On The Hunt: Why Is the Ideal Journal App Hard to Find?
If you have suggestions, please let me know!
I’m an avid writer and journaler. There are a lot of thoughts rattling in this brain noodle.
That’s why, over the years, I’ve certainly explored different journalling apps.
After all this time, I’ve distilled my wants into the following features:
- Allows email entries that allow attachments (especially for photos)
- Has an “on this day feature”
- Has timeline vs. calendar view
- Affordable (i.e., <$10/month subscription) or has a one-time purchase option.
Penzu — Close but not quite
I’ve used Penzu on and off for almost ten years.
They used to allow email entries, but for some reason, this has been disabled. Perhaps I was emailing too much? Perhaps I need to be on the paid account?
Either way, the downfall of this is that it was really hard to upload multiple photos, and damn, I need this function. It really shocks me that in 2021, this journal app doesn’t have the “drag and drop” upload function, because you have to manually upload each photo, one by one, as if we’re writing on Blogger from the 2010s. (Even Blogger implemented this feature!)
Diarium — Something New I’m Trying
Diarium is a new journal app that’s been recently recommended to me. This one also looks really close to what I want, especially with the “on this day” feature front and center.
I also particularly like that you can integrate other apps (e.g., Google Calendar) and add bells and whistles to the journal entry (e.g., add ratings, which I’m using as mood ratings).
However, it does not have an email-in feature. It currently stores and syncs data across devices via your own choice of a cloud storage (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.).
Evernote — Not Meant To Be a Journal
My other option has been to use my existing notetaking software as my journalling app too. The problem is that it feels wobbly to have both professional and personal information stored so closely together.
It’s not like I journal anything too scandalous and secretive. My one downfall is that all of my research project names are food-themed, so if I search “Chocolate”, I get my project Chocolate notes mixed up with my “look I bought this delicious chocolate and I want to journal about it” notes. Sure, I can use filters to distinguish the two but to rely on me having the time to tag everything is not a very strong system.
This is surely going to be an ongoing journey, but if you find something, do share!
Hi I’m Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) and I’m a mission to document my entire life just because I like to hoard … memories.
Most days, you can find me 🐤 tweeting of eggs , or humming IU songs while I work on 📚 promoting my first ever poetry book,🎤recording poetry podcast episodes, or✍ making hella cute poetry-themed journals. What’s next? Hop down this reading rabbit hole or support this piece by Julia Appa!