Free Gratitude Journal: Benefits + How to Start

Have you ever tried using a gratitude journal as a part of your daily routine? Not only can they help to relieve stress, but they can be so much fun to add to your daily routine.

Expressing gratitude every day has so many positive benefits on your overall well-being. Did you know it can boost your mood, impact your mind and body function and overall make you feel happier?

It’s crazy how the act of writing down something that you are grateful for each day can have such a huge impact on your life. Just a few minutes each day and you can see a drastic difference.

When I first heard about writing down what I was grateful for, I thought it was a little bit silly. 

I already knew and understood what I was grateful for in my life, why did I have to write it down? I was wrong.

I had no idea there was a science of gratitude and the impacts it would have on my life.

That’s why I am excited to share my free Gratitude Journal with you. This printable journal is over 450 pages and will help to make this new habit a seamless part of your daily routine.

What is a Gratitude Journal?

A gratitude journal is very similar to a diary. It is a place where you can fill in your daily emotions by stating the things you are grateful for that day.

I have found that using a gratitude journal to write down what I am thankful for or grateful for each day has helped me to be more optimistic.

At first, it kind of felt weird to write down a few things that I was grateful for, but the more I did it the more I realized I really enjoyed doing it. Not only has it become a part of my routine, but it has allowed me to see all of my blessings.

We often take life for granted because of how fast we are moving through our days.

Using a gratitude journal will help you to stop and spend a few minutes each day reflecting on the things that bring you joy instead of constantly feeling the stress and pressure of your day.

Personally, I like to put mine into an actual binder to keep it neat and organized. It helps me to stay consistent using it. 

I normally will use a 1-inch or 1½-inch binder like these ones on Amazon, but you can use it as a notebook or just keep all the printable sheets in a folder. 

How Does a Gratitude Journal Work?

All you have to do is spend a few minutes in the morning and a few minutes at night to express gratitude in your journal.

When I first started, I tried to do it every day so that it would become a part of my daily routine. Now, it is part of my self-care habits that I do each morning and night.

Once you start to do it you'll notice it will become a habit. If you need help developing daily habits and routines, check out our Habit Tracker. 

Try to keep your binder or journal in a spot that is easily noticeable for you so that you don't forget. This could be on your desk in your home office or maybe even by your nightstand in your bedroom. 

Anywhere that will make it easier for you to grab your pen and fill it out each day.

Being grateful isn't just a good feeling, but a way for us to embrace everything we are in life. 

It is also like a domino effect. When you practice gratitude you are reminded of all the things others have done or helped you with which in turn leads you to be kinder to others as well.

Writing down what you are grateful for each day is a way to show your appreciation on a deeper level. You can stop and think about it and take the time to understand why you are grateful.

What are the Benefits of a Gratitude Journal?

Research shows there are so many lasting benefits to writing in a gratitude journal:

• Increased happiness

• Better moods

• Less fatigue

• Increase positive emotion and mindset

• Better physical and mental health

• More satisfied with life

• Boost self-esteem

• Soothes your nervous system

• Relieve stress

You may not even notice the benefits at first, but the long-term effects of writing down what you are grateful for can positively impact your life. 

We are bombarded with so much negativity every single day that we often don't even realize the emotional impact it has on our lives.

Being grateful isn't just about being thankful. It is about being intentional and choosing to feel more gratitude in your life.

How to Start a Gratitude Journal

If you are ready to start your own gratitude journal, you will love my free printables. 

Starting a gratitude journal is super easy when you use our printable binder set. We have taken all of the work out for you.

Remember, when you start using a gratitude journal it is for YOU.

It is not meant for someone else to read, so please do not do yourself a disservice by writing what you think sounds good or you think is the 'right' thing to say.

It is meant for your eyes only. You want to be open and honest so that you can experience all of the positive impacts this journal will have on your life.

Here is what the Gratitude Journal includes:

• Daily Gratitude worksheets (morning + evening)

• Weekly Gratitude Reviews

• Monthly Gratitude Reflections

• Daily Affirmations

• Gratitude Prompts

• Journaling pages

• Yearly Calendar

• Inspiring Quotes

All you have to do is print out a copy of the journal to get started. As I mentioned above, I keep mine in a binder so that it stays organized. Also, it allows me to see each day I have completed my gratitude practices.

One of my favorite things is going back and seeing everything I have written in my gratitude journal. It is fun to remember what I was going through and what I wrote down at that time in my life. 

I normally do this each month to help me better see how I felt and why I felt a certain way. I never want to take anything for granted so doing this allows me to see all the gifts I have in my life.

This is one of the reasons why I date all of my pages in my journal. I used to not fill in the date, but then I had a hard time figuring out what I was writing about if I couldn't place the entry with live events that were happening.

Even before I started using my gratitude journal I would just have a daily journal. I would write in things about my life and my business. It is really cool to see how much I have evolved over the years. 

Yes, it can be hard reading back through a hard time, but it serves as a reminder of what I have made it through and how I am a stronger person now because of it. 

Below is a brief description of some of the worksheets that are included in the gratitude journal. 

Daily Gratitude worksheets

The daily gratitude worksheets can be used in the morning and at night. It is all in one sheet so you don't have to worry about using multiple papers for each day.

The journal will guide you on what to put in it each day.

In the morning, you can fill in the 3 things you are grateful for, what you are looking forward to for the day and a daily affirmation or your favorite inspirational quote.

Positive affirmations will help you to start the day off right.

At night, you can reflect back on your day by listing out what made the day so special and filling in 3 amazing things that happened to you that day. 

The printable page is undated so you can print them out and then color in the day and add the date yourself. This way, if you forget to do a day you aren't wasting a sheet you can just use it for the next day.

Weekly Gratitude Reviews

This printable is in your gratitude journal so you can take a few minutes to reflect back on the week. Here you will be able to fill in what you were most grateful for, how you felt this week (so you can do a little emotional check-in with yourself), what went well and things that you want to improve on.

This may take you 5-10 minutes each week but will help you to not only reflect but prepare for the week ahead. 

Monthly Gratitude Reflections

Here you will have the opportunity to fill in how your month went. There is even a fun little rating system where you can color in how you felt about the month. 

On this sheet, you can take the time to reflect back on your past month by filling out what you accomplished, lessons you learned, what you are proud of yourself for and what you want to focus on next month. 

This will give you the chance to recap your positive moments and give you reminders of everything you were grateful for in the past month. 

Daily Affirmations

This page is here to give you a few great examples of positive things you can use when writing what you are grateful for. 

Affirmations are positive phrases that you can repeat to yourself to change your mindset each day.

Examples can include:

• I am grateful for the people I have in my life.

• I am capable of achieving my goals.

• I love myself.

• I trust that I am on the right path.

The gratitude journal printable binder includes a daily affirmations sheet to help get you started when filling in your affirmation on your daily worksheet. 

Gratitude Prompts

This page includes 25 gratitude journal prompts that you can use as journal entries in the binder. There are blank journaling pages so you can take the time to use the gratitude prompt and fill in what it means to you or how it makes you feel. 

You do not need to use the writing prompts. They are just examples to guide you to get into a routine to start journaling on a regular basis. 

Undated Yearly Calendar 

When you download the free gratitude journal you will see that it also comes with a blank yearly calendar. 

Each month is undated and can be added to your binder in order so that you can fill in any important dates or events to stay organized. 

After you have printed out your own copy, you will notice that it is all in order already. You don't have to worry about organizing the sheets. They are in order for each month of the year. 

In the gratitude journal, you will also see inspiring quotes and even a gratitude jar. Once you download the free printables you can print them out and then assemble them into your binder or folder that you will be using.

All of the pages are in order for you to make it easy to print and get started.

If you are ready to start having a more positive mindset.

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Grab a copy of your free printable gratitude journal here.