17 Best Gratitude Journal for a Happy, Thankful Life [2023/4]
Mental health experts have long been advising people to do more gratitude journaling, which is a great way to stop focusing on the negative and instead feel more content.
But there’s no one right way to keep a gratitude journal, and there are many different gratitude journals that work for different people.
Many people like to write a journal entry about what they are grateful for every day and some even do it first thing in the morning. Whether we do daily reflections, daily affirmations or the daily inspiring quote, there’s no one size fits all.
When it comes to gratitude journaling on a daily basis, what works best for one person, may not work for another, but keeping a simple gratitude journal can help all of us at some point.
What is the Best Gratitude Journal?
An attitude of gratitude focuses on the positive moments and a daily journal can help with positive affirmations as well as strengthen our gratitude practices.
Regular gratitude practice and the feelings of gratitude we carry throughout the day can make the difference between feeling happy, joyful and alive or feeling blue, depressed and overwhelmed.
Here is my hand-picked list of best gratitude journals.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.
Gratitude Journal: Even Happier: A Gratitude Journal for Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment
Overview
In “Even Happier”, Tal Ben-Shahar, provides 52 weeks worth of content that utilizes positive psychology principles originally referred to during his time teaching at Harvard University. The journal includes meditations as well as writing sessions.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- Gratitude journal creator Tal Ben-Shahar is the New York Times Bestselling author of Happier
- With 52 weeks of exercises
- Uses the groundbreaking principles of positive psychology
- With techniques and tools that help us find more meaning in our lives
- A user-driven journal, complete with challenges
- Contains thought-provoking questions
Is this for you?
Perfect as a gift. Very user-friendly as well as interactive. Also easy to read. If you want to learn to be happy, week by week, this gratitude journal is for you.
Gratitude Journal: Panda Planner Pro
Overview
With a scientific approach to productivity and happiness, the Panda Planner also utilises the method of positive psychology and neuroscience.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- Productivity planner with in-built gratitude section
- Month overview with calendar
- Focus and daily habit
- Plan your month’s goals, month review, week planning, project breakdown and more
- Beautiful, elegant design
Is this for you?
Save yourself the research. If you’re looking into a productivity planner with an in-built gratitude section look no further, this is for you.
Gratitude Journal: The Happiness Project One-Sentence Journal: A Five-Year Record
Overview
Gretchen Rubin, a happiness expert, came up with this gratitude journal to prevent dwelling on the negatives. This five year record planner will help even the most sceptical people find the good in their day-to-day life. You can start your gratitude journal today and learn to look at the world a little more positively.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- Manageable: you are limited to writing a single sentence every day
- You can start at any point in the year
- A simple idea for those who are very busy
- You can look back and see how you have evolved over the five year period
- This makes a beautiful gift
Is this for you?
If you are the busy type and looking for a very manageable long term solution, this gratitude journal is perfect for you.
Gratitude Journal: The 90-Day Gratitude Journal: A Mindful Practice for Lifetime of Happiness
Overview
Authors S. J. Scott and Barrie Davenport came with the following idea: for the period of 90 days, you have to answer a total of 3 questions. Two of the questions are repeated daily while the third one encourages you to reflect on your life.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- Discover a simple 9-step process for turning gratitude journaling into a daily habit
- Practical for focusing on what’s working in your life (as opposed to the negative thinking which can sometimes overtake our mind)
- The journal is not dated, so there won’t be a sense of “missing” days whenever you haven’t got time for it
- Packed with great research and tips
Is this for you?
This gratitude journal is great for people who don’t want to be depending on a calendar. I personally would not like having to “not miss a day” so this is a great way to feel you’re moving forward without having to worry about keeping it daily.
Gratitude Journal: F*** This Shit Show: A Gratitude Journal for Tired-Ass Women
Overview
The pinneaple cover is simply gorgeous. This gratitude journal by The Crazy Tired Beetches team includes areas in the likes of Today’s Shit List and also Other Shit To Remember. What’s there not to like? 😉
Highlights (What I Liked)
- Hilarious journal – it will definitely make you laugh!
- A very balanced mixture of gratitude and also “hating things” that happen regularly, as we all know
- Interior pages are repetitive, but the design in my opinion makes up for it
- Great for reflecting on the positives of the day
- Makes a perfect gift
Is this for you?
This journal might not be for everyone – You will know if this is for you as soon as you read the title though!
Gratitude Journal: Good Days Start With Gratitude: A 52 Week Guide
Overview
This is a self-exploration gratitude journal. With inspirational quotes and weekly checkpoints. Lovely cover design.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- It might be a bit basic for some but it does keep things neat and tidy
- Very easy to fill in, inspiring and simple
- Very beautiful gratitude journal, design is lovely
- Filled with little anecdotal gratitude bits
Is this for you?
This is a no-brainer, literally. If you want a nice looking gratitude journal that makes it easy for you to fill in the prompts, this is for you.
Promptly Gratitude Journal
Overview
This is a prompted journal that focuses on gratitude with a beautiful linen cover and coil binding. The prompts will guide entries. Lasts 52 weeks (1 year).
Highlights (What I Liked)
- 7 weekly prompts
- Answer a prompt per day or set aside one day per week to go through all the prompts
- Free writing at the end of prompts
- Enough room to write for the entirety of 1 year
Is this for you?
This is not an inexpensive gratitude journal but you do get questions every day. Think of it as a small course in gratitude. Perfect if you are looking into a 1 year gratitude journal filled with daily prompts.
The One-Minute Gratitude Journal
Overview
Another gratitude journal where you don’t have to feel guilty if you miss one day. Also option for drawings, which might be enticing for some.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- “Today I’m grateful for” sections
- Very simple and functional, it will literally take you 2 minutes every day at most if you want
- Lovely quotes throughout
- Short passages encourage daily entries
- Perfect as a gift
Is this for you?
If you like to keep things simple and want to spend mo more than a couple of minutes a day on your gratitude journal, this is for you.
Gratitude Journal: Daily Gratitude by Erin Condren
Overview
Beautifully designed and with stickers, this gratitude journal will fill you with joy. There are several other journals from the same company: budget book and planner, checklist journal, goal setting, self-care… plenty to make sure you journal your way through!
Highlights (What I Liked)
- Beautiful and elegant
- Functional stickers
- Platinum coil design
- Designer wet-erase cover
- Portable A5 size
Is this for you?
Are you into looks and design? A journal should be a beautiful tool, and this one definitely delivers!
Gratitude Journal: A Day and Night Reflection Journal (90 Days)
Overview
This 90 day gratitude journal helps you center your day around positive feelings as well as gratitude. 184 pages, each page includes for your gratitude as well as personal affirmations, memories of positive interactions, and even commentaries.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- Clean, modern design
- A “how I’m feeling today” section (this is very important for me)
- Morning meditation page and evening reflection page
- The prompts are very organised and follow a logical manner
- Nice little booklet, makes a wonderful gift
- Possibility to buy as gift set
Is this for you?
I very much like this journal. I love how everything is organised and the prompts simply make sense. From the focus morning thought all the way to the positive thought to carry you to sleep. Simply perfect.
Gratitude Journal: 100 Days of Grace & Gratitude: A Devotional Journal
Overview
A devotional gratitude journal with a more religions tone to it. 100 days of guided prayers and short devotion for reflection.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- I’m not too keen on the religions side but I must admit the design is rather lovely
Is this for you?
Those who feel more inclined towards a religions journal will find this gratitude journal does the job really well.
Gratitude Journal: Original Daily Gratitude Journal for Happiness, Mindfulness, and Reflection
Overview
The Five Minute Journal incorporates six months of daily journaling and features prompts that include daily highlights, inspirational quotes, affirmations, self-reflection and weekly challenges.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- Environmentally friendly design (100% recyclable and FSC certified paper with a natural linen fabric cover)
- One page per day
- Elegant design
- It takes only 5 minutes to fill in daily
- Explanation of the science behind the daily prompts
- Motivational quotes at the top of each day
- With an expensive look
Is this for you?
This gratitude journal makes such a beautiful gift for oneself. Elegant and simple to fill in.
Tiny Buddha’s Gratitude Journal: Questions, Prompts, and Coloring Pages
Overview
I’ve been following Tiny Buddha for years. Lori Deschene, the lady behind the concept, has really nailed down what self care is all about. Each page of this gratitude journal includes a prompt or a question to help you reflect on those things that are worth it.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- With coloring pages (love it) depicting ordinary and often overlooked objects that help enhance our lives
- The journal makes it easy to recognize the small blessings
- Insightful and creative
- Interactive and fun
- Great combination of coloring pages and writing pages
- A good journal to go back to many times
- Very helpful prompts
Is this for you?
Lori has created a beautiful journal and you can’t go wrong with it. The coloring pages make it fun and this is a book you will go back to once completed. What’s not to like!?
Everything Sucks: A Gratitude Journal For People Who Have Been Through Some Sh*t
Overview
Have you been through some sh*t? I know I have 🙂 This gratitude journal calls itself a “judgement-free space” where you will end up going through the path of positivity… kicking and screaming at times!
Highlights (What I Liked)
- A very funny journal
- Relatable writing prompts
- With inspirational quotes
- Write whenever you like (no need to write daily)
Is this for you?
This gratitude journal is for those who sometimes are just not feeling it. For those who think gratitude journals are for dumb people!
Gratitude Journal: Happy Journal, Happy Life
Overview
This gratitude journal will have you drawing like a kid again! And isn’t that wonderful? I absolutely love it.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- For absolutely everybody – you don’t have to be an artist to get your drawings on paper!
- Quick and rewarding daily practice
- Very sweet and inspiring
- Quick to read but easy to go back to for inspiration
- Get doodling and sketching to your heart’s content!
Is this for you?
If you want to try drawing without the embarrassment of having to show others what you’ve created, use this journal to inspire you. This is for you and the drawings will bring out the inner-child in you!
Gratitude Journal: A Life of Gratitude: A Journal to Appreciate It All, Big and Small
Overview
Beautiful hard cover, design and lovely drawings. This gratitude journal is packed with beautiful, inspiring pictures and drawings.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- A hard-cover is always very nice and makes you feel you have a treasure
- Thoughtful prompts that get your mind in the right frame
- Very cute and creative!
- Makes a truly lovely gift
Is this for you?
A very simple journal that is a great fit for everyone. The drawings are just too sweet.
Gratitude Journal for Women: A Daily 5 Minute Guide for Mindfulness, Positivity, Affirmation and Self Care
Overview
With a premium hardcover, which in my view is important for a journal of any kind, this high-quality linen and gold foil gratitude journal has a ribbon bookmark and a simple, beautiful layout.
Highlights (What I Liked)
- Modern design
- Hardcover
- Ribbon bookmark
- With inspirational and motivational quotes, affirmations and daily writing prompts
- An elegant gift
Is this for you?
Expensive looking for a reasonable price, this Gratitude Journal for Women makes a lovely addition to your journaling practice.
The Power of Gratitude
The Power of Gratitude
Evening prompts, writing exercises, daily questions, mind maps, daily affirmations and daily quotes are all tried and true ways to use a gratitude journal for effective self-development.
These gratitude journals are a wonderful way to make sure you keep looking at the bright side of life!
