October Journaling Prompts: Free Printable Blend Prompt Card

October is one of my favourite times of year, but it also brings a bit of a mix of feelings about everything that’s still to come. The end of the year suddenly feels much closer, and I start thinking about all the things I still want to squeeze in before Christmas. There are projects I want to finish, things I want to organise, and that little feeling that time is starting to run out.

At the same time, though, I can feel myself being pulled towards slowing down. Here in Australia, the weather is warming up, summer starts to feel a little closer, and I start getting that urge to finish up work, do a bit of a spring clean, start thinking about Christmas and summer holidays, and generally ease into that more relaxed feeling that comes with the warmer months.

So while I’m excited about all the things that are coming, there’s also this growing feeling that I don’t want to spend the next few months rushing around trying to fit everything in. I want to make some space for the things I actually want to enjoy.

And I think that’s partly what inspired this month’s Blend Prompt Card. Rather than adding more things to the list, I wanted to think about what I could take away. What can I let go of? What no longer fits the season I’m in? And then, for the creative prompt, I wanted to do something that felt a little more spontaneous and connected to everyday life – using the scraps, notes and little pieces we already have around us to create something new.

PLAN: What can I let go of this month?

I really like this prompt because “letting go” doesn’t have to mean making some big, dramatic change. Sometimes it’s something very ordinary.

It might be a task you’ve been carrying around on your to-do list that doesn’t actually need to be done. It might be a commitment you’ve agreed to without really having the time for it, a routine that’s become more effort than it’s worth, or a project you’ve been holding onto simply because you started it.

Or, it could even be something much smaller, like clearing out a little bit of physical clutter, unsubscribing from emails you never read, or deciding that you don’t need to keep doing something just because you’ve always done it that way.

When you sit down with this planning prompt, have a look at what’s currently taking up your time and attention and ask yourself:

What am I ready to stop carrying?

You don’t have to let go of everything you identify, either. Sometimes simply recognising that something is taking up more space than you’d like is useful in itself. You can then decide what, if anything, you actually want to do about it.

Make a little more room in your plans

I also think this prompt can be useful when you feel like your to-do list is getting a little too full. Instead of automatically asking yourself how you’re going to fit everything in, you can pause and ask whether everything on the list still needs to be there in the first place.

Sometimes the best thing we can add to our plans is something we decide not to do.

REFLECT: What no longer fits the season I’m in?

This prompt is a little different from the first one, even though the two can work really well together.

Rather than immediately deciding what to remove, this is more about noticing the things that may have once fitted your life but don’t quite feel right anymore.

Maybe it’s a goal you were really motivated by six months ago. Maybe it’s a habit, a commitment, a way of working, or even an expectation you’ve placed on yourself.

Our lives change, sometimes gradually enough that we don’t really notice it happening, and something that made perfect sense at one point can eventually start to feel like it’s taking us in a direction we don’t really want to go.

So rather than asking, What should I change?, you could simply get curious about what’s changed.

What feels different about your life at the moment? Is there anything you’re doing because it still feels right, and anything you’re doing simply because you’ve always done it? Are there things you’ve outgrown, even if you haven’t quite decided what comes next?

And “the season I’m in” doesn’t have to mean the actual season outside your window, although it can if that’s meaningful to you. It might simply mean the stage of life, work, family, creativity or whatever else is happening for you right now.

You might find that this reflection gives you an answer to the Plan prompt. Once you recognise something that no longer fits, you can decide whether it’s something you actually want to let go of.

And, of course, you might not find anything at all. That’s okay too. Sometimes a journaling prompt is useful simply because it gives you a reason to stop and notice what’s going on.

CREATE: Create a page using found pieces

For the creative prompt this month, I wanted to do something that feels very connected to everyday life, so we’re using found pieces.

Receipts, scraps of paper, old notes, packaging, tickets, bits of envelopes, paper from your desk drawer, little pieces of ephemera that you’ve saved without really knowing why – all of these can become part of a creative journal page.

You don’t need a collection of beautiful vintage papers or a drawer full of special supplies for this one. In fact, I think it’s more fun when you use whatever happens to be around you.

Start by gathering a few small pieces and laying them out in front of you. You might find that there’s a colour combination you like, or that several completely unrelated pieces suddenly look interesting together.

From there, you could simply glue them onto a page and see what happens, or you could give the page a little more structure by adding some handwriting, doodles, paint, stickers or a few words from one of your other journal entries.

Turn everyday scraps into memories

You could also make the page about the month itself by using things you’ve actually collected during October. A receipt from somewhere you’ve visited, a little piece of packaging from something you’ve enjoyed, a note you’ve written to yourself, or even a scrap of paper from your desk can become a tiny record of everyday life.

I particularly like this kind of creative journaling because there’s no need to make the page perfect. The pieces already have a story attached to them, and you’re simply giving them somewhere to live.

And if you don’t normally keep things like receipts or little scraps of paper, this could be a good month to start. You might be surprised by how quickly these ordinary little things become interesting once you start looking at them as pieces of your everyday story.

Let the prompts work together

Although each prompt has a different purpose, you can absolutely use them together if you feel like it.

You might start with the Reflect prompt and think about what no longer fits the season you’re in. Perhaps you realise that you’ve been holding onto a particular commitment or expectation simply because it used to make sense.

That could lead naturally into the Plan prompt: What can I let go of this month?

Then, once you’ve written about it, you could take something from that reflection and bring it into the Create prompt. Maybe you use scraps from your desk, an old note, a piece of packaging or something you’ve been meaning to throw away and turn those little found pieces into a journal page.

Or you might do it in a completely different order. Perhaps the creative prompt is what catches your attention first, and while you’re making your page, something comes to mind that you want to write about. That’s perfectly fine too.

There’s no particular order you need to follow, and that’s one of the things I like about the Blend Flow. Planning, reflection and creativity can support each other without needing to happen in the same place or even at the same time.

You might use the Plan prompt in your dated planner, take the Reflect prompt into your Daily BlendBook, and use your Mini BlendBook for the creative page. Or you might put all three prompts together in one notebook.

The connection is in what happens between them.

That’s really what Journablend is about for me. It’s not about putting everything into one notebook or making every part of your journaling practice fit together perfectly. It’s about allowing the different things you do to support each other, while still giving each one its own space if that’s what works best for you.

Download the October Blend Prompt Card

I think that’s really what I’m hoping you’ll take from this month’s prompts.

Letting go doesn’t always mean clearing your life of everything. Sometimes it’s simply noticing that something has stopped being useful, or recognising that the way you’re doing things doesn’t quite suit you anymore.

And once you’ve made a little more room, you might find that you have more space for the things you actually want to give your attention to.

So whether you use these October journaling prompts to make a practical change, explore something that’s been on your mind, or simply create a page from a handful of everyday scraps, I hope they give you a little time to pause and notice what’s taking up space in your life right now.

Sometimes that’s enough to help us decide what stays, what goes, and what we want to make room for next.

The October Blend Prompt Card is available as a free printable in the Planner Lovers Resource Library, and it’s also available for my Patreon members.

You can print the card and keep it in your planner or journal, or simply save it somewhere you’ll see it throughout the month.

Get the October Blend Prompt Card:

→ Planner Lovers Resource Library
→ Patreon members: Download it from the Patreon post

And remember, you don’t have to use all three prompts. Pick the one you’re drawn to, give yourself a few minutes with it, and see where it takes you.

I’d love to hear which of the October prompts you’re drawn to first. Leave a comment and let me know. 💛