Transcription
Most of us have thoughts we don't want to keep floating around in our heads all day. Ideas, reminders, things we need to do tomorrow, things we're worried about, things we don't want to forget.
For a long time, I tried keeping all that in paper journals. I actually loved them. I probably bought way too many of them over the years. But eventually, I ran into one problem. I didn't always have them with me when I needed them. And that's when something interesting started happening.
Over the past few months, Apple's journal app has quietly turned into something different for me. It's not just a journaling app anymore. It's basically become my digital notebook, the place where I organize my thoughts, capture ideas, and keep different parts of my life in one place. So, in this video, I want to show you how I set it up, how I organize my journals inside the app, and why it's slowly replacing paper notebooks for me.
But, I'm curious about something first. Has Apple's Journal app replaced your paper notebook yet, or are there things still holding it back? Let me know in the comments. And if you enjoy calm tech videos about productivity and intentional living, hit that like button and subscribe. It really helps the channel. All right, let's get into it.
I've always liked paper journals. There's something satisfying about finishing one and keeping it on a shelf. It feels like you actually own it. It's not locked away inside an app somewhere. And writing with a pen just feels natural. You can jot something down quickly, cross things out, draw arrows, sketch ideas, things that don't always feel as fluid when you're typing.
In the past, I tried using digital journaling apps, but I usually ended up going back to paper. But paper journals eventually started becoming inconvenient for one simple reason. I didn't always have them with me. If I had an idea while I was out somewhere, on the train, traveling, or just away from home, I couldn't write it down unless the notebook happened to be nearby.
Another issue was organization. At one point, I tried using a bullet journal system with calendars, indexes, and sections. But maintaining all that just started to feel like a chore. Searching for something I wrote weeks earlier could be frustrating unless everything was perfectly indexed, which I usually didn't keep up with.
With the journal app, that problem basically disappears. Everything is automatically dated. Everything is searchable, and most importantly, it's always with me. I always have my phone nearby and most of the time my iPad is within reach too. And once Apple brought the journal app to the iPad with Apple Pencil support, it started giving me many of the same benefits that the paper journals had. I can still jot things down by hand, sketch quick ideas or cross things out, but now it lives everywhere I go.
Over time, I started organizing the app into different journals. Right now, I have five journals, but three of them are the ones I use the most. I have separate places for different parts of my life so I know where things belong. The first one is called personal log. This works like a traditional journal. I write about my life, things that are on my mind, things that make me happy, things that bothered me, or just general reflections about the day. This is a journal where I usually use the Apple Pencil on the iPad because it feels like the closest thing to writing in a physical notebook.
The second one is called daily work log. This is where I keep quick notes related to work, things I need to remember, ideas for projects, notes from meetings, or small bites of information like names or phone numbers. It's not extremely structured, but that's okay. Everything inside the journal is workrelated, so it's easier to find.
Then I have journal for YouTube ideas. Whenever an idea for a video pops into my head, whether it's a topic, a headline, or just something I used to experiment with on the channel, I drop it into the journal so I don't lose the idea. Organizing things this way just makes sense to my brain. If I have a work thought, it goes into the work journal. If it's personal, it goes into the personal log. If it's a YouTube idea, it goes into that journal. It keeps everything simple and easy to find.
There are a few things that make this system work really well. The biggest one for me is iCloud syncing. I can write something quickly on my phone and later continue it on my iPad without even thinking about it. It just appears there automatically. I also like that you can create multiple journals inside one app. With paper notebooks, I'd either have to carry several of them or divide one notebook into sections, which usually got messy.
Another big advantage is search. If I want to find something I wrote weeks ago, I can just type it and it pops up instantly. The app is also extremely simple. It's free. It syncs across devices, and you can lock it with Face ID or Touch ID, so everything stays private.
As far as routine goes, I usually write in the personal log in the morning with the Apple Pencil. Sometimes I'll write down what I dream about, how I'm feeling that day, or what I have on my plate. At night, I'll sometimes open the work log and dump out everything I was working on that day, so I'm not thinking about it for the rest of the evening. And throughout the day, if an idea pops into my head, I just capture it.
There are still a few things I'd like Apple to improve, though. One feature I'd love to see is templates. Things like lined pages, dotted pages, or bullet journal layouts would make it feel even closer to a real notebook. It would also be interesting if journals visually looked more like actual notebooks that you could customize or decorate. The Apple Pencil Sport has improved, but it still isn't perfect. For example, switching to the Apple Pencil eraser doesn't always work consistently for me, and sometimes there's still a delay while writing. We're only a few months away from WWDC, though, so there's a good chance Apple could introduce updates to the app in the future.
For me, Apple's Journal app isn't just a journaling app anymore. It's basically my digital notebook. It's where I organize ideas, capture thoughts, reflect on my day, and keep different parts of my life in one place. And because it's always with me, it actually gets used more than my paper journals ever did.
But I'm curious what you think. Do you still prefer paper notebooks, or have you moved everything digital? Let me know in the comments. And if you enjoyed this video, don't forget to like and subscribe. Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next.