What are some common pitfalls of your one good thing? And how can we avoid them?

People can get a bit over-purposed. They want the writing to be good or perceptive or funny and this creates a pressure. If I imagine a reader I get paralysed and self-conscious. So I actively think of the diary as a place where I don’t have to amuse or entertain or try to turn a handsome phrase. Or be a good person! The whole point is to be honest. Go for warts and all or not at all.

Being over-ambitious as regards length can lead to exhaustion and boredom. As can trying to list every single thing. So don’t try to be writerly, moral, hardworking or completist. Better to build a modest habit. A few minutes first thing or on the train home after work or scribbling down three interesting things at the end of the day. Getting started is the key, and then you might be surprised how it develops.

How do you personally do your One Good Thing?

I’ve kept bits of diary all my life but only regularly since 2017, when I stopped drinking. Before then I was often too hungover to keep up the habit. I do vary the routine. Sometimes I type, but I prefer a notebook. The first few pages will always be quite neat, and then my writing will get really scruffy.

I don’t have a daily amount I aim for and I don’t like anything with dates in as I want to be free to write as much or as little as I like because I love variety, struggle to follow a plan and get agitated if I feel hemmed in. My mother, though, has a five-year diary and enjoys the structure of having the same lines to fill every day so it is all about finding what works for you.

For a few years I was an early bird, but I’ve recently got into swimming – another good thing! – and so I write afterwards, often starting with what I saw at the beach or what I thought about while in the water. I keep my notebook handy and will add stuff in during the day. I might doodle and do little sketches, even though I really can’t draw. Lately I’ve been sticking bits in as well – a leaf, a receipt, a napkin – so it becomes a bit like a scrapbook or a collage. That fits with the vibe I’m after: playful, childlike, fun.

One Good Thing: find mental refuge by keeping a diary