You may tweak this by way of the Settings. You’ve the choice to both flip Journaling Ideas off utterly 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 take heed to) Contact (folks you message and name), Photographs (library, recollections, and shared photographs) and Important Areas (locations the place you spend time). Since I do not care to write down about my cellphone calls or texts or my areas, I turned off Contacts and Important Areas.
Journal can be included inside 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 too write about new music you found on Spotify, a humorous meme from Twitter, or an attention-grabbing 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. When you have been to scroll by every entry, you’d discover a very big selection of issues. There is no such thing as a rhyme or motive 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. Depending on the iPhone model you have got, 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 primarily based on classes: Photographs, Movies, Reflections, Locations, and Bookmarked (you will need to bookmark entries for them to seem right here manually). I can think about it will develop 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 accessible on iPhone. Seeing as how this can be a text-based app at its core, I usually 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 after 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 swap 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 journaler. I used to suppose every entry needed to be insanely lengthy and full of 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 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 calming exercise. As soon as per week or every time I really feel like I want to precise overwhelming ideas appears advantageous. Regardless, it is weirdly comforting to know it is proper there on my cellphone every time I want it.
When you’re already within the behavior of journaling utilizing a bodily pocket book, or commonly use one other journaling app, I would not swap, until you actually need to incorporate content material out of your cellphone otherwise you usually battle with determining what to write down about. Nevertheless it’s simple and intuitive to make use of. You may specific your self with TikToks and songs, not simply written emotions. And if you happen to’re ever caught, it presents you prompts, so, you will at all times have one thing to write down about. When you, like me, by no means journaled as a result of it felt overwhelming, it is a good place to begin.
