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Ten printable PDF worksheets, trackers, and planners for managing depression day to day. Built on skills used in cognitive behavioral therapy and behavioral activation, written in the same plain language as the rest of this site. No signup, no email, no cost.
Each worksheet turns one well-studied skill into a page you can actually fill in: scheduling small activities before motivation arrives, rating your mood once a day, keeping the same sleep diary clinicians use, or writing a relapse prevention plan while you feel steady. They pair well with the education on this site, and the completed pages are useful to bring to a clinician.
They are educational tools, not treatment. If you are new here, start with our orientation guide, and if you are wondering whether what you feel is depression, the screening tools page has validated self-assessments like the PHQ-9.
Worksheet
PDF · 1 pageA one-week planner built on behavioral activation, one of the best-studied skills for depression. Schedule small activities first and rate your mood before and after, so your own data shows you that action moves mood.
Best for: Low motivation, canceled plans, waiting to "feel like it"
Tracker
PDF · 1 pageA one-page calendar for rating each day from 0 to 10 with a one-word note. A month of daily ratings makes trends visible and gives your clinician real data on whether treatment is working.
Best for: Spotting patterns, tracking treatment progress
Tracker
PDF · 1 pageRate your energy morning, afternoon, and evening for a week, alongside sleep hours and what helped or drained you. Shows when your energy peaks so you can plan around it.
Best for: Fatigue, planning around low-energy windows
Worksheet
PDF · 1 pageA one-week version of the "three good things" exercise from positive psychology research. Each evening, write three things that went well and why. Small entries count.
Best for: Attention stuck on what went wrong
Checklist
PDF · 1 pageA short, editable morning routine with a weekly tick grid. Removes decisions on mornings when deciding feels impossible. Checking one box is a win.
Best for: Hard mornings, decision fatigue
Tracker
PDF · 1 pageThe same style of sleep diary clinicians use to assess insomnia: bedtime, time to fall asleep, wake-ups, total hours, and quality, for fourteen nights.
Best for: Insomnia, early waking, oversleeping
Plan
PDF · 2 pagesWrite down your personal early warning signs, triggers, what has helped before, and who to contact, while you are feeling steadier. Includes professional contacts and crisis information.
Best for: After an episode improves, staying well
Worksheet
PDF · 1 pageMap who is in your corner and what kind of support each person is good at, plus a copy-and-send message for days when reaching out feels hard.
Best for: Isolation, not knowing who to ask for what
Log
PDF · 1 pageA simple record of each medication, dose, start date, and effects noticed, with a weekly dose grid. Makes every appointment with your prescriber more productive.
Best for: Starting or adjusting antidepressants
Checklist
PDF · 1 pageTracks the basics that keep you going: food, water, hygiene, daylight, movement, one human contact. A record, not a report card, for the hardest stretches.
Best for: Severe stretches, measuring wins that count
Worksheet
PDF · 1 pageA one-page worksheet to fill out before a psychiatric or primary care visit for depression. Brings your history, symptoms, medications, safety, and goals into the room so more of the visit is about you.
Best for: First psychiatric or primary care visit; follow-up after a treatment change
Worksheet
PDF · 2 pagesA two-page worksheet for the period from pregnancy through the first year after birth. Helps you describe what you have been feeling and doing to an OB, midwife, primary care doctor, or psychiatrist.
Best for: Preparing for a screening or clinical conversation during pregnancy or postpartum
Worksheet
PDF · 1 pageA one-page list of the questions worth asking before you fill a first prescription for an SSRI or SNRI, so the visit covers side effects, timing, interactions, and stopping.
Best for: Preparing for a visit where a clinician may prescribe an SSRI or SNRI
Worksheet
PDF · 2 pagesA two-page guide that walks you through describing what depression feels like, on the four axes clinicians actually use: emotional, cognitive, physical, and behavioral.
Best for: Preparing to describe your depression symptoms to a clinician or support person
Worksheet
PDF · 2 pagesA two-page worksheet that walks you through the four main pathways for treating depression (therapy alone, medication alone, both, or a monitored watchful-waiting period) so you can compare them side by side with your own priorities.
Best for: Deciding among therapy, medication, both, or watchful waiting for depression
Free guided tools from our sister site. shrinkMD is part of The Shrink Network, founded by Shariq Refai, MD.
A psychiatrist-designed, step-by-step guide to rebuilding momentum when depression slows energy and motivation.
A psychiatrist-designed, step-by-step guide for chronic worry.
A psychiatrist-designed, step-by-step method for calming a panic attack.
shrinkMD’s standards for what responsible virtual psychiatric care should look like.
Before you use these
These worksheets are provided by DepressionResource.org, part of the Shrink Network, for educational and informational purposes only. They are not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and downloading or using them does not create a doctor-patient relationship. They are not a substitute for care from a licensed clinician who knows your situation. Laws, standards, and health information practices vary by jurisdiction; it is your responsibility to review the rules where you live and to adapt these materials or create your own documents as needed. Do not start, stop, or change any treatment based on a worksheet. If you may be in danger or are thinking about suicide, call or text 988 in the US, or call 911 in an emergency. Read the full medical disclaimer.