Smartphone Apps for the Best Gratitude Journal

Posted on by Gail Eddy in Tips

Ahhhh, November. The month for giving thanks and appreciation for all we have. A whole month given over to feeling grateful! Do you ever need a little help feeling gratitude? Would a gratitude app help? Even with social media overrun with “ThankfulThursday”, “MondayMotivation”, and “GratitudeAttitude”, sometimes it’s hard to remember to count our blessings. What are the best Gratitude Journals? I think the best gratitude journal is the one that works the best for you. Here are some ideas.

 

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” Marcus Tullius Cicero

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” Ralph Waldo Emerson 

I’m grateful that I was able to spend some time in Maine recently and could take these amazing photos with my iPhone!

Contents

Smartphone Apps:

We’re an IT company, so of course, my first suggestion involves technology! I’ve found several Gratitude apps which can help you make practicing gratitude a part of your daily life. Each of these apps will remind you to start your gratitude practice unless you turn the notifications off.

If you’ve been thinking about a Gratitude Journal for kids, they might be more comfortable starting with one of these apps

All of these apps can be found in the App Store or Google Play, or both.

Gratitude:

The Gratitude app has over 17,000 ratings with an average rating of 4.9/5 stars. It uses “Identifiers” to track you but says it doesn’t link “Identifiers” to a specific user, so that’s a little confusing. The app gives you a place to write a daily gratitude journal with a prompt, in case you need it. It can also prompt you with daily affirmations and has daily memes for motivation, thinking better, and, of course, gratitude. I like that it lets me start using the app without registering. I think this is the best gratitude app. Gratitude is $30/year.

Morning!:

This app only has 123 ratings with an average 4.7/5 stars. It doesn’t explicitly say what data it uses to track you, but it does link your contact info and “identifiers” to you. They have a place for you to record entries in the morning and at days end. It also has a Quote of the Day which you can click on. I liked the simplicity of this one. Morning! is $6 as a one-time purchase.

Grateful:

I’m not recommending the Grateful app even though it has 2700 ratings and 4.6 stars. It links your purchases, usage data, and identifiers to you. The free version limits you to 15 entries which is probably enough time to figure out if it works for you or not. (Then it’s $15 year.) When you open the app, you’re prompted to answer a new question each day. When you complete that, you’re asked to sign up again. All of my attempts to move around the app to learn more about it were met with a request to sign up.

365 Gratitude App:

When I opened this app, it started by asking me a whole bunch of questions; my mood, relationship status, parental status, work, etc. I found it a little intrusive. Once I answered all the questions if presented the “perfect plan” for me. Then it presented several messages as if it were a friend texting me, ending with asking me to select the emoji which represented my mood today. This app has 2100 ratings with an average of 4.7 stars. They link your contact info, identifiers, user content, and usage data to you. They also use usage data to track you. 365 Gratitude is $35/year.

5 Minute Gratitude Journal:

This app has 14,000 ratings with an average of 4.8/5 stars. It does require you to create an account before you can use the app. Once you log in, you’re presented with a journal prompt for what you are grateful for, what you plan to do today, and what your daily affirmations are. It tracks your contact info and user content. It gives you the option to add another entry for the evening. This app is $25/year.

Reflectly:

This app is $30 for the first year and $60 per year after that. They have 78,000 ratings of 4.6 stars. This app has you select a mood emoji and then emoji’s for the things you are grateful for. This app will automatically send you quotes and affirmations throughout the day unless you turn notifications off. The data they link to you includes purchases, contact info, identifiers, and usage data.

Meditation:

If you want to start a gratitude meditation practice rather than journaling, many of the meditation apps include guided meditations for gratitude in their free versions.

  • Calm is a great app for morning meditations. They have several apps which focus on gratitude. The meditation leads you through prompts of things you might be grateful for. This app has 1.4million ratings with 4.8 stars. It links contact info, identifiers, purchases, health & fitness info, and search history to your identity. $60/year for the premium version. (This is the meditation app I use.)
  • 10% happier has 100,000 ratings with an average of 4.8 stars, and they link the same information to you as the Calm app. It has meditations for relaxation, sleep, focus, happiness, health, and gratitude. It costs $100/year.
  • Simple Habit has 75,000 ratings with an average of 4.8 stars. Again, they link the same info as the Calm app. The premium version is $90/year. They have meditations for gratitude, focus, self-confidence, etc. I like Simple Habit primarily because of the calming voices of the people doing the meditations.

Old School:

Of course, you can always go old school and just grab pen and paper. Write down one or more things that you’re grateful for each day. In support of Small Business Saturday, head over to your favorite bookstore and pick up a beautiful new gratitude journal to help with this new habit.

You can also look online for a gratitude journal template, a printable gratitude journal, or gratitude journal prompts. These are all great ways to get started.

I start a new list every month on a fresh piece of paper. I write a short blurb every morning of what has brought me joy that day or the day before. Looking over those lists at the end of the month, or even months later fills me with gratitude for my family, my home, my community, and, of course, my Geek!

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Published by Gail Eddy