Have you ever wanted to stop time so you could journal in the moment? Maybe you’re at a party, and you say something you regret. In an ideal world, you could pause, spend twenty minutes metabolizing whatever happened in your journal, then go back to the party, feeling revived. Or maybe your kid says something hilarious, and you want to remember it—not just the quote, but the beautiful sunshine, the delicious picnic, and all the other special details of that moment.
Sure, you could pull out your Day One app in these moments and jot down a note to yourself right from your phone. But sometimes, it’s easier to just send a quick text: maybe you don’t want someone looking over your shoulder and asking what on earth you’re doing (it’s easier to say: “oh, I’m just texting a friend!” than “I’m journaling on the go!”—although, if that’s you, more power to you). Or perhaps you find it easier to journal as a text response to a reminder, compared to opening the app and starting from scratch.
In this article, we’ll walk you through how to journal with SMS, including text reminders to keep you honest with your daily journaling journey.
Here’s how to get started.
Step 1: Navigate to Settings, and Select ‘SMS to Journal’
Step 2: Give Day One Permission to Send You Texts
You can also set up Daily Text Reminders, if you’d like; it can be helpful to pick a time when you know you’ll typically need to step back and take a moment to reflect, like at the end of a work day, or first thing when you wake up.
Step 3: Check Your Texts
You should have one from Day One!
Step 4: Respond
Respond whenever you want, however you want. It will look like you’re just dashing off a quick text, when really, you could be journaling about anything that’s on your mind.
Step 5: Open the Day One App
You should see your text as a new journal entry. Continue it any time. Happy journaling!
Go Premium to Journal with SMS
Text messaging in Day One is available with Day One Premium and is available to subscribers in the USA and Canada. Here’s even more on text messaging to Day One.
Download the Day One Journal App
The Day One journaling app makes it easy to build and maintain a daily journaling habit. Daily journaling reminders, daily writing prompts, and journal streaks are designed to help keep you motivated and consistently journaling.
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 Monument, NOCD, and more.
