How to Start Journaling in 2024 with Day One: Our 10 Best Tips for Success

The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to start a transformative journey with journaling. Whether you’re looking to capture memories, explore your thoughts, or simply organize your day, this guide is designed to help you embark on a rewarding journaling adventure this year.

In this post, we share ten insightful tips to kickstart your journaling habit with Day One. From practical steps to creative ideas, we’ve got everything you need to weave journaling seamlessly into your daily life.

1. Turn on notifications to establish your routine.

Day One’s journaling reminders are one of the best ways to integrate the habit of journaling into your everyday life. By setting up personalized notifications in Day One, you can establish a routine that fits seamlessly into your schedule. Whether it’s a morning prompt to start your day with intention or an evening reflection reminder to wind down and process the day’s events, these notifications act as gentle nudges, ensuring that journaling becomes a consistent and valuable part of your daily routine.

Using these reminders, you can overcome the common hurdle of forgetting or procrastinating, as the app will prompt you at your chosen times. Notifications are particularly beneficial for those who are trying to develop a new habit or for busy individuals who find it challenging to allocate specific time for journaling.

1. To create a new reminder, go to Day One > Settings > Reminders > Notifications > Daily Reminder.
2. Set the time you’d like to receive your notification.
3. You can also set up custom reminders with custom text and repetition intervals, along with the journal, tag, or template you’d like to associate with the notification.

2. Experiment with multimedia journaling for richer expression.

Enrich your journal entries by adding photos, videos, audio, and more. Day One allows you to easily insert images, making your journal visually appealing and more expressive. Capturing moments and memories along with your written words can be a way to create a more dynamic and immersive record of your life. This multimedia approach transforms your journal from a mere collection of text into a vivid tapestry of your experiences.

Incorporating various media types adds depth and context to your entries. A picture, for instance, can convey emotions and details that words alone might not fully capture. Audio recordings can preserve the nuances of your voice, mood, or ambiance of your surroundings. Videos can bring to life the moments that you want to remember in motion.

1. Tap the “+” to add a new entry to your journal.
2. Using the icons, quickly add a photo, or use the paper clip icon to select from more multimedia options, like audio, video, scanned text, files, and more.

3. Explore Journaling Suggestions for continuous inspiration.

If you’re ever stuck, use Day One’s Journaling Suggestions feature. Journaling Suggestions in Day One provide personalized journaling recommendations inspired by your photos, locations, activities, and more, bringing a whole new level of introspection and discovery to your daily reflections.

In iOS 17.2 and later, your iPhone keeps track of the things you do throughout the day (the photos you take, the songs and podcasts you listen to, the places you visit, etc.) and gathers them into moments you might like to write about. By integrating your daily activities, emotions, and experiences into a cohesive and reflective journaling practice, Day One offers a unique and personalized way to capture your life’s journey. 

1. From any iPhone running iOS 17.2 and Day One 2023.25, tap the “+” to add a new entry to your journal.
2. Using the icons, tap the “Suggestions” icon.
3. The Journaling Suggestions picker will open, displaying your personalized suggestions in two tabs: “Recommended” and “Recent.” When you find a Journaling Suggestion you’d like to add to your Day One Journal, tap it.

4. Answer the daily prompt for guided reflection.

Utilize Day One’s daily writing prompts to stimulate your thoughts. These prompts can provide a starting point for your entries, especially on days when you’re not sure what to write about.

1. To view the daily prompt, navigate to the journal menu. Tap the prompt to start writing.
2. Miss a prompt? Tap the three dots above the daily prompt to view recent prompts or to answer again.
3. You can also get the daily prompt as a push notification, sent to your iPhone or iPad. Go to Settings > Daily Prompt, then toggle on System Notifications.

5. Use or create templates for structured journaling.

Take advantage of Day One’s various templates for different types of journaling. Whether you’re tracking habits, gratitude, or just documenting your day, there’s a template to suit your needs. Day One now offers 50+ journal templates that you can use to build your journaling routine.

1. To explore Day One’s templates, tap the “+” to add a new entry to your journal.
2. Use the templates icon to explore the template gallery.
3. Select one to start writing.

6. Backfill dates to keep your journal continuous.

Miss a day of journaling? No problem. Day One allows you to backfill dates, so you can keep your journal continuous even if you skip a day or two. Simply navigate to Day One’s Calendar View to view your journal’s calendar.

Missing dates are easy to identify, as the date will have no background color or photo preview. Tap the empty date, then select from photos, places, or events from that day to inspire your writing.

1. Tap the name of your journal to see the View options.
2. Tap the Calendar icon.
3. Tap a missing date by selecting one with no background color or photo preview.
4. Start writing or add a photo to backfill the date with a memory or reflection.

7. Create multiple journals to stay organized.

Day One Premium allows you to maintain unlimited journals for various aspects of your life. This feature is especially useful for organizing your thoughts and experiences in a more structured way.

Here are some ideas for separate journals:

• Project Journals: Keep track of your progress, ideas, and reflections on specific projects, whether they’re work-related, creative endeavors, or personal goals. A dedicated journal for each project helps you focus and document each step of your journey.
• Family or Children’s Journals: Create a journal for your children or family where you can store memories, milestones, and everyday moments. This can turn into a precious family heirloom, capturing the essence of your family life over the years.
• Hobby Journals: Have a passion for something like cooking, gardening, or even a pizza journal? Document your experiments, recipes, successes, and learnings. For instance, a pizza journal can be a fun way to track different recipes, toppings, and techniques you’ve tried, along with your reviews and improvements for each attempt.
• Travel Journals: Keep a separate journal for each trip or travel destination. Include photos, ticket stubs, and write about your experiences, the people you met, and the sights you saw. It’s a great way to relive your adventures.
• Gratitude or Reflection Journals: Dedicate a journal to daily reflections, gratitude, or personal growth. These journals can be a great tool for mindfulness and self-improvement.

By having multiple journals, you can compartmentalize and organize your life in a way that makes sense to you. It also makes revisiting these memories more enjoyable, as each journal is a curated collection of specific experiences and thoughts.

1. To create a new journal, upgrade to Day One Premium.
2. From the journal menu, select “New Personal Journal.”
3. Give your new journal a title, description, color, and select from advanced options, such as automatically applying a template.

8. Use Journal Streaks as motivation.

Keep motivated by tracking your journaling streaks in Day One. Seeing how many consecutive days you’ve journaled can be a great incentive to keep going. Celebrate your milestones, whether it’s a week, a month, or a year of continuous daily journaling.

1. To view your streak, visit the journal menu. Find your current streak count at the very top in “Streaks.”
2. Tap “Streaks” to view more on your writing habit.

9. Use voice recording for easy and authentic entries.

If you’re too tired or not in the mood to write, use Day One Premium’s audio recording feature. Sometimes, speaking your thoughts can be more natural and less daunting than writing. Plus, it captures the emotion and tone of your reflections, adding depth to your entries.

1. To use audio recordings, upgrade to Day One Premium. Transcription to text is available in Day One Premium, and can be enabled in Day One > Settings > Advanced > Transcribe to Text. 
2. Tap the “+” icon, then the paper clip icon.
3. Select “audio.” Day One will start recording.
4. When you’re done, tap the stop icon.

10. Share a journal for deeper connections. (Coming soon!)

With Day One’s upcoming (and totally optional) Shared Journals feature, consider sharing a journal with a friend or family member. This can be a unique way to stay connected and share experiences and thoughts. Sign up for the Day One Shared Journals Waitlist to be the first to try this new way of journaling.

Bonus: Print your journal to celebrate your year of journaling.

At the end of the year, celebrate your dedication to journaling by printing your journal with Day One’s book printing feature. A Day One Book not only serves as a tangible record of your year but also as a keepsake of your personal growth and experiences. It’s a great way to reflect on your journey and see how far you’ve come.

1. From the journal menu, visit Settings > Book Printing.
2. Tap “Create a Book,” then select the journals you wish to print.
3. Customize the cover and contents, then preview your book.
4. Complete checkout to order your book.

Cheers to 2024: A Year to Remember, A Year to Journal

We hope these tips make starting and maintaining a daily journaling habit with Day One both enjoyable and rewarding. Here’s to a year filled with memorable moments and insightful journaling. Happy journaling in 2024!

Download the Day One App Today

The Day One journaling app makes it easy to keep a journal. Daily reminders, daily writing prompts, and journaling streaks are designed to help keep you motivated and consistently journaling.