Journaling Inspiration

How to Use Shared Journals to Plan and Document a Trip

There are tons of great ways to use Shared Journals in the Day One app — and one of our favorites (do we have to pick a favorite?) is taking the chaos out of group trip planning to make sure everyone’s on the same page. From sharing itineraries and packing lists to compiling photos, a Shared Journal for a trip keeps everything you need to plan, execute, and reflect on a trip in one place. Here’s how!

1. Create and Name a New Shared Journal

Name your journal, choose a color, and include a description, if you’d like. You can always come back and edit these choices later.

2. Invite Contributors to Your Shared Journal

You can include up to 29 people (besides you!) in your Shared Journal. Go ahead and copy/paste the link; you can invite contributors via text or email. Remember: these contributors will be able to edit entries and create new entries, but they won’t have access to any of your private journal entries. Those are just for you!

3. Create Your First Entry, or Choose a Template

Just like with private journals, from here, the world is your oyster. Create a new journal entry from scratch, start with a photo or audio recording, choose from Day One’s journal template options, or use a template you’ve created previously.

4. Start planning!

Here, we started with a packing list. Aunt Blair will never forget her sunscreen again! You might also scan and upload travel itineraries, drop links to reservation confirmations, or share images of beaches you want to be sure to visit, restaurants you can’t miss, or activities you definitely want to fit in.

4. Enjoy your trip!

You’ve planned, you’ve packed, and you’ve made it. Now it’s time for each member of the journal to document the trip, with photos, text, voice recordings, and more. This is everyone’s opportunity to share how they experience the time together: the moments that matter, for any reason, no matter how small. You’ll end up with a diverse combination of memories — something you’ll all be able to look back on for years to come.

Happy travels, and happy documenting!


Download the Day One Journal App Today

The Day One journaling app makes it easy to build and maintain a daily journaling habit. Daily writing prompts and journal streaks are designed to help keep you motivated and consistently journaling. Add photos, videos, and audio to your journal, anytime, anywhere.



About the Author

Phoebe Kranefuss is a freelance writer and marketer based in Madison, Wisconsin. She’s a lifelong journaler and (almost) daily writer. She studied English Literature at Bowdoin College, is currently pursuing her MFA in fiction at University of Wisconsin–Madison, and has written for and worked with healthtechs including MonumentNOCD, and more.


Capture life’s moments, anytime, anywhere.

Download the free Day One journal app for free on iPhone, Android, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. Or access your Day One Journal from any browser.