Meghan O'Keefe

The 5-Minute Journal is simplicity itself and hits a lot of birds with one stone: 5 minutes in the morning of answering a few prompts, and then 5 minutes in the evening doing the same. Each prompt has three lines for three answers. To be answered in the morning: I am grateful for . . . 1. __________ 2. __________ 3. __________ What would make today great? 1. __________ 2. __________ 3. __________ Daily affirmations. I am . . . 1. __________ 2. __________ 3. __________ To be filled in at night: 3 amazing things that happened today . . . 1. __________ 2. __________ 3. __________ How could I have made today better? 1. __________ 2. __________ 3. __________ It’s easy to obsess over pushing the ball forward as a type-A personality, which leads to being constantly future-focused. If anxiety is a focus on the future, practicing appreciation, even for 2 to 3 minutes, is counter-balancing medicine. The 5-Minute Journal forces me to think about what I have, as opposed to what I’m pursuing. When you answer “I am grateful for . . . ,” I recommend considering four different categories. Otherwise, you will go on autopilot and repeat the same items day after day (e.g., “my healthy family,” “my loving dog,” etc.). I certainly did this, and it defeats the purpose. What are you grateful for in the below four categories? I ask myself this every morning as I fill out the 5MJ, and I pick my favorite three for that day: An old relationship that really helped you, or that you valued highly. An opportunity you have today. Perhaps that’s just an opportunity to call one of your parents, or an opportunity to go to work. It doesn’t have to be something large. Something great that happened yesterday, whether you experienced or witnessed it. Something simple near you or within sight. The gratitude points shouldn’t all be “my career” and other abstract items. Temper those with something simple and concrete—a beautiful cloud outside the window, the coffee that you’re drinking, the pen that you’re using, or whatever it might be. I use Intelligent Change’s bound 5-Minute Journal and suggest it for convenience, but you can practice in your own notebook. It’s fun and good therapy to review your p.m. “amazing things” answers at least once a month.