Embarking on a journey of self-reflection and meticulous record-keeping, Chris Roberts, an embedded systems software engineer from Washington State, has diligently journaled for 1,075 days—and counting. In a world where digital footprints often fade with the next software update, Chris has cultivated a unique and persistent narrative of life. The practice of journaling, often associated with the exploration of one’s emotional inner landscape, has taken a pragmatic turn in Chris’s hands. Chris’s journal serves as a vault for daily occurrences, a repository for fleeting thoughts, and an archive of personal milestones.
How long have you been keeping a journal?
“I started journaling with Day One in September of 2020 during college and have kept going for 1,075 days as of this writing.”
What makes journaling important to you?
“Journaling is a way for me to take stock of the day and what happened in it. It’s also important for capturing information I may want to look back on years down the line.”
What do you usually journal about?
“I keep two main journals within day one, one for work and one for personal life. At the end of each work day I write down what I did that day and any reminders or notes I might need in the future. My personal journal is very similar in that it contains a run down of any events that happened in the day. These range from simple tasks completed to major events. My personal journal also contains space for any extra topics I want to write down, sometimes that’s noting a thought I want to pursue or feelings I have.”
When do you journal each day?
“Journaling is the last thing I do in the day before I go to bed. It helps me focus on what happened in the day and how I want to use that going forward.”
What tips or advice would you give others who want to build a journaling habit?
“Journaling doesn’t need to be anything massive, some of my entries are only a few sentences. It can also be used as a tool. I often find myself searching for keywords in my journals to determine when a certain event took place.”
What have you learned from keeping a journal?
“Keeping a journal has helped greatly with mental clutter. Given that everything I do is written down, I don’t need to worry about remembering all of it since I can remind myself at any time. There is a peace of mind that comes with knowing the information is captured and can’t be forgotten.”
What is your favorite thing about the Day One app?
“I absolutely love the metadata that Day One captures. I often look back at the map to see where I was on each day. And simple things like the weather and what song I was listening to at the time are all fun to look back on years later. “
How has Day One helped you journal consistently?
“The ability to set reminders independently for each journal has been very helpful. I’ve also used IOS shortcuts to journal in the past, though I don’t use those anymore for various reasons.”
“Keeping a journal has helped greatly with mental clutter. Given that everything I do is written down, I don’t need to worry about remembering all of it since I can remind myself at any time. There is a peace of mind that comes with knowing the information is captured and can’t be forgotten.”
Wrapping Up: Journaling as a Tool for Capturing Pertinent Information
“Journaling is often viewed from a purely emotional perspective. But for those like me, using it as a tool to help capture pertinent information can be incredibly valuable and even open the door to start to understand some of those emotions that might be harder for engineers or similar people to figure out.”
Start Your Journaling Streak
with Day One
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.
