Since January I have been using ‘The Happiness Planner’ and honestly, it really has helped me change my way of thinking. I know that sounds CRAZY that a journal can affect you that much but lord, I needed it!! I want to tell you why I would recommend it to anyone, how it has helped me be more positive and helped sooth my over-active brain. (because nothing it more annoying than laying in bed like, hi I’m your brain, let’s think about the rainforest & cupcakes & unicorns all at the same time..!!)

The Happiness Planner say the “planner/journal is designed to help you cultivate happiness by embracing the power of positive thinking, mindfulness, gratitude, and self-development” and as skeptical as I was at first, it really works.

As someone who has struggled (a lot) with all the above, I can honestly say this journal has helped me ease my own internal battle and thinking in a more positive light and not let situations effect my mood.

I used to get so stressed if my train was delayed, I was stuck in gridlock traffic or if things completely out of my control didn’t go to plan. I would lay wide awake at night with all these crazy situations and scenarios racing round my head and I never really focused on doing the things that made me happy. When working a full-time job, keeping up with housework, keeping fit and everything else in-between, it can be really hard to stop and think about doing something that would ease your stress, cheer you up and make you happy - which is where The Happiness Planner comes in.

In the New Year I decided that I needed to focus on myself a bit more; call it selfish, call it ridiculous but it has made me so much happier. I have always loved having goals I wanted to achieve whether that was getting a degree, securing my dream career or buying my house, but somewhere over the last few years I have forgotten that part of myself.

With The Happiness Planner you literally fill it every day with what you are excited about, what you are planning on doing and finally a positive reflection on the day. This planner has forced me to feel positive about every single day, even when it might not have gone to plan… which lets be honest, it rarely does!

At the end of each month, you then reflect on the month as a whole. What have you achieved? How happy are you feeling? What did you struggle with? Asking myself these questions really makes my think about what was great about the month. Before I was going through life not appreciating all the small things like a sunny Sunday afternoon but now I realise how important it is. I used to spend my time stressing about work, worrying if I hadn’t worked out that week but now, I focus on HAPPY things – bye bye negative Nancy!

My favourite bit is creating my ‘monthly plan’! I am an over organised nutter so this for me is like finding gold (sad but very true). This part helps me get everything I am thinking about down on paper and helps me set my goals. I have wanted to get back into writing for so long and this planner has FINALLY made me do it and set up this blog. Each month you write down 6 things you are going to do that month that makes you happy - it could be anything big or small but it needs to be for you.

Mine for March were:

Don’t get me wrong, I still have days where I struggle to get to sleep or days when I am a bit down or I wouldn’t be human! But overall, I honestly feel so much lighter, happier and actually spend time doing things I really love – even if they are small changes.

I have never really been one to preach about my lifestyle but I really advocate being fit and eating well, something I have done for years. It never even crossed my mind until recently that your mental health is equally as important as your physical health. I love The Happiness Planner because it has helped me to focus on that. I already knew how to get my body fit and healthy but now, I am training my mind too!

You can get your own Happiness Planner here – they have loads of different types and start from £40.