quiet space for about 90 minutes (We’re all in different stages of life, but this exercise will be most beneficial if you’re not stopping every few minutes due to interruptions. Find a physical space you’re comfortable in, and carve out the time.)

• A timer (I create timed prompts for a few reasons, but mainly it’s to bring the whole exercise to a close. Some of us would write for 30 minutes on prompt one and then quit. Using a timer ensures you get through at least a first pass of all the prompts, and then you can return to the prompts that deserve more.) If you come to the Journal Party, I’ll have the timer.

This Journal Party will be held over zoom, with a video replay available if you can’t attend live. Secret Stuff members will get the zoom link the day before the Journal Party via email or app (depending on your Substack settings), and you can always check the main Secret Stuff substack page for the link if you can’t find it anywhere else. Please bookmark the Secret Stuff substack page, which always has all information.

Mid-year Journal Prompts

What has happened (so far) in 2026?

(10 minutes)

This is a total brain dump prompt, but it will help get your wheels turning and also it’s nice to document and remember. I recommend doing this in list form, as it will go faster.

Do not be a perfectionist about this.

It doesn’t have to be in chronological order. It doesn’t have to be separated into categories. Mix in big things with small things as they come to you. Notice what your brain remembers first.

Maya graduated

I had a hard conversation with my dad

Mitzy got lost and the neighbor kid brought her home

I traveled to Idaho for the first time

Circle the 3 biggest things from the first prompt that you want to write a few more words about

(5 minutes each - 15 minutes total)

Take three of the things from the first prompt that you want or feel compelled to write more about. Do not pick the ones you “should” write about. Pick the first three you’re drawn to, or that you know you want to give some space to.

If you have more than three you want to write about, give yourself permission to come back to this AFTER the whole session is done.

For five minutes each, write a little bit more about why this was an important part of your year so far. If you’re not quite sure what to write, start with:

• What I want to remember about this is….

• This made me feel…

• This is a pattern in…

• This surprised me because…

Am I happy with where I am in the year?

(8 minutes)

You can assign this prompt to a specific area of your life (home, career, etc) or you can take a big picture view. I suggest starting with a few sentences answering the prompt broadly and then breaking it down into specifics.

You might write about your word of the year or return to any goals or dreams you had back in January.

What do I want more of?

(3 minutes)

We do this prompt quickly because the first things that come to mind are usually the truest.

Again, don’t answer how you think you “should.” If you find yourself giving a stock response, take a deep breath and close your eyes, put your hand on your chest and ask yourself again.

(This advice is true for any prompt, ever.)

What needs to change?

(5 minutes)

A little more time given to this one, but still not a lengthy prompt. Having a short timeframe to answer forces truth.

I think you might be surprised by what comes up here.

What do I want the MOST out of the second half of 2026?

(10 minutes)

Now we’re turning fully to the future. Depending on how you feel, answer this question in bullet points or in sentences (or in a mixture of both).

Feel free for this to be dreamlike and vision board-y, or practical and goal setting. This prompt is worded the way it is because I'm sure we all have oodles of things we’d love to happen in the next six months, but I want you to focus on the 1 -3 things you want the MOST.

Is it to reach a goal? Make a big decision? Change a habit? Navigate a tricky situation well?

How do you know if you got what you wanted out of the year if you never identified it?

I want you to write these things down because it clarifies your priorities and keeps you from sleepwalking through a season that matters.

How do I want to feel in mid-November?

(4 minutes)

This is a declaration. Do you want to feel strong? Peaceful? Accomplished? Capable?

Why mid-November? Because the holidays are a whole thing unto themselves and honestly they feel emotionally and logistically separate from the rest of the year. As always, we’ll do a full journaling checkin at the end of December, but naming how we want to feel in mid-November feels like the more accurate representation of our 2026 selves.

These prompts add up to 55 minutes in total time, but I like to give a cushion for you to stare into space in between prompts if you’re doing it alone, or for the transitions between prompts during the Journal Party.

If journaling just REALLY isn’t your thing, use these prompts as conversation starters with your family or a partner and see if working through these thoughts verbally brings up anything that surprises you.

(The bonus to doing this exercise with someone else, of course, is that you’re a witness to one another’s inner lives. You can be a sounding board, secret keeper, or accountability partner. In fact, even if you ARE a journaler, there could be something to working through these questions with someone else in addition to whatever you wrote down for yourself.)

If you’d like to join me for the ✨Journal Party✨ then I would love to see you there! Make sure you’re a monthly or annual member OR you can buy the mid-year Journal Party as a stand alone event HERE.

Hope these prompts were helpful in looking back and looking forward!