A Comprehensive Guide to Using Journal in iOS 18

Essential Information

• Apple’s Journal app is the perfect tool for creating journal entries and expressing your thoughts.
• In addition to adding photos, videos, voice memos, and location tags, this app also provides daily prompts and highlights from your activities for inspiration.
• With the release of iOS 18, the Journal app now includes valuable mood and mindfulness minute trackers, allowing you to monitor your emotions and time spent journaling.

Initially launched in iOS 17.2, the Apple Journal app is designed with the goal of encouraging users to write journal entries and document their thoughts and feelings. Emphasizing the therapeutic benefits of writing, the app simplifies the process of logging your ideas while attaching photos and videos, thus fostering a healthy habit of reflection.

With the updates in iOS 18, Apple has made the Journal app even more user-friendly. If you’ve ever wanted to start a journal and need a little motivation, this app stands out as one of the best journaling apps to kickstart your journey.

How to Use Journal in iOS 18: 5 Helpful Tips

Journaling is a fundamental mindfulness activity linked to numerous mental health benefits. However, forming a regular journaling habit can be challenging at times.

This is where Apple’s Journal app shines. It not only facilitates the initiation of journal entries but also helps in creating a writing schedule, adding multimedia elements, providing prompts for inspiration, and offering insightful reflections.

Here’s how to effectively utilize the Journal app in iOS 18 to cultivate a consistent journaling habit.

1. Writing a Journal Entry

To get started, simply open the Journal app, tap on the + icon, choose New Entry, and you’re ready to go.

Input a title for your journal entry and begin writing. If you need to format your text, create bulleted or numbered lists, or change font color, tap the Aa (Format) option in the bottom menu.

This same menu allows you to incorporate additional media into your journal entry, such as pictures, videos, voice memos, and location tags. Simply select the option you desire, grant any required permissions (only the first time), and add your media.

When you’re finished with your entry, tap Done in the top right corner. Your journal entry will be saved and accessible from the Journal homepage.

You can edit, update, or delete entries at any time by tapping the three dots in the bottom right corner of an entry and selecting the appropriate option.

2. Utilizing Reflections (Prompts)

When inspiration is lacking, the Journal app provides writing prompts, known as ‘Reflections’, perfect for those days when you need a boost.

To access them, tap the + icon at the bottom, then choose from the available prompts to spark your writing.

If these prompts do not resonate, tap the ‘refresh’ icon for a new suggestion. Once you find a prompt that inspires you, select it and begin writing.

Always remember to tap ‘Done’ once you’ve completed your writing to save your entry. Journal entries made with prompts will feature a colored ribbon to help you distinguish between inspiration-driven and spontaneous writing days.

Besides text prompts, the Journal app can also draw from your activities and moments throughout the day that you may want to write about, such as a walk you took, a photo you captured, or music you listened to. These suggestions will appear as recommendations for writing. If you prefer to log these activities without elaborating, you can choose to ‘Save Without Writing’ as well.

3. Establish a Journaling Schedule

The Journal app simplifies the process of developing a regular writing routine. When you first open the app, you’ll be prompted to set up a journaling schedule. If you skipped this step or wish to modify your schedule later on, here’s how to do it:

Open the Settings app, then navigate to Apps > Journal > Notifications.

Here, tap on Allow Notifications on This iPhone. Toggle on Allow Notifications.

Next, go back and toggle on Journaling Schedule. Select the days you prefer to journal, and set a reminder time.

For added motivation—consider gamifying your journaling practice—enabling Keep Your Streak is also a great idea.

4. Track Your Mood and Mindfulness Minutes

The latest iOS 18 update enhances the Journal app with the ability to log your mood while writing a journal entry. Here’s how:

In your journal entry, tap the ‘State of Mind’ icon located at the bottom row. When prompted for ‘Health’ access, click Continue.

Note: Health app access is required as mood tracking is integrated within the Health app, which includes both physical and mental health data.

Tap Turn On All, then select Allow in the top right corner.

Now, you can utilize the Health app’s mood log to express how you feel while journaling. Use the slider to assess your emotions.

Select the emotion that best describes your state and provide the reason. Tap Done to log it. This information will also be included in your journal entry.

The Health app integration automatically tracks the duration of your journaling sessions. This data can be accessed through Health app > Summary > Show All Health Data > Mindful Minutes.

5. Access Your Journaling Insights

Your mindful minutes are one component of the journaling insights you can track using the Health app. However, additional insights are available directly within the Journal app.

On the Journal app homepage, you can view metrics such as “Number of Entries This Year,” “Words Written,” and “Days Journaled.” More detailed insights can be found by clicking the three-dot icon in the top right corner > Insights.

The top card displays your current journaling streak. The ‘Stats’ section shows your yearly entries and the frequency of reflections, media attachments, and mood logs. The Calendar feature offers an additional way to visualize your journaling days.

In summary, the Journal app provides an easy and comprehensive way to articulate your thoughts and reflections while incorporating multimedia and fostering a consistent journaling practice. With its integration with the Health app in iOS 18, the Journal can assist you in tracking your moods and emotions, as well as the mindful time spent journaling.

We hope this guide has equipped you to start using the Journal app in iOS 18. Until next time, stay positive!

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