To start a mood diary, record the date, a few words for how you feel, and one or two details about your day. A notebook, text file or check-in app is enough. You can add a personal rating if you find numbers useful, but you do not need a score for every feeling.
The aim is a record you can return to, rather than a verdict on whether you had a good day. This guide gives you a blank template, a fictional example and a way to read your notes without treating them as a diagnosis.
What is a mood diary useful for?
A mood diary keeps observations together: what you felt, when you recorded it, and what else was happening. Mind includes mood diaries among optional self-care approaches for noticing changes and experiences that feel helpful or difficult.
That does not establish that recording your mood improves a mental health condition. A 2026 systematic review of mood-monitoring trials in depression and bipolar disorder found no robust overall evidence of clinical symptom benefit. It also found an absence of evidence for reduced relapse or readmission rates. Those findings concern the interventions and populations studied, not a trial of PsychPod.
Think of a diary as information for reflection or a conversation. It cannot diagnose an illness, tell you what caused a change, or predict whether you will be safe.
What should you track?
Start with a small set of fields that answers a question you care about. For example, you might want to describe how your evenings have felt, or keep notes before an appointment.
- Date and time: distinguish an entry about this moment from one about the whole day.
- Emotion words: tired, relieved, worried, content or a mixture. Use your own words.
- Optional mood rating: choose a scale and keep its meaning reasonably consistent.
- Brief context: sleep, an activity, a conversation or a stressful event you want to remember.
- One note: something that felt difficult, supportive or worth mentioning later.
You do not need to track every possible influence. These fields are an editorial starting point, not a validated questionnaire or a required clinical protocol.
A simple mood diary template
Copy this into a notebook or private document. Keep or remove fields to suit you.
Date and time:
Am I describing right now or the whole day?
Emotion words:
Mood rating, if useful:
Sleep or other context I want to remember:
One difficult or supportive moment:
Anything I want to ask or talk about:For a personal 1 to 5 mood scale, you could use 1 for very low, 2 for low, 3 for neutral or mixed, 4 for positive, and 5 for very positive. Write down your anchors so the meaning does not change every time you open the diary. They are subjective descriptions, not diagnostic cut-offs.
Keep energy separate if that matters to you. Feeling energetic does not necessarily mean feeling well, and feeling tired does not always mean feeling sad. A word or sentence can hold details a number cannot.
A fictional example
This entry is invented to show the format. It is not a person's health record or evidence that a particular activity changes mood.
Date and time: Tuesday, 8:45 pm
Am I describing right now or the whole day? The whole day
Emotion words: Worried in the morning, relieved later, tired now
Mood rating, if useful: 3, mixed
Sleep or other context: About 6 hours of sleep; a busy workday
One difficult or supportive moment: Rushed through morning emails;
enjoyed a short conversation with a friend after work
Anything to ask or talk about: Evenings have felt tiring this weekThe entry leaves room for more than one feeling. You can be pleased about finishing something and still feel anxious or exhausted. You do not have to force that mixture into a single label.
How often should you write, and what if you miss a day?
One brief entry at a time that suits your routine is a possible starting point. If you want a trial, try it for a week and then decide whether it is useful. These are practical suggestions, not evidence that a particular schedule is best. If a clinician has agreed a monitoring plan with you, follow that plan or discuss changes with them.
Leave missed days blank rather than guessing what you felt. A gap means you have no entry for that day; it does not prove you felt better or worse. If you add a later recollection, label it as remembered later so it is not mistaken for a note made at the time.
For a step-by-step return after a gap, see how to restart a mood diary after missing days. It includes a separately dated recollection example and a note for changes in recording method.
How to read your notes without overinterpreting them
When you look back, ask what the entries actually describe. Were you using the same timeframe? Are some days missing? Did a change last, or appear in one entry?
“I recorded more tired evenings this week” is a description. “This activity caused my low mood” is a much stronger claim that a diary cannot establish. Other circumstances may have changed too, and the days you recorded may differ from the days you skipped.
For more on the limits of recall, read Mood Tracking and Memory: Two Useful, Imperfect Views. If you prefer writing freely, Journaling for Wellbeing explores that approach.
For a worked comparison of equal averages, missing days and recorded variation, see our mood trends guide. It includes a short review worksheet and keeps the conclusions within the observations available.
Privacy, when to pause, and when to get support
Choose a place where you are comfortable keeping personal notes. For an app, check who can access your entries, how you can export or delete them, and whether sharing is optional. You can choose to bring a short summary to an appointment without handing over your entire diary.
Before choosing a tool or sending a copy, use our mood diary privacy checklist to review storage, permissions and the information you intend to share.
For help condensing those observations, our GP mood appointment summary brings together when a change began, its effect on daily life and your main questions. You can use it with the notes you already have; a completed diary is not required before seeking help.
Tracking can feel burdensome. A 2025 qualitative review of mood monitoring in bipolar disorder found varied experiences: some people described insight, while others reported emotional burden or increased anxiety. This is evidence about reported experiences in that population, not a prediction of how you will feel.
If recording leaves you repeatedly checking, judging yourself or feeling worse, reduce or pause it and discuss it with a professional if needed. If it is part of an agreed care plan, tell your clinician so you can adjust the plan together. You do not need to maintain a streak.
NHS guidance on low mood recommends seeking help if low mood lasts more than two weeks, you are struggling to cope, or self-help is not helping. Seek help sooner if distress or difficulty functioning warrants it. If you cannot stay safe, contact local emergency services or urgent crisis support now. Do not wait for a diary or app score.
Using a notebook or PsychPod
A notebook or private document may be all you need. If you prefer guided reflection, PsychPod offers free daily check-ins, a private journal and history, and descriptive weekly and monthly trends. Read its methodology and privacy policy before choosing it.
PsychPod's combined score is not a clinically validated instrument. The app does not diagnose, treat, predict crises or monitor your safety. Choose the format that helps you keep a manageable record, and change it if it stops serving that purpose.
About this guide
Published by PsychPod, which operates the app mentioned in this guide. Educational guide. Sources checked 10 October 2026. Prepared with AI-assisted drafting and editorial source checking. No independent clinical review is claimed. The template and example are editorial tools, not validated assessments.