I never thought I'd love the new journal app

[SoYoung]

Usually I'm never interested with new apps that Apple introduced since a couple of years and at first I thought the journal app would be the same because I never had a personal journal, but since I've installed 17.2 on my phone, I literally fall in love with this app. Its truly well done and the way the app looks and feel, you want to make new entries. The suggestions are cool as well and its a very good way to takes notes to ourselves and it will serve as a good reminder of what precisely happened in my life in specific period of the year in the future.

The only negative is the app is only available on the iPhone. I'd love being able to access it on my Mac and wrote new entries directly on the keyboard but its just a little shortcoming for now.

 

[Mike Boreham]

The only negative is the app is only available on the iPhone. I'd love being able to access it on my Mac and wrote new entries directly on the keyboard but its just a little shortcoming for now.

This makes it a non starter for me. Not even any way to export.

 

[jpdunn13]

I just figured out that it is possible to copy and paste into the Journal app and set a custom date on entries. So If I'm feeling really ambitious, I can grab old Journal entries, one-by-one and place them into the new Apple app.

 

[Gregintosh]

Nearly positive that in a year or two it’ll be on the iPad and Mac also. It’s inevitable.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Nearly positive that in a year or two it’ll be on the iPad and Mac also. It’s inevitable.

I agree although I think it will be sooner than a year.

 

[xxFoxtail]

I (re)started journaling with this new app. I used Day One apparently ten years ago based on my last entry in the app and just kind of stopped with it.

I used it a lot more a few weeks ago when the 17.2 betas started, still using it here and there for more mundane things. Right now, it's basically just a Twitter feed that only I can read. I'd like to build more into it, but writing lengthy entries with just my iPhone screen has become kind of annoying. Sometimes I'd resort to getting out my mobile bluetooth keyboard.

I think this app will get so much more use from me when a Mac and iPad app come out. I might even buy an iPad again if I can handwrite my entries with it. Something about handwriting the journal entries opposed to typing them just makes it feel more personal to me.

 

[decypher44]

Pen and Paper is still the best way to journal. Period. If you’re not already, I highly recommend it. Give it a try. Boost the experience with a good fountain pen and journal.

 

[Pagemakers]

You can’t even search it either in the app or with spotlight

 

[dominiongamma]

Pen and Paper is still the best way to journal. Period. If you’re not already, I highly recommend it. Give it a try. Boost the experience with a good fountain pen and journal.

When people have bad handwriting, it’s kind of pointless

 

[decypher44]

When people have bad handwriting, it’s kind of pointless

It’s a great way to work on your penmanship!

 

[clausbvc]

The notes app does the job for me, all apple platforms. Works perfect in the later releases, compared to years ago.

 

[SoYoung]

Pen and Paper is still the best way to journal. Period.

So since when an opinion is a fact? Its your point of view, but in my case, I much prefer writing on my computer or phone than with a pencil since a good 20 years.

 

[matrix07]

Pen and Paper is still the best way to journal. Period.

How would you attach your exact location to it? And how would you see photo of what happened there?

 

[Cunir]

I'm using it more than i thought it would, and I'm looking forward to when they start adding more features to it. They need to tie it in with the other apps better, like linking calendar events and stamping in the day's weather. Theres loads more little things i hope they do.

 

[decypher44]

How would you attach your exact location to it? And how would you see photo of what happened there?

Exact location? Write it down.

For photos, I prefer describing in my own words. But I could also take a photo and print it out. With journaling, you can always paste in things.

I know this sounds “hippy-ish”, but say you were walking in a beautiful forest, with trees that have beautiful leaves. You can put an actual, physical leaf in your journal. You can’t do that with a phone. Of course, that’s just a simple example.

And one of the biggest upsides is that it’s a great, physical thing to pass down to my daughter!

 

[decypher44]

So since when an opinion is a fact? It’s your point of view, but in my case, I much prefer writing on my computer or phone than with a pencil since a good 20 years.

More power to you! Of course, there are FACTS, but they may not apply to you.

Psychology Today

^^^ That’s an easy-to-read article which goes into some detail as to “why”, but again, it may not apply to you.

Here’s a little snippet that touches on the “why”. Of course, there are many more reasons, many of which are in that linked article.

“
Many studies suggest that there are brain-friendly benefits of writing out letters, notes, essays, or journal entries by hand that you can’t get from typing.

Writing by hand connects you with the words and allows your brain to focus on them, understand them and learn from them. Other studies suggest that writing longhand is a workout for your brain. According to a Wall Street Journal article, some physicians claim that the act of writing—which engages your motor skills, memory, and more—is a good cognitive exercise for baby boomers who want to keep their minds sharp as they age. (See website, Mental Floss.) Writing by hand helps people remember information and thus retain their memories as they age.


Writing by hand activates more parts of the brain than typing, says the website “Little Things.” It requires writers to use more motor skills and a collection of links around the brain called the “reading circuit.””

Others:

Oxford Learning
NIH
List of Pros and Cons
Just more points
Master Class