Perhaps Day One's best feature is the ability to customize multiple reminders. It has just one main blue color plus menus and icons in gray-no gaudy toolbars in sight. And all of this is within an elegant, unobtrusive design. You can also tag entries with hashtags, insert photos and videos, password-protect your journal, and format entries in Markdown. There are optional prompts, if you're not sure what to write about. You can create journal entries in just one click on the Mac from the menu bar, use templates to make journaling easier, and automatically add metadata, such as location, weather, motion activity, currently playing music, and step count. The app offers a wide array of features-just about everything you might want or need in a digital journal. Since its release in 2011, Day One has been one of the most highly recommended journaling apps, landing a spot as Apple's Editors Choice in the App Store numerous times. Other features that might be important to you include password protection, Markdown support, the ability to add more than one photo, location and weather tags, and journaling prompts. Syncing: Syncing will make sure your journal's up to date no matter what device you're using.Īffordability: We eliminated some apps because of the high price. Automatic reminders help you keep up the habit.Įxporting: Just in case the app stops being developed or you want to move to a different journaling platform, you'll want to be able to export your entries in a format other programs can read, such as PDF or RTF. Reminders: Perhaps the biggest challenge to journaling is remembering to do it. Pleasant interface: A minimalist, uncluttered interface helps you focus on your thoughts and makes journaling a pleasant experience. The best apps for keeping a journal have a few things in common:Įasy entry: If it takes more than a couple of clicks or taps to add a journal entry, chances are you're not going to do it. Add in reminders and the ability to search your journal entries, and digital journaling is almost a no-brainer. They also let you include photos from your phone or posts from your social media feeds to make the journaling experience more rewarding. They give you more context on what you've accomplished and where you might want to go. What makes a great journal app?Ī paper notebook and pen are fine for journaling, but apps offer more. Or, do one better and build your own journal app without any code-just a quick automation.

If you don't want a completely new app, you can always use your current note-taking app as your journal.

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