Finish the sentence to help you process your thoughts!

COVID 19 Journal Prompts

Reflecting on the New (temporary) Normal:

1. What has changed in your day-to-day life since COVID-19 became “a thing”?
2. Which changes have caused the greatest imposition(s)? Which changes have led to the most distress?
3. Which changes, if any, have been pleasantly surprising? Which changes have led to some relief of distress?
4. Note: If your response to the last question is “None!” then create some changes that lead to stress relief; this might be new self-care and coping strategies you’ve employed.

Movement Toward Joy Part I

1. What are things that bring me joy (e.g. activities, hobbies, experiences)?
2. Why do these things increase my joyfulness?
3. What is it about these things and what is it about me that leads to interaction (between myself and these things)-based joy?
4. Which people/relationships increase my joy?
5. What is it about these people and what is it about me that leads to interaction-based (between myself and these people) joy?
6. What may I do to maintain my connections to people and things adding to my joyfulness during the pandemic?

Movement Toward Joy Part II

1. Who in my immediate present circle seems most in need of joy?
2. What may I do to increase their joy?
3. What may I do to add to the joyfulness of all others around me?
4. How may I add joy to the lives of the people from whom I am physically distanced at present?

Moving Outside of the Self and Into the Community

1. Reflect on the changes you’ve experienced due to the pandemic in the context of the larger picture. How are other folk in the larger community being impositioned?
2. What is your role in the Nation’s response to the pandemic?
3. How does being an individual who may or may not be in a “high risk” category tie into your role in decreasing the spread of the coronavirus?
4. Are there ways you may be of service to your local friends, family, and campus community members at this time? What might that look like?

Gaining Perspective:

1. What are you learning about yourself as a result of the coronavirus-related shifts in your life? How have you come to learn these things?
2. What are you learning about other people (both close others and not-so-close others) as a result of our present situation? How have you come to learn these things?
3. What are you learning about institutions (colleges & universities, the government, etc.) related to these shifts? How have you come to learn these things?
4. What are you learning about your home, local, and global communities? How have you come to learn these things?
5. How may you integrate this new learning and related perspectives gained into your life moving forward?