ONE DAY A YEAR
The 12th May diary
In 1937 Mass Observation asked people to record everything they did on 12th May, from waking to sleep. Revived in 2010, the diary day continues, and anyone can take part.
Write a day diaryThe price of milk. The weather. What you had for tea.
Details like these slip out of history books but fill people's diaries. Since 1937, Mass Observation has asked volunteers across the UK to write down their everyday lives, and archives now keep thousands of those journals for future readers.
Updated
Find a way inTHE SHORT ANSWER
Write it down,
and give it a home.
Mass Observation began in 1937.
It still collects writing about everyday life today.
THE PANEL
Writing for years
Since 1981, almost 4,500 people have volunteered to write for the Mass Observation Project. Some have written for decades, so researchers can follow their changing views.
Find a way in
THE ARCHIVE
Saved from the skip
Lifelong diarists often make no plans for their diaries, and heirs may throw them away. The Great Diary Project rescues and catalogues unpublished diaries for readers.
See the numbersFIND A WAY IN
Pick a route,
see how open it is.
There are several ways to add your writing to an archive. The bar shows how open each route is to new writing right now, from the archives' own pages.
From the Mass Observation Archive (University of Sussex) and the Great Diary Project pages, read in October 2026. Check each page before sending anything.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Thousands of writers,
thousands of diaries.
One number from a writing panel,
one from a diary archive.
≈ 4,500 writers
People who have volunteered to write
Almost 4,500 people have written for the project since it began, and over 500 write for the panel now. It has sent out over 100 Directives, on topics from the NHS to alternative milks.
MASS OBSERVATION PROJECT · SINCE 1981
20,000+ diaries
Unpublished diaries rescued and archived
Based at the Bishopsgate Institute since 2009, the project says it is the largest of its kind in Europe. Its diaries are freely available in the Institute's reading room.
GREAT DIARY PROJECT · SINCE 2007
Panel responses become available to researchers three months after they arrive. Writers stay anonymous, and researchers cannot contact them.
HOW TO WRITE A 12TH MAY DIARY
One day,
written down.
These steps follow Mass Observation's own guidance for diary day. Check its 12th May page for this year's theme and how to send your diary.
Record the whole day
Write what you did from when you woke up to when you went to sleep, and how you felt. It can be as detailed as you like.
Add a little about you
Include your age, where you live, your relationship status and your job if you work, plus anything else you think is important.
Keep it anonymous
Leave out your full name, your place of work and other people's names. Drawings, photos and other creative work are welcome.
Add the copyright statement
Without the archive's donation statement, it cannot keep your diary or make it public. Copy the exact wording from the 12th May page.
WHY THE SMALL STUFF MATTERS
Ignored by history books,
kept in diaries.
The Great Diary Project points out that diaries record the weather, the movement of birds, the price of food and the regularity of the post: matters ignored in history books, and every entry accurately dated.
Mass Observation set out in 1937 to create an anthropology of ourselves. Because many writers stay on its panel for years, its archive lets researchers follow one person's thoughts over decades.
Questions
Questions people ask
What is Mass Observation?
A social research organisation founded in 1937 to study the everyday lives of ordinary people in Britain, using investigators and volunteer writers. Its archive is part of the University of Sussex's Special Collections at The Keep.
Do I need to be a good writer?
No. Mass Observation says there is no emphasis on good grammar. Observers also respond with drawings, collages, photos and poems, on paper or digitally.
What happens to what I send?
A member of the team reads and records it. After three months it becomes available to researchers, who cannot contact you. The team also redacts details that might identify you.
I found a relative's old diary. What should I do?
Don't throw it away. Mass Observation asks people to contact it first, as it can only accept closely related material. The Great Diary Project has paused new donations for now.
How often do Mass Observers write?
Directives arrive three times a year, each with two or three topics. You can answer all or some, with no deadline, but writers who send nothing for a year are taken off the list.
Sources
Where the facts come from
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