Apple’s Journal App Is Easy, Free, and Already on Your Phone Leave a comment

You may tweak this through the Settings. You have got the choice to both flip Journaling Options off fully or decide and select which of them you need to carry on, together with Exercise (your exercises and workout routines), Media (podcasts and music you hearken to), Contact (folks you message and name), Images (library, reminiscences, and shared photographs), and Important Places (locations the place you spend time). Since I do not care to write down about my telephone calls or texts or my places, I turned off Contacts and Important Places.

Journal can also be included inside the share sheet in all apps. So, when you’re scrolling via content material outdoors the app, you possibly can faucet the Share button and choose Journal to ship content material proper into the app. You may also write about new music you found on Spotify, a humorous meme from Twitter, or an fascinating TikTok.

What About Notes?

If I have been utilizing the Alignment System to explain the distinction between Notes and Journal, I would categorize the Notes app as Chaotic Good and the Journal app as Lawful Good. I nonetheless use my Notes app for fleeting ideas: story concepts, grocery lists, passwords, packing checklists, e-mail addresses, and recipes. Should you have been to scroll via every entry, you’d discover a very big selection of issues. There isn’t any rhyme or motive to it. However the Journal app is strictly reserved for my reminiscences and ideas. There is a sense of order if you scroll via it.

In contrast to the Notes app, the Journal app is passcode-protected. Relying on the iPhone mannequin you might have, you possibly can both use a numerical passcode, Contact ID, or Face ID. So, you do not have to fret about folks studying your deepest, darkest secrets and techniques.

Nevertheless, there are some Notes-specific options I want Apple would’ve integrated into Journal. For starters, it would be good if there was a search bar to search for entries. As a substitute, you possibly can solely search based mostly on classes: Images, Movies, Reflections, Locations, and Bookmarked (you will need to bookmark entries for them to look right here manually). I can think about it’s going to change into pretty irritating over time as you rack up entries.

I additionally want Apple would’ve prolonged the app to the remainder of its units. Like I stated earlier than, it is solely obtainable on iPhone. Seeing as how this can be a text-based app at its core, I typically discover myself wanting to take a seat down and sort out longer journal entries on my MacBook or my iPad utilizing the Magic Keyboard. It feels limiting, particularly on days after I’m attempting to be on my telephone much less. You may retailer your journal entries in iCloud, although. That approach, when you change telephones, you will nonetheless have entry to all of them.

A Push within the Proper Path

I want I may say the Journal app reworked me into somebody who now likes to journal. It hasn’t. But when there’s something I’ve taken away from utilizing it, it is that I haven’t got to place a lot strain on myself to be journaler. I used to assume every entry needed to be insanely lengthy and crammed with a great deal of emotion. By providing the power to doc your ideas, emotions, and reminiscences utilizing a bunch of various kinds of content material, I really feel glad after I’ve logged an entry no matter how a lot I’ve written.

Over time, journaling 3 times per week started to really feel extra like a chore than a soothing exercise. As soon as per week or at any time when I really feel like I would like to precise overwhelming ideas appears positive. Regardless, it is weirdly comforting to know it is proper there on my telephone at any time when I would like it.

Should you’re already within the behavior of journaling utilizing a bodily pocket book, or usually use one other journaling app—I would not change, except you actually need to incorporate content material out of your telephone otherwise you typically wrestle with determining what to write down about. But it surely’s simple and intuitive to make use of. You may specific your self with TikToks and songs, not simply written emotions. And when you’re ever caught, it presents you prompts, so you will at all times have one thing to write down about. If like me, you by no means journaled as a result of it felt overwhelming, it is a good place to begin.