Mood journal and mood diary: a free template

What is a mood diary?

A mood diary, or mood journal, is a place to note how you feel each day and what was going on around it. Most mood diaries use a simple rating, like 1 to 10, plus a few words about the feeling and the day. Some also track sleep, food, exercise or energy.

The point is not to judge your feelings. It is to see them more clearly. When you look back over a few weeks, you may notice that bad sleep comes before low days, or that a walk at lunch tends to lift your mood. Those small discoveries can help you plan kinder days for yourself.

In the UK the term mood diary is common, and many health services and charities share printable versions. In the US people more often say mood journal or mood tracker. They all mean much the same thing.

Why keep a mood journal

• Name what you feel. Putting a word to a feeling can make it feel a little more manageable.
• Spot patterns. Days of the week, sleep, people, food or weather can all play a part.
• Learn what helps. The "what helped" box slowly becomes your own list of things that work for you.
• Remember accurately. Feelings are easy to misremember. A record helps you see the real picture.
• Share with a professional. If you see a doctor or therapist, a mood diary can help you explain how things have been.

How to use this mood journal template

1. Pick a regular timeEvening works well because you can look back over the day. Some people check in twice, morning and night.
2. Rate your moodUse 1 to 10 for the day as a whole. Do not overthink it. Your first instinct is fine.
3. Find a few wordsTry to be specific. "Restless" or "lonely" tells you more than "bad."
4. Note what happenedA few lines about events, people and anything that stood out.
5. Check in with your bodySleep, energy and tension often link closely with mood.
6. Write what helpedEven on a hard day, look for one thing that made it a little easier.
7. Look back weeklyOnce a week, read your entries. Circle anything that repeats.

Mood diary example

Here is a filled in page. It is short and honest, which is all a mood diary needs to be.

Looking back over a week of pages like this, the link between skipped meals, poor sleep and low mood would be easy to see.

Mood journal ideas

There are many ways to set up a mood journal. Try one that fits how you like to work:

• Year in pixels. A grid of 365 small squares, one per day, each colored by mood. Popular in bullet journals.
• Color key. Pick five colors for five moods and shade each day on a calendar.
• Twice a day check in. A quick rating in the morning and evening shows how your mood shifts.
• Feelings wheel. Use a list of feeling words to name emotions more precisely.
• Mood plus habits. Add small boxes for sleep, water, movement, time outside and screen time.
• One line a day. Just the rating and one sentence. Our one line a day journal is built for this.
• Weekly summary. Every Sunday, write your average mood, best day, hardest day and what you learned.

Mood journal prompts for harder days

When you want to write more than a rating, these questions can help:

1. When did my mood change today, and what was happening right before?
2. What is the feeling underneath the feeling? Anger can sit on top of hurt or worry.
3. What does my body need right now?
4. What would I say to a friend who felt like this?
5. What is one thing in my control tonight?
6. Who could I reach out to this week?

For more, see our journal prompts for anxiety, journal prompts for mental health and the guide on how to journal for mental health.

A simple mood scale you can use

Rating your mood is easier when each number means something. Here is a plain 1 to 10 scale. Change the words to fit you.

Some people track more than one score, such as mood, anxiety and energy, each from 1 to 10. Keep it to three at most so it stays quick.

Mood journal for kids and teens

Children can keep a mood diary too, with a few changes:

• Use faces or colors instead of numbers. Happy, okay, sad, angry, worried.
• Ask one question. "What made you feel that way?" is enough.
• Add a feelings word list so they can find the right word.
• Talk about it together without fixing or judging.
• Teens may want privacy. A private page on their phone or our online diary can work better than a notebook on the shelf.

If a child or teen seems low or worried for a long time, talk to their doctor or school counselor. Our journal prompts for teens and journal prompts for kids are gentle places to begin.

Weekly mood review

Once a week, read your pages and answer these questions. This is where a mood diary becomes really useful.

1. What was my average mood this week?
2. Which day was best, and what was different about it?
3. Which day was hardest, and what came before it?
4. How did sleep line up with my mood?
5. What helped more than once?
6. What do I want to do more of next week, and less of?

Tips for keeping a mood diary

• Keep it quick. A one minute entry you do every day beats a long one you skip.
• Be honest, not harsh. Write what is true without blaming yourself.
• Write on good days too. Good days show you what to protect.
• Do not chase a number. The goal is awareness, not a perfect score.
• Keep it private. Your pages here save only in this browser on this device. Print or save a PDF to keep a copy.
• Bring it to appointments. If you see a doctor or counselor, your notes can make it easier to talk about the last few weeks.

You can also use a self care journal alongside your mood journal, or keep longer entries in a private online diary.

Questions people ask