Gratitude journals seem like such a great idea—especially when you see the waterfall of research backing their benefits. An Australian review of 70 studies, spanning a whopping 26,427 participants, showed a clear link between higher levels of gratitude and lower levels of depression. Other reports have shown that it can relieve stress, improve sleep and your overall heart health. It’s like a green smoothie for your brain! Why not try it, right?

And yet, a few days in, writing down what you’re thankful for can start feeling a bit rote. You’re logging the same few things (your family! your health! a roof over your head!), and yes, you’re still grateful for them, but…you know that already. And so, you try to go niche or find something new every day (a perfectly brewed iced coffee, the dew on the grass and clean earth smell as you headed to your car before work).

But soon, life gets in the way and you fall out of the routine, wondering what boost, if any, it ever really gave you.

I’ve been maintaining a gratitude journal for the past two years, and I get it. Despite the overwhelming research, it just felt…fine. Starting my morning with a few reminders of how fortunate I am were a good way to frame my day, especially as I’d start running behind or get a frustrating email or had my washing machine implode, flooding the garage. (You know, standard Tuesday things.)

What Made My Gratitude Journal *Actually* Satisfying to Use

You don’t need a specific gratitude journal, though over the years, I’ve tried several. Many ask you to list three things you’re grateful for and some get so involved with mood tracking and other questions that it starts to feel like homework. I’ve found there’s a happy medium in a method you can tackle in 3 minutes or less:

• 3 quick things you’re thankful for, getting as specific as possible — don’t just say your family or your health; pick out a specific person or aspect of your health that stands out to you today.
  • Maybe it’s your daughter showing concern for a classmate who was hurt on the playground, or a cousin whose perfectly timed meme cracked you up after spending a frustrating morning with your doctor’s billing department. For health, maybe you tried a YouTube yoga routine and your back doesn’t ache this morning. Or you’ve hit day ten of not biting your nails anymore. Nothing is too granular.
• Include a moment of reflection for something that happened in the past 24 hours and why you’re grateful for that. This turns the journal into more of a diary; a silver-lined story of how you’ve spent your days
• Look ahead and share something you’re grateful for that’s on the horizon. “Positive anticipation” can boost your happiness, compounding gratitude, so what are you looking forward to?

That last one brings me right to what I’m dubbing the ‘Advance Praise’ Method.

How Adding in the ‘Advance Praise’ Method Improved My Journaling

As you list three things you’re grateful for, try making one of them a goal you’re working toward. Listing one specific north star you’re working toward and showing gratitude for it—aka praising it before it’s come to fruition—is what I call the Advance Praise Method. It can be gratitude that you’re clear on what that goal is, stating it on the page as succinctly as possible, gratitude for breaking down the next step toward that goal and what you’re doing to get there, or going all out and expressing gratitude as if you’ve already achieved it.

That last one felt weird to me—acting as if conjured images of prosperity gospel, “name it and claim it!” anecdotes and more secular manifesting messaging, which often suggested that if you acted as if you already had what you wanted and did so with unwavering faith, it’d come true.

But we all know you need to do the work. It’s rare that things just happen without you having to do more than write it down.

That’s the key—you’re not simply scribbling “I’m so grateful to be a NYT bestselling author” and closing your journal. For the Advance Praise Method to have impact, at least in my experience, you need to add a line about what you’re doing that day, week or month to get a little closer to it. And then commit to that micro-goal. So “I’m so grateful to be a NYT bestselling author, after devoting 30 minutes a day to writing my manuscript” is clearer. Or “I’m grateful to have set my alarm 30 minutes early to work on my novel, so I can become a NYT bestselling author.”

How Has That Helped Me?

Honestly, while the reflective aspect of a gratitude journal makes me feel warm and fuzzy, and extend a little more grace toward the people I love (see previous statements about the morning rush out the door), the advance praise aspect gets me fired up and energized about what’s ahead. It puts my most important goal right in front of me, so I’m more likely to keep working toward it, rather than put it on the back burner.

The other thing that’s made me appreciate (and stick to) gratitude journaling has been letting myself off the hook. I don’t do it daily. Sometimes it’s every few days; sometimes I’ll go two or three weeks. The book sits on my nightstand, and I pick it up and add to it whenever I feel inspired. Or if I’m being a grump and realize I NEED a reframe, stat. (That, a walk and a shower or a great cup of coffee really help.)

The 2 Best Gratitude Journals I’ve Found for Starting (& Maintaining) a Regular Practice

Any old notebook will do, but if you like a specialty journal, I get it. I do too. Out of several styles I’ve tried, my two favorite Gratitude Journals are from Notcoy and Papier.

1. Notcoy Gratitude Journal

The colorful pages are a dopamine hit on their own, but I love the low-key, low-effort approach here that still feels mindful. The undated journal is divided into morning and evening blocks (though honestly, I typically fill out the whole thing at once, usually closer to EOD). In the morning, you share three things you’re grateful for (I use one of those lines to offer ‘Advance Praise’ of a goal).

At night, you share the highlight of your day and your main takeaway from what happened. You’ll start to find patterns and themes in what resonated with you and what you’re working on, which is what I really like about the evening reflection.

Every 30 entries or so, there’s a milestone that encourages you and a challenge to push you, be it listing 10 qualities you genuinely love about yourself or leaving a note of encouragement in a public place to brighten others’ day.

2. Papier Gratitude Journal

With several designs and a few customization options to choose from, this gratitude journal makes for a great graduation, get well or thinking of you gift. Or just a way to treat yourself. It’s also undated, divided into morning and night. In the morning, you share three things you’re looking forward to (Advance Praise Method alert!) and at night, three things you’re grateful for (reflection time!).

Each day also features a basic affirmation and every 30 days features a two-page spread, with one page for reflecting on the past month and one to color in a Life Wheel, in which you log the areas of your life you’ve focused the most on, on a scale of one (barely devoted energy to it) to ten (it dominated my time). I tend to adjust that to be more about how fulfilled/satisfied I feel in those areas, so I can see if I need to rethink my time more meaningfully in the days ahead. There are also occasional pages devoted to reframing negative thoughts, writing letters to your future self and motivational challenges.

Let’s Talk!

What methods are working for you, when it comes to gratitude journaling? What’s holding you back? Let’s talk about it in the comments, or DM me on Instagram: @lifebetweenweekends.