I do a "feelings sort" every morning, right at the top of my daily journal entry. (I write in the morning, about the day before, because I tend to be approximately twice as gloomy in the evenings as in the mornings.) It's pretty basic: I write down five words (or very occasionally phrases) that answer the question "how am I feeling?" So, a typical day might include sad, cheerful, OK, thoughtful, and thankful.
Part of the point of the feelings sort is to notice and label the sort of brain-stem, I-don't-get-a-choice-about-them feelings like sadness or anger (please anyone who knows the neuroscience of this better than I do off the top of my head be very gentle in the comments-- I'm just trying to get this written, for now). If I notice and label those feelings, I can work on them; I can take a walk, or organize part of my house, or call a friend, or something. Or, if I'm feeling joyful or triumphant or happy, I get that right down at the top of the entry, to be explored later, and remember that recording my emotions isn't always about controlling them.
I always include thankful, or some variant thereof. That's because I can choose which emotions to project, both to myself and others, and by writing these down, I am nudging myself to that choice. Occasionally I have to write "trying to be thankful" because I do want to be honest, but usually I can find at least one little thing to make it true.
