In the first of hopefully a number of posts, I thought it would be useful to write about some of the tools that I use on a regular basis. I know I find it useful when I read others suggest tools that are particularly useful, and no reason I shouldn’t contribute for others that may be in a similar situation.
Since December 2011, I have sporadically, and since September 2015 regularly, used Day One Journal (iTunes Store link) on my iPhone and iPad to keep track of my life in a private journal. Posts are often short, although occasionally quite long, and always intended just for private consumption.
While I never kept a diary as a kid, I did find that keeping a blog in college both allowed me a forum for expression as well as an opportunity to write. While I wouldn’t consider myself a writer, as a lawyer a lot of my job is writing… and practice makes you better. Writing down ideas that are trapped in your head can also both help sharpen those ideas as you put them into a more tangible state, and allow you to push them out of your head. Accordingly, the mere process of writing it down, even if you never look at it again, and never share it with anyone, is beneficial.
In addition, particularly as I’ve increased use a little over a year ago, Day One’s reminders of what you wrote about in previous years is a great way to remind yourself of the personal journey that is life. Looking back, I can certainly see the ebbs and flows of work and life, and am empowered to make changes to improve both.
A few of the characteristics of Day One Journal that I particularly enjoy include automatic location and weather updates stored in each post, the ability to import pictures into posts, and the ability to export one or more posts into a PDF. Overall, I would definitely give Day One Journal an A+.
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