If you want anything to work long term, you must make it part of your daily pattern, and journaling is no different. I suggest keeping it simple with these three tips.

1 | Choose a time of day when you aren’t feeling rushed to write.

2 | Pen and notebook.

3 | Music, a nice view, anything that elicits your feelings.

You might believe that starting and making regular entries into a gratitude journal just takes up time when you have so many other things to do in your day. But like any new habit, once you become accustomed to making entries in your gratitude journal it becomes easier as time goes by.

When you take on anything new in your already hectic life you need to know if it will be worthwhile to you in the long run. But before I explain some of the more important benefits of keeping a gratitude journal let’s back up and explore the details in the above three tips about its creation.

Is it easy to begin a gratitude journal?

When is the best time of day to write?

The best time is when you have time. It can be the time when your day has the least distractions or is at its quietest. This is your choice. The goal here is to write when you aren’t in a hurry. You will want to go from “I am grateful for today” to “thank you for the home that shelters my family, filled with fun and laughter.” You want to strive for specifics and details over time.

Must I use a pen and paper?

Use what suits your style. There is no right or wrong way to keep your journal. Pretty colored pens and notebooks or a speech to text app on your phone work equally well. The key point is having a record of your gratitude you can return to on a regular basis. The ability to refer back will help you gauge whether your expressions of gratitude are in actuality giving you more to be grateful for.

Feeling your gratitude

This is the place you choose to sit and write. It is also the space in your heart that you write from. I have a place by a favorite window with a lovely view where I sit every morning to write. The moment I sit down I feel peaceful and grateful, and the words just flow. Your space can be improved by listening to music, lighting candles, or anything that lifts your spirit.

As promised here are some benefits of having a gratitude journal:

Do you exhibit an attitude of gratitude?

Appreciation for what you have

Happiness is a state of mind and the way that you think about your life determines whether you’ll be happy most of the time or not. If your neighbor has just taken delivery of a new car and you don’t have the money to buy a new car does this make you poor?

In some people’s minds, it does. But this is ridiculous. You aren’t poor you just think that this is the case. The answer to this kind of thinking is to be grateful for what you have in your life right now.

Think about the people and things that you have. You have an older car, but it reliably gets you to work every day and provides safe transportation for all the family. Be grateful that you have this. You have a wonderful partner and a healthy family that you wouldn’t change for anything in the world so be grateful for this as well.

Always remember that there are many things that you can be grateful for. It doesn’t matter how large or small these things are. If you adopt an attitude of gratitude, like this, you will be much happier in your life.

Be more positive

There is something powerful about writing things down–nobody fully understands this, but it seems that you are making a larger commitment when you put pen to paper. After a while of writing down the things that you are grateful for in your life and the reasons why it will provide you with a much more positive outlook on life.

When you are focused on the good things about your life, then you are not experiencing negative thoughts that have the opposite effect. The fact that you write down what you appreciate solidifies how you feel about your life. Positivity will bring you the things that you want in your life while negativity can take them away from you.

Boost your confidence

People who have low self-confidence tend to focus on the negative and this leads to having a low opinion of yourself. When you express your gratitude for the people and things in your life this has the opposite effect giving you a confidence boost making you feel good about yourself.

By expressing gratitude regularly, you are less likely to compare yourself unfavorably to others. Writing down what you are grateful for will also reduce any feelings of jealousy or resentment that you may harbor.

Reduce your stress

Having a gratitude journal will help you to relieve stress. While you cannot avoid stress altogether, an attitude of gratitude will help you to deal with it more effectively and your gratitude journal will support this.

My final thought

For many, many years I verbalized my gratitude. It’s what my Gram taught me. But about three years ago I began keeping a gratitude journal. After a couple of months, I noticed I felt a deeper sense of peace in my life. Another thing was that on difficult days I write lengthier descriptions of what I’m grateful for. I believe they go hand in hand.

I would love to hear what kind of gratitude practice you have.