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Key takeaways

  • Meta-analyses indexed on PubMed, the NIH research database, find gratitude interventions produce real but modest improvements in wellbeing and life satisfaction.
  • If your entries feel repetitive, try describing a different detail or moment.
  • You can write a short list or explore one thing in more detail.
  • You write on paper, and Journal Party handles the prompts, timer, and ambient audio.
  • Journal Party Premium includes gratitude programs with sequenced prompts and pacing.

How to start a gratitude journal

The Greater Good Science Center suggests describing specific details and allowing variety in your entries. Its exercise allows up to five items; you can also spend the time on one.

  1. Pick a time you can usually make, morning or evening, when you have a few minutes to yourself.
  2. Choose a notebook you like.
  3. Start with one specific thing. A conversation with your sister says more than her name on a list.
  4. Add the why. A few words on why it mattered are enough.
  5. When a subject comes back, look for a detail you haven't written about yet.
An open journal with warm cream pages and a pen resting on it, on a tiled cafe table

Benefits of gratitude journaling: what studies found

Davis and colleagues (2016) found small wellbeing benefits from gratitude exercises compared with some control activities, but no advantage over other psychologically active exercises.

Cregg and Cheavens (2021) found modest effects on depression and anxiety symptoms. The authors recommended treatments with stronger evidence for people seeking help with those symptoms.

In the weekly version of Emmons and McCullough's 2003 study, college students who listed things they were grateful for rated their lives as a whole more favorably than students who listed hassles.

Seligman and colleagues (2005) tested the "three good things" exercise with visitors to a happiness website. People who wrote down three good things and why they happened each night for a week reported more happiness and fewer depressive symptoms than at the start when checked one, three and six months after that week. People given a placebo writing exercise were back where they started a week after it ended.

These studies cover several gratitude exercises, and they don't establish one ideal journal format, time of day, or writing schedule.

Gratitude journal, gratitude list, or gratitude letter?

You can try any of these. Go with whichever one you feel like writing today.

  • A gratitude list names a few things you appreciate. Add a detail to any item you want to remember.
  • A gratitude journal gives you room to write about a person, event, or small moment over time.
  • A gratitude letter is addressed to someone you want to thank. You can decide whether to send it.

The three good things exercise

  • Each night, you write down three good things from your day and why each one happened. It's the exercise Seligman and colleagues tested in 2005 (see the studies above).

What to write in a gratitude journal

  1. A person, and what they did
  2. A small moment, with one detail you could see, hear, smell or taste
  3. Something from a rough stretch that you'd keep anyway
  4. Something you're looking forward to

For 50 more, see our gratitude journal prompts.

You do not have to force gratitude

You can appreciate something and still feel sad, angry, or exhausted. You do not need to turn a difficult experience into a positive one.

If the exercise feels like another obligation, take a break or try a different prompt.

Gratitude journaling is optional. It does not replace therapy or other professional care, and you do not need to keep writing if it feels upsetting.

When your entries start to repeat

If you keep writing the same things, try describing a moment from today in more detail. What happened? Who was there? Why do you want to remember it?

Try a different prompt when you feel stuck.

10 gratitude journal prompts that go deeper

Use these questions when you want a starting point. Answer one, adapt it, or write about something else that comes to mind.

For 50 more, see our gratitude journal prompts.

  • Describe one moment from today that you do not want to forget. What made it significant?
  • Who did something for you recently that you did not fully acknowledge at the time?
  • What is something that is hard right now that you are still grateful to have?
  • What is a small comfort you have access to that you almost never notice?
  • What is something you used to wish for that you now have?
  • Describe a person who showed up for you this week. What specifically did they do?
  • What is one thing your body allowed you to do today that you usually take for granted?
  • What is something going better than you expected?
  • What challenge from the past month has taught you something you are actually glad to know?
  • What are you looking forward to? Write about it as if it has already happened well.

Building a consistent practice

If you miss a day, come back when you can. You can change the schedule or the prompts as you go.

There's no single best schedule for everyone. You might keep a daily gratitude journal, write once a week, or write when something comes to mind. A few entries will show you which one you want to keep.

On busy days, one specific sentence still counts.

Journal Party has guided gratitude programs if you'd like more structure. Bring your own journal. We'll bring the prompts, the timer, and the music.

Frequently asked questions

How do I start a gratitude journal?

Pick a time and a notebook you like, then write about one specific person or moment and why it mattered. The "How to start a gratitude journal" section above walks through it in five short steps.

How often should you write in a gratitude journal?

There is no single best schedule for everyone. Try a few entries and see whether you want to write daily, weekly, or when something comes to mind.

Does gratitude journaling actually work?

Studies suggest modest wellbeing benefits, but results depend on the exercise and what it is compared with. You can try it without expecting every entry to change how you feel.

What should I write in a gratitude journal?

Write about someone or something you appreciate. You might describe what happened, who was involved, and why you want to remember it. A short list is fine too.

Is gratitude journaling scientifically proven?

Gratitude exercises have been studied, with generally modest results. That evidence does not prove that a particular journaling format or schedule will work for everyone. The research links below explain the findings and their limits.

Does gratitude journaling help with sleep?

You can keep a gratitude journal at night if you enjoy reflecting before bed. If sleep problems persist, speak with a qualified health professional.

Can gratitude journaling help with depression or anxiety?

The Cregg and Cheavens review found modest effects. Its authors recommended interventions with stronger evidence for treating depression and anxiety. Gratitude journaling should not replace professional care.

Is Journal Party good for gratitude journaling?

Yes. Journal Party has guided gratitude programs with prompts, a timer, and optional background audio. You do the writing in a notebook.

Want a prompt and a timer for each entry? Journal Party has guided gratitude programs. Pick a program and set the timer.