50 Journal Prompts for Goal & Intention Setting

Why Intention Setting Matters.

When you start your week with your goals and intentions in mind, it sets you up for a productive, enjoyable and successful week.

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed if you’re a service provider / digital content creator to know what you need to focus your attention on. For fellow neurodiverse or low energy women, it can get chaotic pretty quickly!

There are so many distractions that can derail your personal and professional progress, and if you’re feeling uncertain or unfocused on a Monday morning, it can set the tone for the rest of the week.

Focused journaling is one of the ways that you can avoid those feelings and set the tone for a positive week – and the bonus is – it only takes a few minutes of your time!

Making time for intention setting alongside goal setting each week, is a great way to focus on a more holistic approach to the week ahead.

*Affiliate Disclosure: Some links in this post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something via the link, I may receive a small commission. This doesn't affect the price you pay.

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Reflect & Review Last Week

I actually encourage people to do this on either a Friday or Sunday, because this can help you stay on top of your achievements and progress, as well as understanding anything that felt good or not so good that week, or that may need tweaking.

The reason why I don’t wait until Monday is because your memory may fade after a weekend break, and it eats into your Monday morning “ready to go” energy.

I usually reflect and make notes on a Friday morning, then plan and set my intentions on a Sunday (I wrote a post about why I think it’s the better option), because it means that on a Monday morning, you’re already clear on tasks and ready to go!

If you experience the Sunday / Monday dread, try it out and see how you get on with it.

Questions to help you focus on your progress the previous week:

• What were your biggest wins this past week?
• What felt good or what didn’t feel so good and explore why.
• How did you deal with any challenges and what did you learn from them?
• Were there things that you noticed you wanted to do more or less of?
• How focused were you overall and how much progress were you able to make?
• How did you feel across the week?

These questions don’t have to take you too long, especially if you review at the end of each day. But they will help your Sunday planning, giving you clarity and a good starting point.

Intention Setting for the Week

Intention setting wasn’t something I thought before learning it from another coach. I always set goals, but didn’t pay attention to intentional action, or how I wanted to experience the coming week.

it is so easy to be focused only on doing that your own needs are often an afterthought, which is why I always recommend intention setting to be included as part of your regular planning sessions.

What is the difference between Goals and Intention?

Goals

Goals are future focused – it’s where you’re heading. They are a “specific, measurable, and time-bound objective that we strive to achieve.” Tutoroot, 2023

Goals are therefore tangible – you are working towards a specific, identifiable target. They can help you feel more focused in your approach to work because you are taking the action to achieve them.

Goals don’t have to be ‘sensible’ – you absolutely can set yourself big and bold goals, and through breaking them into smaller goals along the way, you can create realistic and achievable ones that will take you closer and closer to that audacious one!

Intentions

We know that goals are future focused, but intentions are more rooted in the present moment. They aren’t as tangible as goals, they are more about the why behind your goals.

For example, your intention may be to feel more rested and improve your overall energy. Your goal for this could be to finish work at specific times every day, or to increase your breaks / self care each day.

Why is Intention Setting as Important as Your Goals?

Focusing only on action-based goals ignores the strong pull of emotions, and can create a feeling of increased urgency as you try to add as many goals as possible.

But when you begin with thinking about how you’d like to experience the week on a personal  emotional level, you take these into account as you make your action plan.

It also gets you to stop and think about other things you may also need to focus on or pay attention to.

Intention setting in relation to the work that you want to complete, helps you to create a more realistic and motivating roadmap of where you want to be by the end of the week. This can be a great way to refocus and tap into your reason why if your enthusiasm dips midweek.

Whenever I create prompts for a new month or new week, I always add –

“What are your intentions for the week ahead?” and
“How do you want to feel this week?”

50 Prompts for Goal & Intention Setting

You'll have read why I believe intention setting is as important as planning for your goals, so now I want to give you a selection of journal prompts that you can use to support your reflections each week.

Gratitude & Reflection:

• List three things you're grateful for. Why do they matter to you?
• Reflect on a recent win. How did it make you feel?
• Describe a time that you felt truly happy. What was different and how could you create this feeling again?
• How do you define what success means to you? (Personally or professionally)
• Describe one positive change that you’ve noticed in yourself lately?.
• Think about someone who inspires you. What is it you admire in them?
• Describe a recent learning experience. How will it impact the way you do things or respond in the future?
• What brings you joy each day? How can you bring more of this into your everyday life?
• Describe a time where you achieved something that you didn’t believe you could.
• Reflect on the past week. What were the highlights, and what made you smile or feel proud?

Goal Focused:

• List three goals for the week ahead. What action will you take to achieve them?
• Identify a long-term goal you have but you’ve been putting off. How can you break it down into smaller, actionable steps?
• What part of your working practices would you like to improve? How can you begin this?
• Imagine what your ideal week looks like. What are you doing? How are you feeling?
• How can you prioritise your tasks this week so you’re working efficiently?
• Look at your current schedule. Are there changes you can make for improved time management?
• What skill would you like to learn or develop? Create a plan outline to make this happen.
• What challenges could you face this week? What steps can you take to prepare for them?
• Write a mantra for the week ahead, add it to a post-it note & put it where you can see it each day.
• If time is limited this week, what is the one thing that would make you feel accomplished when you review things on Friday?

Self Belief:

• How would you describe yourself in three words? Next, think about whether these words represent your ideal self.
• What would you change about your life if it was possible? What difference would this make?
• What advice would you give to your future self? Write yourself a letter to be opened in 5 year's time.
• What advice do you think your future self would give you right now? Embody that vision of the future you, and write a letter to you right now.
• Think about your friends or loved ones. How would they describe you, and what would they say are your values and strengths?
• What is your biggest fear? What steps could you take to start facing the fear?
• Describe your perfect day from start to finish. Describe how you would feel, and the things that would contribute to your perfect day.
• How connected are you to your intuition? When you think about the week ahead, what does your intuition tell you about this week? 
• How can you be more compassionate towards yourself this week?
• How do you talk to yourself when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed? How can you make sure that your inner dialogue is kinder?

Mindfulness & Wellbeing:

• How are you feeling today? What can you do to improve your mood or feeling of confidence?
• How have you been sleeping lately? How could you improve your sleep routine?
• Think about three things that you can do this week to reduce levels of stress.
• Describe the last time you felt anxious or overwhelmed. How did you cope in the moment?
• Reframe your negative beliefs you have about yourself. Add what a friend or loved one would say to you if you shared this belief with them.
• When was the last time you were able to totally switch off? How could you make more time for quietness? 
• Take a few moments to practise deep breathing exercises. Write about how it makes you feel.
• How can you nurture your feeling of calm and confidence as you approach difficult tasks or face challenging events?
• Describe something that brings you a feeling of peace? How can you make time for this throughout the week?
• Write down three negative or unhelpful thoughts you hold about yourself or your abilities. Challenge them – Write down evidence to disprove the thought.

Low Energy Week:

• How are your energy levels at the moment? How can you lessen any additional pressures and focus on increasing your energy this week?
• Who can you ask for support this week? (Think personal or professional).
• How can you map your week so that you’re not always working on high-energy tasks?
• What is the bare-minimum that you could achieve this week that will make you feel accomplished?
• Think about your bigger goals, how can you approach them more flexibly this week?
• What time management techniques can you utilise this week while you focus on your energy?
• How can you show yourself grace this week? What would you say to a friend who was feeling like this?
• Describe the things that help to recharge you and improve your energy. How can you make time for them this week?
• Describe the reasons why you chose to work in a more flexible way. Are you honouring these reasons this week? If not, relook at your schedule and make the changes!
• What feelings are coming up for you as you think about taking it easier this week? How can you manage any negative feelings like guilt or shame?

You can also download these weekly goal and intention setting prompts so that you can add them to your own journal. Blank journal pages included!

Tools, Resources & Support

Each post I add my favourite tools and resources, so here are some more just for you!

Sunsama – A brilliant task management that is perfect for busy and neurodiverse minds who easily find themselves overwhelmed and distracted. grab a free 2 week trial and free month!

Thought-Shifting Mini Journal – CBT-Based Thought Shifting Activities + mini journal with prompts

Canva Pro – Upgrade your content design with Canva Pro. Explore the enhanced features available in Pro. Grab your free trial here.

Etsy – Are you ready to create your own online store? Etsy is a brilliant shopping platform that's used by millions. Setting up your store is simple, and when you sign up with this link we both get 40 free listings!

Pinterest Guide – If you're looking to get into Pinterest, I highly recommend Amy's free guide and Pinterest course. It's up-to-date for 2024 & she also has a brilliant course for only $67 that's updated frequently. (I have a 50% discount on the course using this link SEO and the code RANK)

Your Growth System – This all-in-one system for service providers / coaches / therapists / VA's etc. is a perfect way to save time & energy. Improve your productivity and beat procrastination by having everything you need to run your business in one place!

Final Thoughts

I hope these weekly goal and intention setting prompts are useful – too often we focus only on doing without paying attention to our own needs.

If you struggle with energy issues, or you’re juggling a tonne of things alongside your work, just know that progress is not linear. It’s also not a race.

I completely understand the need to do what you need to, to get the results, but if you don’t make time to tend to your own needs, it’s more likely that you’ll burn out or lose motivation.

Remember that you don't need to spend a lot of time on journaling, a few minutes a day is more than enough to get your thoughts onto paper and gain more clarity.

I would love to know how you plan each week and how you can introduce intention setting inot your weekly planning.

If this post helped or you enjoyed reading it, please share one of the images below as it really helps my blog – Thank You!

Meet Lynsey

Hey there! I'm Lynsey, a counsellor, coach and mentor for women who want to create change, but are feeling lost, uncertain and exhausted. With over 7 years’ experience of training, running businesses, and over a decade as a tutor and adult trainer, I've learned the value of a gentle and intentional approach to work and life that energises you without draining all of your energy.

I've lived with ME/CFS since 2011, and since then re-trained as a counsellor, and achieved a distinction for my Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice; all while running 4 businesses!

How? Improving your mindset, finding acceptance in yourself, and developing a gentle, but solution-focused approach to achieving goals is key. Knowing that it's not about how fast you move, but finding your own pace and trusting that you can achieve your goals in your own way, one step at a time.

If you'd like to know more about working with me, you can email [email protected] or find me on socials (links in the menu)

Have you seen my online store Quietly Conquer – Find DFY templates, downloads and more!