You’ll be able to tweak this by way of the Settings. You’ve got the choice to both flip Journaling Ideas off utterly or choose and select which of them you need to carry on, together with Exercise (your exercises and workout routines), Media (podcasts and music you take heed to), Contact (folks you message and name), Photographs (library, recollections, and shared images), and Important Places (locations the place you spend time). Since I do not care to jot down about my cellphone calls or texts or my areas, I turned off Contacts and Important Places.
Journal can be included throughout the share sheet in all apps. So, if you happen to’re scrolling by content material exterior the app, you may faucet the Share button and choose Journal to ship content material proper into the app. You can even 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, electronic mail addresses, and recipes. When you have been to scroll by every entry, you’d discover a very big selection of issues. There isn’t any rhyme or purpose to it. However the Journal app is strictly reserved for my recollections and ideas. There is a sense of order while you scroll by it.
Not like the Notes app, the Journal app is passcode-protected. Relying on the iPhone mannequin you’ve, you may 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 might be good if there was a search bar to search for entries. As an alternative, you may solely search based mostly on classes: Photographs, 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 turn out to be 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 mentioned earlier than, it is solely out there on iPhone. Seeing as how it is a text-based app at its core, I typically discover myself wanting to sit down down and sort out longer journal entries on my MacBook or my iPad utilizing the Magic Keyboard. It feels limiting, particularly on days once I’m attempting to be on my cellphone much less. You can retailer your journal entries in iCloud, although. That method, if you happen to change telephones, you will nonetheless have entry to all of them.
A Push within the Proper Course
I want I might say the Journal app reworked me into somebody who now loves 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 a great journaler. I used to assume every entry needed to be insanely lengthy and stuffed with a great deal of emotion. By providing the flexibility to doc your ideas, emotions, and recollections utilizing a bunch of various kinds of content material, I really feel glad once I’ve logged an entry no matter how a lot I’ve written.
Over time, journaling thrice per week started to really feel extra like a chore than a calming exercise. As soon as per week or at any time when I really feel like I want to precise overwhelming ideas appears superb. Regardless, it is weirdly comforting to know it is proper there on my cellphone at any time when I want it.
When you’re already within the behavior of journaling utilizing a bodily pocket book, or frequently use one other journaling app—I would not change, until you actually need to incorporate content material out of your cellphone otherwise you typically wrestle with determining what to jot down about. Nevertheless it’s straightforward and intuitive to make use of. You’ll be able to categorical your self with TikToks and songs, not simply written emotions. And if you happen to’re ever caught, it affords you prompts, so you will at all times have one thing to jot down about. If like me, you by no means journaled as a result of it felt overwhelming, it is a good place to begin.
