14 gratitude journal prompts for work without burning out

The 14 questions

What at work gave you room to breathe, before the next day swallows it.

1. What at work went the way it was meant to today?
2. What gave you room to breathe at work today?
3. What small thing made work easier today — a tool, a shortcut, someone's note?
4. What ended sooner today than it looked like it would?
5. Who made your work easier today, even in a small way?
6. What at your workplace is small and good — a mug, a window, quiet in the morning?
7. Which moment of today's work is worth holding on to?
8. Whose presence at work makes a difference today?
9. If one thing that keeps your work in order were missing, which would you miss most?
10. What did work teach you today — even a small thing?
11. Which break in the day was actually a break?
12. Who at work is owed a good word from you?
13. What from today's work will outlast this week?
14. What in your work of the past days do you want to give thanks for — and to whom or what?

Before the next day swallows it

Workdays blur. By Friday, Tuesday is gone. The good moments at work go first, because the next task is always waiting.

These questions catch them before they disappear. Some ask about results. Question 1 asks what went the way it was meant to. Question 4 asks what ended sooner than it looked like it would.

Some ask about the conditions of work. Question 3 asks about a tool, a shortcut, someone’s note. Question 6 asks what at your workplace is small and good: a mug, a window, quiet in the morning. Question 11 asks a sharp one: “Which break in the day was actually a break?”

Some ask about people. Who made your work easier today? Whose presence makes a difference? Question 12 asks who at work is owed a good word from you.

These questions do not fix an overloaded job. They help you see what still works in it.

How to use them on a busy day

Answer at the end of the workday or on the way home. Two or three sentences are enough. Close the laptop first.

Be concrete. Name the task, the person, the tool. “The meeting went fine” fades by tomorrow. “The meeting ended early because Anna had the numbers ready” stays.

This is not a performance review. Do not list achievements. Look for what made the work bearable, or good.

If question 12 brings up a name, you could tell that person tomorrow. One sentence is enough.

Why the last questions ask what came of it

Questions 13 and 14 ask you to write why something was good and what came of it. Question 13 asks: “What from today’s work will outlast this week?”

A 2008 study tested a similar exercise. People wrote about good consequences of an unpleasant event, and the memory of it was less unpleasant for them than for other groups (Watkins et al., 2008 · The Journal of Positive Psychology). A hard week at work can be such an event.

Where to go next

If the good moments at work are mostly people, try the prompts for feeling closer to people. If you are hard on yourself after work, try the prompts for kindness toward yourself. For the basics, read how to start a gratitude journal.

On a path in the app

These are the questions of the first path in the theme “Work without burning out”. In GratefulMe you answer them one at a time, at your own pace: the next question comes once you answer the one before. After step 7 and step 14 the path pauses for a reflection on your own answers, and the theme goes on with further paths. Steps 1–7 are free; Premium adds the reflections and steps 8–14.