Gratitude journalling

[Spudcakes]

I wrote this on the mental health group but might be better placed here...

A few weeks ago, I decided to start gratitude journalling. I'm generally quite a positive person but am often inside my thoughts too much and wanted to get into better habits and recognise what makes me happy/content and do more of those things and less doom scrolling in particular.

I have a terrible habit of starting things with great intentions but never continuing them and then overthinking this and feeling down about it. Lo and behold, that has happened with this. As I've been hit and miss with completing the journal, it feels messy to me and I want to start again - but I know that's ridiculous - I have numerous incomplete/blank notebooks because of this very reason!

Anyway, if anyone can give any ideas for how best to fill in some of these prompts that would be really helpful and might help me complete them without overthinking too much. I've included photos of the pages. The parts causing me to overthink is the'Today's focus'because I don't want this to become a To do list and the'How I'll make space for gratitude today'part. The affirmations I find a bit cheesy but I am trying to get into using these and have found some good websites for ideas for these.

If anyone else has the same journal, I'd love to see how you use it and make me get over this perfectionism problem!

Honestly, that looks a bit OTT with all the prompts! I’d just get a blank notebook and write down 2-3 things a day.

To be honest, I found that journalling was a pain in the arse.

The process of doing it did make me more conscious of stopping to actually register the little things I was enjoying for longer, but the journal itself was just naff.

😂It seems this is the problem - the replies I've had all say the same. It's meant to be a simple process to help me not to make me overthink even more. Gah, I'm such a sucker for a pretty book and a blank page.

I have a very simple photo gratitude diary. I created a second profile in Facebook (which is totally private - no friends) for this. Everyday I post the front page of a newspaper and photograph(s) or video of something I am grateful for or an achievement or a new place we have visited, etc. Because it is quite simple I have been doing it for nearly three years. Facebook is also quite good at telling you what you posted a year or two years ago.

Yeah it's too much like hard work. You need to get out of your head and those pages are going to keep you in your head with more thinking and wondering and worrying.
Take note of good things in the moment as they occur. You don't even need to write them down although you can start that way. It's about becoming more aware and noticing. Make sure it's in the present not past or future.
Examples :
My tea is exactly the right temperature
My back is not hurting this morning
The sun is shining

Wow these responses are brilliant and both such great ideas.

I've been decisive, torn the pages out I've done so far and put it on Vinted 😜

I was filling in days I'd missed after the event which is totally not the idea 🙄

Really grateful for people helping me see sense and if there's any more ideas on how to keep my journalling simple, I'd love to hear them.