How To Build a Journalling Habit with Apple’s New Journal App
My review and suggestions — it’s actually pretty good in its simplicity!
My review and suggestions — it’s actually pretty good in its simplicity!
If you updated your iPhone software recently you might have noticed a new app found its way to your homepage — the simply named Journal app. It’s Apple’s latest app offering, here to help you build a journalling routine — bound to be on many a New Year’s resolutions list!
I’m a long-term journal-writer myself — admittedly I much prefer putting old school pen to paper, but I was keen to give this new app a go and see how I might incorporate it into my existing routine. And so far I’m pretty impressed.
Pros
The app itself is pretty simple. Open it up, click the + icon and you can either start writing straight away or, if this whole journalling thing is new to you and you’re not really sure how to start, you can make use of the built-in prompts. There’s not an overwhelming volume of prompts, which is a good thing. You’re not going to close the app in a fit of decision fatigue, overwhelmed with too much to choose from. But what there IS is good variety. The app provides text-based prompts, for example ‘Describe something about yourself that others might not notice’, as well as image prompts based on your own Photo Library. This is going to vary for each user — for me, it noticed (probably thanks to my Apple Watch) that I went for a walk last night and that became a prompt. And actually this is a handy feature if you’re not writing daily since it will remind you what you got up to during the week!
If you’re someone who really wants to build this habit but just can’t figure out what to say, I think these prompts will be a really good starting point to get you used to journalling. Even if it’s just writing down a simple list of what happened that day based on an image prompt. Slowly but surely you’ll find that easier and easier each time and you’ll find yourself moving into more reflective and thoughtful writing in no time.
You can set up custom reminders on certain days and times to remind you to write an entry, which makes it easy to keep your new habit front of mind, too. There’s the ability to add photos and even audio if you’d rather speak than write — so there’s a lot of flexibility in there.
Cons
For a brand-new app only released a month ago — and in light of all the positive things I’ve mentioned, I don’t have a lot of criticisms for Journal to be honest.
My only main dislike at this stage is that when I open the app initially, my entries are displayed in one long list, with no ability to filter or search. I’ve only been using it for a little over a week, so I don’t have too much in there just yet. But I’m hoping eventually the entries will group by month so I can more easily navigate through (plus it will be more pleasing to the eye — or is that just me?). It could even be good to have the ability to add tags if you were using the app for multiple purposes. I actually had an idea to use the app as a kind of digital commonplace book … until I realised I wouldn’t be able to search for anything!
Some low-level text formatting might also be handy, as at this stage there’s no way to bold or italicise or create bulleted or numbered lists.
Ways to Use Journal
Here’s a few ways this app could be used to either begin your journalling practice, or to supplement your existing habit:
Write a simple list of what happened today.
Write down three things you’re grateful for today — it might be gratitude for things that you did or saw or felt, or gratitude about yourself or someone else, or even just general gratitude for the world around you. There are no right or wrong answers here.
Write down all the positive things that happened today — this is something I’m trialling with the app. I’ve got a whole other journal I can use to vent and explore and unpick things that are weighing on my mind. It’s nice to have a dedicated space where I forget about those things and focus completely on the happy, nice, positive moments of my day. Once you start looking for them, noticing them and writing them down, it does feel really refreshing and light — and you’ll start to notice more and more positivity each day.
Or, flip that on it’s head and use the Journal app to vent! Struggling with something? Get it all out in the app. Don’t worry about making full sentences and using fancy words, just have a full cathartic session and get it off your chest.
Use it for recording wins throughout the week.
Use it throughout the day to write down thoughts and inspiration as they come to you — that’s the brilliance of having a journalling app on your phone — you don’t need to wait to get home and open your notebook. You can journal on the go.
If manifesting is your thing, use it for scripting. Write about what you’re currently desiring to call into your life — in present tense as through it’s already your reality. (That’s actually how I’m using it right now, too!)
In all, I’m enjoying using Apple’s Journal app and I’m looking forward to seeing what new features and improvements will come with it in the coming year.
Do you like journalling? What’s your preferred method?
Are you using Journal? What do you think? Drop me a comment below!