Question of the Day: What’s One Word You’d Use to Describe How This Week Actually Felt?

January 16, 2026

This Question of the Day doesn’t ask for a story. It doesn’t ask for context. It doesn’t even ask for an explanation.

Just one word.

What’s one word you’d use to describe how this week actually felt?

Not how it looked on paper. Not how you’ll summarize it when someone asks politely. How it really felt inside your body while you were living it.

For me, the word is draining.

The kids were difficult this week. Lots of screaming. Lots of meltdowns. The kind that stack on top of each other until you don’t remember what quiet feels like anymore. Even when things settled down, my nervous system didn’t get the memo.

I also spent a lot of time in my own head. Heavy thought work. Too many rabbit holes. I kept trying to think my way into relief instead of resting my way there. That usually ends the same way. More tired than before.

That’s why one word matters. It cuts through the noise. It bypasses justification. You don’t get to soften it or explain it away. You just name it.

And once you name it, you can see something important. That word often points directly to where your attention lived all week. Where your focus went. Where your energy leaked.

This Question of the Day pairs with today’s Thought of the Day in the full reflection Thought of the Day and Question of the Day: Where Your Focus Actually Took You This Week.

If this question opens something up for you, you can browse more daily prompts in the Question of the Day archive and see how your answers shift over time.

And if you want these questions waiting for you each morning, you can join the daily email here.

One word is enough. It usually tells the truth faster than a paragraph ever could.