Planning physical activity for low mood
Plan physical activity and record effort, enjoyment and mood with your therapist.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
Assign and Download open signup, then return you to this worksheet. No card required. Resource access depends on your plan or trial. Already have an account? Sign in
Worksheet preview
Planning physical activity for low mood
PreviewLive preview — type in any field to try it. Nothing is saved here.
Before you start
Mood: 0 = Very low, 10 = Very good. Enjoyment: 0 = None, 10 = A lot. Use the same anchors afterwards.
Afterwards
Effort is not a target to beat. Mood may stay unchanged.
Try it here — nothing you type is saved. Sign up to assign it and let clients complete it on any device.
When to use ‘Planning physical activity for low mood’
‘Planning physical activity for low mood’ is an interactive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) worksheet, most often used in CBT for depression and low mood.
It is designed to be used within therapy rather than as a standalone self-help tool: a therapist introduces it, works through it collaboratively, and helps make sense of what it surfaces. You can preview the full worksheet above, then assign it digitally for clients to complete between sessions on any device or download it as a print-ready PDF.
How it works
Most people work through it in around 5 minutes. It moves through two short steps:
- Before you start: Mood: 0 = Very low, 10 = Very good. Enjoyment: 0 = None, 10 = A lot. Use the same anchors afterwards.
- Afterwards: Effort is not a target to beat. Mood may stay unchanged.
Completed on the Formulate platform, your client's answers are saved automatically and shared straight back to you, so you can review them before the next session rather than waiting for a paper copy to come back.
The CBT approach behind it
In common with other CBT methods, ‘Planning physical activity for low mood’ works by re-engaging with meaningful and rewarding activity (behavioural activation). The aim is not positive thinking but a clearer, shared understanding of what keeps a difficulty going and practical, testable ways to change it.
Because it is a CBT tool it stays focused on the here-and-now links between thoughts, feelings, the body and behaviour, and it works best as one part of a wider course of therapy rather than as advice or a diagnosis.
Evidence & sources
This worksheet is grounded in established cognitive behavioural therapy theory and practice. Key sources include:
- Martell, C. R., Dimidjian, S. & Herman-Dunn, R. (2010). Behavioral Activation for Depression: A Clinician's Guide. Guilford Press.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2022). Depression in adults: treatment and management. NICE guideline NG222.
For use alongside professional support
Formulate provides educational CBT resources for use with a qualified therapist. They are not a substitute for professional assessment, diagnosis, or crisis care.
If you need urgent help now:
- Emergency services: 999 — if you or someone else is in immediate danger
- NHS 111 (NHS 24 in Scotland): 111 — choose the mental health option for urgent help, in England, Scotland and Wales (in Wales, press 2)
- Lifeline: 0808 808 8000 — for urgent help in Northern Ireland, free, day or night
- Samaritans: 116 123 — free, day or night, 365 days a year
- Shout: 85258 — text SHOUT, free, day or night
- SANEline: 0300 304 7000 — 4pm–10pm, every day
More Depression worksheets
View all Depression worksheets →Depression
Depression formulation (Beck's cognitive model)
Map how early experiences, core beliefs, rules for living, a critical incident and the cycle that keeps low mood going fit together, using Beck's cognitive model of depression.
Depression
Activity monitoring diary
Record what you do and your mood, one entry a day, to see which activities go with a better or lower mood. Simplified from Greenberger and Padesky (2016), Worksheets 13.4 and 13.5: it rates overall mood from 0 to 10, not one chosen mood from 0 to 100, and leaves out the planning question.
Depression
Behavioural activation schedule
Plan activities for the week, then rate how enjoyable each one was, how much of an achievement it felt, and your mood. Based on the activity schedule in Greenberger and Padesky (2016), Worksheet 13.6: it adds ratings of pleasure and mastery, rates mood from 0 to 10 rather than 0 to 100, and adds a weekly review.
Depression
Downward arrow worksheet
Follow an upsetting thought down to the belief underneath it by asking "what would that mean?" again and again. Based on Greenberger and Padesky (2016): the downward arrow question, with an added feeling rating at the start and end, and a closing check.
Depression
Core belief worksheet
Pick one core belief, rate how strongly you hold it, weigh the experiences for and against it, and write a more balanced belief. Based on Greenberger and Padesky (2016), Worksheets 12.5 to 12.7 (a new belief and its 0 to 100 rating): rating the old belief, and weighing and reframing the experiences behind it, are added.
Depression
Rumination functional analysis
Track times you get caught up going over things, and look at what sets them off, what you hoped they would do, what they cost you and what might help instead. Based on Martell, Dimidjian and Herman-Dunn (2010): a functional analysis of each episode, with an alternative to try added.
Want to assign this to a client?
Create a free therapist account to use the homework and library download tools. Clients can complete assigned homework online or use a blank PDF. See how the homework workflow works.
No card required. The Free plan includes 10 worksheet uses a month. Check plan access and limits.