So-called “mood tracking” can help you achieve a more positive mood. We will explain to you how the method works and what different options there are.
Mood tracking: what is it actually?
“Mood tracking” is a simple method to perceive and map your own mood and emotional state over a longer period of time. You decide whether you do this daily or just weekly. The goal is to determine what positively and negatively influences your mood over the long term.
While emotions usually only last a few seconds or minutes and are triggered by a specific event, moods can also last for several hours or days. There are often several causes responsible for moods. It is often difficult to find out what is behind it.
Our mood has a major impact on our thoughts, feelings and actions. When you’re irritable, little things upset you more quickly than when you’re balanced and happy. Conflicts with people who are close to our hearts, too little sleep or bad weather can all be possible causes of a bad mood.
How does mood tracking work?
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Mood tracking is intended to help you go through life more positively by documenting your mood at regular intervals. Regardless of whether you choose a digital or analog approach, there are different methods of mood mapping, such as different colors, smileys or scales (e.g. with numbers from one to ten).
You assign a specific emotional state to each smiley, color or number, such as happy, sad or angry, and rate your emotional state on a daily basis. Over a longer period of time you will then get a good overview of your mood curve. This may also give you an idea of the influence certain events have on your mood.
No clear conclusions can currently be drawn about the actual effectiveness of mood tracking. Although some researchers have already dealt with the topic, an overview study comes to the conclusion that general statements about the potential and risks of mood tracking apps are difficult to make. The individual apps are too different in their structure and areas of application and the target group is therefore also defined too vaguely. According to the authors of the study, further long-term studies would be needed to gain clearer insights into the effects of different mood tracking methods.
Different ways of mood tracking
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You can do mood tracking in different ways – for example, in the classic way on paper, digitally via an app, or in mixed forms. Here are three options.
1. Mood tracker apps
Do you like to organize yourself using your smartphone and prefer to do things online rather than offline? Then a mood tracker app might be just what you need to capture your mood on a regular basis.
- The “Daylio” app, for example, can be used for this purpose. There you rate your mood every day with a smiley and you can add what activities you did that day. Overview graphics also show you the mood curve of the current month.
- Alternatively, “MindShift” is also a recommendable app. Depending on your mood, you not only select a smiley, but also a number from zero to ten to describe your emotional state. You can also formulate your feelings, worries and concerns and state the associated symptoms (such as sleep disorders or tachycardia). Monthly overviews give you a good overview of your moods over time.
You can download both apps for free from the Google Play Store. According to the study already mentioned, mood tracker apps should also be able to promote empathy, mutual understanding and thus the individual’s ability to deal with conflict.
2. PDF files for manual mood tracking
If you prefer to work manually, you can also print out a mood tracker. You can find various free PDF files on the Internet, for example the “Daily Mood Chart” or the “Mood/Sleep Chart”, where you express your mood in numbers.
3. Mood Tracking in the Bullet Journal
If you are particularly creative, a bullet journal might be a good idea. This journal is a planner and calendar in which you can also record your own habits – such as your mood. There are many different ways to document how you are feeling. The easiest way is to color in one box each day. To do this, you simply assign a specific color to the individual moods – such as tired, happy, stressed or restless – and this gives you a good overview of your emotional state.
Read more on Techzle.com:
- Increasing emotional intelligence – valuable tips
- Letting go of negative feelings in 5 steps: The Sedona method
- How a happiness journal can boost your positive feelings