Write down 5 things

For 28 days I took 5-10 mins each night to write down 5 things that day that I was grateful for.

Why did I do this?

This was my assignment for the Science of Well-being course that I did online. The science shows that money and stuff usually don't increase our happiness. Often when they do it's only by tiny amounts.

On the other hand, 40% of our happiness comes from our thoughts and actions (see the 13 happiness hacks). A gratitude journal is one of those actions.

Assignments are great

That's not normally a phrase students say. But when I know I need to write down 5 things at the end of the day, I operate differently.

• I look out for experiences to savour - one day I stopped at the corner to savour the sound of the birds singing.
• I look to connect with people socially - even for us introverts, social connection does increase happiness.
• I look for activities that use my signature strengths.

Rear-view mirror

Apart from seeking positive experiences, the recording also increases well-being. It's harder to be down in the dumps after spending 5-10 minutes thinking about multiple things you're grateful for. I'd record my 5 things just before bed. I hoped that with grateful thoughts being the last of the day, I'd get to sleep sooner and sleep better. Good and long sleep also increases happiness.

140 positive experiences

If someone told you'd have 140 positive experiences this month, that would be good news.

After writing 5 items a day in my notepad, 140 items of gratitude is precisely what I had by day 28. Does this happen all the time - and we just don't notice or savour it? Or was it because I took actions to make sure I'd have positive things to jot down each night?

Either way I now had a list of things that bring me joy.

What am I grateful for?

Of the 140 items, the top item was time with people. Yes, surprising for an introvert. The key is that mostly the number of other people was 1 or 2 - not a crowd.

The equal top item was food. My wife makes great food, but during the assignment I took extra time to savour it - rather than choofing it down, almost subconsciously, while we watch TV.

Like Scott Rieckens and his wife, I also found that the bulk of my items were free or barely cost anything. I did an escape room with my wife and her sister (we got out with 2 mins to spare) and went to a Caribbean restaurant with my wife. Other than those I don't think anything on my grateful list cost anything more than a bus fare.

Conversely, the affluence that does bring joy is time affluence - as mentioned in the course. A number of my 140 items were gratitude for the time to do an activity (including this blog). It really does seem that the time can give me more happiness than extra money can.

Am I happier?

I measured my happiness at the start and end of the course using two psychological surveys. Over the length of the course my happiness increased by 10% and my well-being increase by 8%.

Related articles

The Science of Wellbeing course
Why we're not happy with things
Ways to increase happiness