I recently found some “old” journals on my bookshelf.  It was interesting to read through lists of goals  from several years ago, realizing that I have actually accomplished some of the goals I wrote down (mostly by accident).  It made me wonder what would happen if I was more intentional about following my goals.  Maybe you have had the same question.   What I realized is that I would not have had those lists to review had I not kept those journals.

For me, journaling requires easy and fun to use tools.  Otherwise, it just becomes another item to check off on an already too long to do list.  Here are a couple of my favorite tips on how you can easily journal more frequently.

Electronic Journaling

On my iPhone, I like Day One.  I use the iPhone for taking pictures to document my days in Day One.  I don’t create many entries on the iPad, but do enjoy reviewing and reading old posts with the iPad app.

I also use Day One with my laptop (like this Macbook Pro).  The program has a great and easy to use interface, a convenient reminder feature that sits in the toolbar and pops up with a helpful journaling question at a pre-determined time, and is fun to use.  Day One also works with Markdown, so I can improve my word processing skills.

One feature of Day One I really like is the ability to tag entries.  As an example, I take a picture of one of my kids and apply a tag (the child’s name).  Later, I can filter my entry list by that child’s tag and see all my posts relating to that child.

Day One can also add the geolocation information from photographs so you can see where you post the most.  Think of it like a personal Facebook account that isn’t shared with the world (unless you want to Tweet an entry).  It’s also neat to see how many times you have posted, which months you post more frequently, and have the ability to search your thoughts from all your entries.

I’ll be posting more information about how I use Day One in the near future, including some tips and tricks for getting the most out of the program.

Paper Journaling

I also like Moleskine Notebooks.  I use a smaller Moleskine notebook to capture quick thoughts throughout the day.  The smaller version sits next to my keyboard and the smaller pages are less daunting.  I can jot down a quick note without feeling like I need to write a deeply thought out entry. The pages are just big enough to stick a sticky note on the page to mark my place or capture some random information.  I use a larger Moleskine (like this) for more in-depth, personal journaling.

I find that using the combination of electronic and pen/paper helps me stay interested in journaling.  Speaking of, Day One just opened and asked me to write a journal entry for the day.