Three good things

1. Near the end of the day, write three things that went well. Big or small.
2. If you can, add why each one happened. A few words is enough.
3. Save. You can come back and change today's entry until midnight.
4. On a rough day, tap "Show me an old good thing" to see one from before.

There are no streaks here. Miss a day, or a week, and just pick it up again.

It's easy to replay what went wrong and let the good bits slip by. Writing them down asks you to notice and remember them (Greater Good in Action (opens in a new tab)). The NHS suggests the same habit as a way to stay positive when stressed: at the end of each day, write down three things that went well, or that you're grateful for (NHS (opens in a new tab)).

The exercise comes from a 2005 online study. Visitors to a happiness website signed up, 577 adults started and 411 finished. People who wrote three good things and why each night for a week were happier and less depressed than before at one, three and six months, mostly those who kept it up on their own (Seligman et al., 2005 (opens in a new tab)). That sample chose to take part and wanted to feel happier. A 2012 repeat of the study found a lasting lift in happiness, but a comparison exercise did about as well, and the effect on depression was no bigger than the control's (Mongrain & Anselmo-Matthews, 2012 (opens in a new tab)). So it may help, more modestly than first thought.

• At the end of the day, before bed or after your last game.
• After a bad match or a hard day, when it feels like nothing went right.

If you can't find anything good for days on end, that's worth talking about. Free, confidential helplines are there to listen.