90 | 3 Ways to Turn Your Phone Into a Daily Gratitude Practice

Thanksgiving weekend just wrapped up here in Canada, and my kitchen still smells a little like pumpkin pie. For one weekend, being thankful felt easy because the table was full and the people I love were close. Then Tuesday arrived with a full inbox, and that warm feeling started to fade. If you’ve ever wondered how to practice gratitude once the holiday is over, the answer might be sitting in your pocket right now.

Yes, I mean your phone. As a certified life and habit coach, I spend most of my time helping people put their phones down, and I still believe that matters. However, your phone isn’t all bad. In this post, I’ll show you three simple ways to point it toward gratitude every day.

Why Gratitude Fades

Most of the time, a lack of gratitude isn’t about a hard heart. Instead, it’s about a short memory. King David seemed to know this well when he wrote Psalm 103:2, “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”

Notice those two words, forget not. Good gifts slip out of our minds quickly, so David had to remind his own soul to remember. That’s why gratitude works best as a daily habit rather than a once-a-year feeling.

Research points in the same direction and finds that expressing gratitude gave people a small but meaningful boost in life satisfaction, positive emotion, and happiness. In addition, a 2023 review of 44 studies in Psychology Research and Behavior Management found a strong link between gratitude and life satisfaction. Researchers are still exploring exactly how one shapes the other.

Your Phone Remembers

Think about what’s on your phone right now. There are photos of people you love and messages from friends who checked in on a hard day. You probably also have a record of answered prayers you’ve long forgotten. In other words, your phone carries a lot of evidence that God has been good to you.

Still, most of us reach for our phones for very different reasons. Mindless scrolling pulls your attention outward toward other people’s highlights, while gratitude pulls it back toward what God has already given you. If scrolling has become an automatic habit, my guide on how to stop mindless scrolling is a helpful place to start. You can also take my free Screen Time Personality Quiz to learn what’s driving your phone habits in the first place.

How to Practice Gratitude With Your Phone

Here are three simple ways to start. Each one takes five minutes or less, and you won’t need to download anything new.

Camera Roll

Tonight, open your photos instead of social media. Go back a month or even a year, then stop on one picture and thank God for what’s in it. Say it out loud if you can.

When I tried this, I landed on a recent photo of me with four of my girlfriends outside a local restaurant. Our schedules rarely line up, so getting everyone together felt like a small gift. We laughed all night, and as a bonus, we spotted Alan Ritchson, Jack Reacher from the streaming series Reacher because he was filming in a nearby town. That photo reminded me how thankful I am for close friends and a good laugh.

A few minutes of this kind of scrolling leaves you fuller than when you started.

Thank-You Text

Next, choose one person who made your life better this year and tell them. Your message doesn’t need to be long. For instance, “I was thinking about you today and I’m thankful for you” is plenty.

A voice message is even better, because they get to hear your voice. Gratitude grows when you give it away, and your phone lets you do that in under a minute. Putting your gratitude into words for someone else, whether in a text or with words in a voice message can be a huge encouragement that God can use in just the right moments!

Running List

Finally, start a note in your notes app called “Thank You, Lord” and add one line a day. Keep it small and specific. Your warm coffee this morning counts, and so does the friend who made you laugh.

I was recently at the funeral of one of my dearest friends. During her eulogy, someone shared that she had kept a gratitude journal with almost 2,000 entries. Knowing her family could look back through all of them was so encouraging, and it reminded me that small notes add up over a lifetime.

Your list can do the same thing for you. On a hard day, you can open that note and read back through weeks of God’s kindness.

Start With One

You don’t have to do all three. Pick the one that sounds easiest and try it today, whether Thanksgiving just ended for you or it’s still a few weeks away. After all, any season is a good season to be thankful.

Learning how to practice gratitude doesn’t require a new app or a perfect journal. Your phone can be a place where you remember, and you get to decide how to use it. This week, you can point it toward thankfulness.

Here’s a simple challenge to get you started. Send this post to someone you’re thankful for, and you’ll have finished the thank-you text before the day is over.

If you’d like your phone to support habits like this every day, there’s one more step you can take.

Take It Deeper

Set Up Focus Modes That Work for You. In my workshop Focus Modes Made Simple, I walk you step by step through setting up Focus Modes on your iPhone or Android. That way, your phone can protect the moments that matter, like a morning gratitude pause. Learn more about Focus Modes Made Simple

FAQs

What is the easiest way to build a gratitude habit?

Tie it to something you already do each day. For example, add one line to your gratitude note while your coffee brews or right before you charge your phone at night. Linking a new habit to an existing routine makes it much easier to remember.

Is it better to write down what you’re grateful for or just think about it?

Many people find that writing it down helps, because it slows your mind and leaves a record you can return to later. A quick note on your phone counts, so you don’t need a fancy journal to begin.

What does the Bible say about gratitude?

Scripture invites thankfulness in every season of life. First Thessalonians 5:18 says to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Gratitude isn’t only for good days, since it’s also a way of trusting God on the hard ones.