Three Things

The Three Good Things exercise

How to do it, what the research actually says, and how to turn it into a habit that sticks.

Updated October 14, 2026.

The Three Good Things exercise is one of the simplest tools in positive psychology. Each evening you write down three things that went well that day and, for each one, why it happened. That's the whole exercise. It takes a few minutes, needs nothing but a pen or a phone, and it has been studied more than most wellbeing habits.

You may also see it called "What Went Well" or "Three Blessings". It's the same practice.

How to do the Three Good Things exercise

  1. Pick a time. The original version is done in the evening, before bed, when the day is complete. A consistent time works better than a perfect one.
  2. Write down three things that went well today. They can be small (the bus came on time) or big (you got the job). What matters is that they happened today.
  3. Add why each one happened. One line is enough: what you did, who helped, or what made it possible. This is the step most people skip, and it's the one that turns a list into reflection.
  4. Keep it short. Three entries, a few minutes. If it starts to feel like homework, write less, not more.
  5. Do it for at least a week. The original study asked people to do it every night for seven days. The ones who kept going on their own got the most out of it.

Examples

Real entries are rarely profound. Here's what three good things can look like on different kinds of days.

An ordinary day

  1. A long phone call with my sister. Why: I called instead of texting, and she had time.
  2. The soup I made from leftovers was actually good. Why: I tried a recipe instead of ordering in.
  3. I left work on time. Why: I said no to the 5 pm meeting.

A hard day

  1. The nurse explained everything slowly and didn't rush me. Why: she noticed I was nervous.
  2. I ate a real lunch. Why: a friend dropped off food without asking.
  3. I got through it. Why: I asked for help early instead of waiting.

A workday

  1. The client approved the revised proposal. Why: we actually used their feedback from last week.
  2. A new colleague asked me for advice. Why: I've been here long enough to know how things work.
  3. I fixed a bug that had bothered me for weeks. Why: I finally blocked an hour for it.

What the research says

The exercise was popularized by Martin Seligman and colleagues in a 2005 study in American Psychologist. Participants recruited online were randomly assigned to one of several short exercises or to a placebo exercise (writing about early memories). People who wrote three good things every night for a week reported more happiness and fewer depressive symptoms than the placebo group, and the difference was still there at the six-month follow-up. The participants who continued the exercise on their own after the first week showed the largest benefits.

Later research is more mixed, and that's worth knowing. A 2012 replication by Mongrain and Anselmo-Matthews found that participants did improve, but so did people in a well-designed comparison exercise, which suggests part of the benefit comes from expectations and from simply paying attention to your own wellbeing. On the other side, a 2019 pilot study with 228 healthcare workers (Sexton and Adair, BMJ Open) found that after 15 nights of the exercise, emotional exhaustion and depression symptoms were lower and happiness higher at one, six and twelve months. That study had no control group, so it shows promise rather than proof.

The honest summary: Three Good Things is a cheap, low-risk habit with real but modest effects, and it works best when you keep doing it. It isn't a treatment for depression or anxiety. If you're struggling, talk to a doctor or a mental health professional.

Why it seems to work

Our attention tilts toward problems. A missed deadline sticks in memory longer than ten things that went fine. The exercise doesn't deny the problems; it asks you to also look for what went right, every day, until that becomes a habit of attention.

Writing the "why" matters too. It links good events to your own choices and to other people, which makes them feel less like luck and more like something you can repeat. And after a few nights, something shifts during the day: you start noticing good moments as they happen, because you know you'll write them down later.

Tips that make it stick

Three Good Things vs. a gratitude journal

They overlap, but they aren't identical. A gratitude journal asks what you're thankful for, which can be anything: your health, your home, a person in your life. Three Good Things focuses on events from today and why they happened. Both train the same habit of noticing. Many people mix them: three things from today, plus gratitude for whatever comes up. If you want ideas, start with these gratitude journal prompts.

Questions

How long should I do the Three Good Things exercise?

The original study used one week. The benefits were largest for people who kept going, and most people find that after two or three weeks it becomes automatic.

Is it better in the morning or the evening?

The classic version is in the evening, because the whole day is available. Mornings work too if you write about yesterday.

Can children do it?

Yes. Many schools and families use it at dinner or bedtime. For young children, saying the three things out loud works better than writing.

Do I have to write down why?

It's optional, but recommended. Even a few words ("because I asked") makes the entry more useful when you read it back.

What if I can't think of three things?

Go smaller: something you ate, saw or heard. On a really hard day, one thing is enough.

Sources

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