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I've googled this and got the raft of "best ten" journal diary blah blah sites, but then I remembered STW and wondered if anyone else kept an online / app based journal?
What I don't really need is advice on how to set up a blog using WP or similar. As frankly I cannot see the point in getting hosting, domain name etc etc just to keep a daily journal that will only ever be of interest to me, I'd like to be able to use an app (ios preferably) or web as it ususlly amounts to the same thing for this, as my photos etc are all on the phone, so easy to incorporate from there.
Anyone ? Or does everybody just blog, vlog, etc.
I tried a journalling app. I much prefer doing a hand written one, It is nice to move away from a screen to do it and i did read that there is are more positive mental health benefits to keeping a hand written one vs an online journal.
Do you need a specific app? Can you not just use Word or whatever? I am keep g an astronomy journal in Excel. Simple and does what I need.
I store it on OneDrive so can access it from any of my devices and keep it up to date
I kept a training/health diary for a few years in Google Docs, worked OK initially but once you get past 100 pages or so it became very slow to load, and a pain to scroll through on a phone. If you do just use Word or similar I'd advise keeping a separate document per year. That said, having it all in the same document did make it easy to search, and judicious use of titles also made it easy to highlight points of interest that I could refer back to. Ultimately work cut off access to Google Docs from work laptops, and adding daily notes via a phone was a pain and I stopped writing it.
I did try a couple of journal apps, but it was a similar issue - writing on a phone is irritating, and nothing like as fluid as using a proper keyboard (assuming you know how to type). There's a second issue, too: where is your data stored and who does it belong to? What happens when the developer decides to stop developing your app in 3 years time? Or it gets bought out by Google or whoever?
Daylio - started with it recently, to keep a rehab journal so max of about two paragraphs on a particularly good/bad day.
its ok, does what i need, simple interface, seems to have lots of extras that i clearly dont want and occassionally asks if i want to pay for it.
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I’ve also recently started with daylio.
The thing I like is that I can make an entry without writing anything if I don’t want to. You pick how your mood was for the day and tap a few (customisable) icons representing the activities you did. It’s nice because it makes it really easy to keep a streak going on days where you don’t have time or anything particular to write.
I’ve also not found the need to pay beyond the free offering though I probably will anyway if I find myself using it long term.
Try obsidian - it is a note taking app that creates all files locally in markdown format. It has mobile apps and apple/windows. Lovely tool with unlimited customisation of appearance :). I use it for all work notes and have separate "vaults" for my diary
I'm using Agenda for a work log, it's available on macOS/iOS if you use those.
The journal apps I’ve looked at cost more than £30 per year, which seems expensive to me - what do they actually provide that isn’t free elsewhere?
If you’re an Apple user why not use Notes or Pages? Set up a folder named ‘journal’ and add a new page each day. You could add photos, videos, and links if you want, and it would sync via iCloud to all your devices, so you could add a quick note on your phone while you’re out, then write it up later when you get home.
OneNote or many other apps would do the same, and they’re all free. I cannot see the advantage of a paid app.
Never got into writing a journal or diary, which is a bit of a shame, because there’s lots of things that I’ve forgotten the details of over the years. I did try one on my phone once, but I just couldn’t get into it.
I read something fairly recently about using an app for a journal or for reminders, etc, and it’s been established that the actual act of sitting down with a pen and a notebook seems increase the likelihood of the writer actually remembering things, and it seems to be more stimulating. Plus, a physical object is just so much easier to pick up and flick through the pages, and also it’s very much easier to make little thumbnail sketches of things on paper.
What I’ve started doing is jotting down interesting quotes and little references in a nice little hardcover notebook I found, and I bought a Lamy fountain pen in clear plastic that fits into the elastic loop on the side, and I just find it easier to skim through it than trying to do the same in Notes on my phone/tablet.
I do envy those who can fill pages of notebooks with observations and drawings, paintings and sketches that become works of art in themselves; sadly I do not have that talent! At least my handwriting is legible using a fountain pen. 😎