I Tried Journaling For A Week On My iPad. Here’s What I Learned.
This is the what, why, and how of my journaling
Being a teenager is tough.
Both academically and socially, life gets harder at this stage: you’re forced to manage relationships and drama while cramming for your next Calculus test.
In March of 2021, something happened. It would forever change my relationships with some of my closest friends.
At that time in my life, my journal became a friend: it was someone I could trust and talk to. Since then, the power of journaling has stuck with me.
Last week, however, I decided to completely change my journaling method. Here’s why, how, and what I changed:
Why You Should Care About Journaling
Has it ever felt nice to let all emotions and thoughts flow out when talking to a friend?
That’s what a journal is like.
The only difference is you can’t tell your friend certain things.
You can tell your journal though.
If you’re looking for scientific benefits, here you go (sources: this and this):
Manage anxiety
Reduce stress
Cope with depression
Track day-to-day problems
Prioritize problems, fears, and concerns
Identify negative thoughts/behavior and fix them
Boost self-confidence
Inspire creativity
Strengthen memory
Improve academic performance
Improve physical health
Build communication and writing skills
JournalOS 1.0
Since 2020, I’ve kept a journal of my life.
I was pretty inconsistent with it - some weeks I’d make seven entries, other weeks I’d make one.
I usually wrote about things that future Adi would probably want to remember, such as:
childhood memories
events that change my life (good + bad)
important milestones
my hopeless romantic pursuits
While it was nice to share my thoughts with my journal, my habit was inconsistent.
There was no set structure for me to follow - I simply wrote about things whenever the thought of journaling came to mind.
In other words, I made a habit of journaling major events rather than the journey leading up to them.
JournalOS 2.0
Watching this video made me change the way I journal.
Documenting important events is cool - I’m able to take a look at my reactions to major changes in my life.
Documenting the journey, however, is even cooler - I’m able to take a look at the work that made these events happen.
Before I watched the video, I used to do this occasionally: sometimes I’d stick with a consistent schedule, other times I’d add an entry once per month.
With my new style of journaling, I’m trying to build a daily habit. Here’s what I include in each entry:
What I’m Grateful For
A Lesson I Learned
How I Felt Today
Anything Else
This structure felt like the most effective combination with the least amount of effort (low effort = consistent habit).
The Best Platform
After finding a good structure, the next step was to find a solid app I could use as a journal.
I didn’t want an app that I’d have to pay a significant amount of money for. I also want something that could sync across all devices.
I came up with three options:
Notion
GoodNotes
Day One
The issue with GoodNotes was that it was handwritten. While it’s nice to mimic a physical journal, it isn’t practical whenever I don’t have access to my iPad.
That left me with Day One and Notion. While Day One was more secure, it also limited me to one device.
This limitation made me choose Notion (though I’m still testing out Day One on my iPhone).
What It Looks Like
To create a journal, I use a Notion database with a calendar view.
Each day, I’ll add an entry. Some days, I just title it Journal Entry. Other days, I add a related title (like “Reflections on XYZ” or “What I Did This Summer”).
One of the benefits of using a digital journal is the availability of templates. With Notion, I can create journal entry templates.
Here’s the one I use:
Final Thoughts
“Journal writing, when it becomes a ritual for transformation, is not only life-changing but life-expanding.” – Jen Williamson
Thanks for reading!
Adi