How I did it: I bought a cheap diary (it was about 99p as I started this in February) and started writing all the happy things in the book. Each night before bed I wrote them down - some nights were harder than others but gradually over the year I completed the whole book.

I did forget to do it on the day a few times but usually remembered the next day and wrote it up then. Sometimes I made a note on my phone if I didn't have the book to hand or if it was REALLY late, and then wrote it up in pen the next day.

The key here is to notice the little things as they happen. On good

days, I remembered things like "My boyfriend untangling my hair because I was getting stressed reaching the knots myself" or "When I dropped my stuff on the floor, a stranger helped me pick it up".

It's fairly easy to remember the big things, like "did well on the

coursework" or "had good sex today" (lol), or even the medium things

like "got a letter from home today" or "had a really nice dinner".

But the ones that were most enjoyable to read back were the little things like I mentioned above - things that I'd never have remembered if I hadn't written them down!

Lessons & tips: Keep a paper record! Buy a diary or a notebook and write down each day's

"happy things". It will make you more keen not to miss a day and when

the year is up you'll have a lovely memento of all the things that made

you happy that year.

If you forget to do this every day...
Another tip is to have a set time each day that you record your "happy things". Mine was just before bed. If you do it this way you are less likely to forget about it.

If you are having trouble finding happy things to write down...
There are a number of things you can do. Firstly, if you're dwelling on the negative experiences, perhaps there's a flip side to them? e.g. "That exam was terrible!" turns into "Hooray, I don't have to revise any more!" Of course, if you think that even writing the flip side down is going to make you unhappy reading it back, then don't do this! Instead, why not go through your whole day, trying to remember the whole thing and any small parts of it that you have forgotten? You could also carry a notebook with you and make a note of happy things as you go along if you struggle to think of them at the end of the day.

For the days when you're really stuck, I sometimes ended up writing things that I was glad to have achieved (handed that coursework in, made my 9 o'clock lecture, managed to get to the post office, etc.) or things that I was looking forward to (my boyfriend's coming to stay this weekend, 3 days til the end of term, my birthday soon, etc.). Try not to do this too often though as it is a bit of a cop-out and stops you thinking about the day too much!

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Feb 23, 2010, 12:23PM PST | 0 comments | 4 cheers