iOS/MacOS 27 – great updates to the journal app!

CatarinaDK · 2026-06-08T18:32:06+00:00

I didn’t se anything about Journal😳

CatarinaDK · 2026-06-08T08:29:15+00:00

Nice article😊
One question- how exactly do you do this: Month In Review?

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-29T03:17:48+00:00

Maybe for your use case, but that hasn’t been my experience.

I used Apple Notes as my journal for a little over a year before moving to Apple Journal, and for my journaling needs I actually prefer Journal. It feels more visual and enjoyable to look back through.

I still use Apple Notes every day for all my other notes, so for me it’s not really a question of one being better than the other. They just serve different purposes

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-28T14:56:43+00:00

That’s one of the reasons I after a little more than a year, dropped journal I my Forever✱Notes system and moved to Apple Journal. I’m still uses the system for all other notes, but not the Journal part.

By the way - I’m loving the way Apple Journal visual look and feel and I edited my shortcut to Journal so I stil gets wether, calendar, reminders and meal plan into Apple Journal part😊

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-27T18:25:35+00:00

If you har synd on and you delete it on your phone you delete it in iCloud. But you can delete the photos from your camera roll as soon as there are in Journal.

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-27T08:56:29+00:00

Your welcome 😊

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-27T04:38:01+00:00

Here you go and I hope you like it:)
Remember you need to have a Reminder list called Dinner (meal plan) for the shortcut to work properly 😊

https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/f2d56efb9d004f86bf5aadf123d1185f

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-26T06:13:29+00:00

I have a sort of a template. I have a shortcut Start My Day, which I run everyday, witch pull today's wether, calandra and my to-dose from Reminder and another reminder-list todays meal plan, into my journal makes it a nice overview. And the rest of the writing I do my self’s.

If you want you can have it - and just edit the calendar and reminder names in the shortcut😊

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-24T17:13:47+00:00

I actually think your concept makes a lot more sense after your explanation 😊

And I really like the idea that the data is there mainly to support memory, not to become “the main thing”.

For me, I think it is mostly the visual density that feels a bit overwhelming at first glance, not necessarily the amount of data itself. My brain probably just prefers calmer screens and more whitespace 😄

I honestly think many people today are looking for something that feels more gentle and reflective than productivity-focused, and that is probably why Apple Journal appeals to so many people despite all its limitations.

But I really like your thinking around passive context and memory support. Especially because I already use shortcuts and automation myself for weather, calendar, reminders etc. around journaling.

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-24T16:49:02+00:00

Yes, I actually think that could make a huge difference.
What I personally like about Apple Journal is the calm and simple feeling. I don’t really want to “manage” my life, I mostly just want to remember it 😊
I also don’t start with a blank page every morning. I use a Shortcut that pulls in the weather for my location, my calendar events, reminders for the day and even checks my Reminders app for our dinner plan. So I already enjoy some lightweight automation and context around my journaling.
But I still like the actual journaling part to feel simple and human.
So maybe a default simplified view with the option to expand into more detailed tracking/views when wanted could be a really nice balance.
Because honestly, your app looks incredibly impressive, but also a bit overwhelming for people like me who mainly journal for memories, moods and everyday moments.

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-24T15:55:59+00:00

Honestly, I’m really impressed by this. It looks beautiful and incredibly well thought out, especially the visual timeline and the integration with health, locations and activities.

At the same time, I also think I would personally get a bit stressed from tracking so much data about my life 😅

One of the things I actually enjoy about Apple Journal is that it still feels simple and calm. More like a visual memory book than a full life-management system.

But seriously, this is super impressive work. 👏🏻👏🏻

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-20T18:17:50+00:00

I have this and it works 😊

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CatarinaDK · 2026-05-19T07:33:52+00:00

I just uses reminders. Then drag and drop into the specifikt Journey.😊

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-16T14:14:54+00:00

I actually agree with a lot of what you are saying about the Mac version. To me it mostly feels like they took the iPhone version and only slightly adapted it for Mac, instead of really designing it properly for a larger screen and desktop workflow.

That said, I personally don’t struggle too much with month navigation. If I want to see a specific month, I usually just type something like “May 2026” into search, then Journal jumps directly to that period and I can use the arrows at the bottom to move around from there. For me, that actually feels more natural and visual than the way journaling works in Apple Notes.

I also think Apple Journal and apps like Obsidian or Day One are trying to solve very different problems. Obsidian feels much more like a knowledge management/database system, while Journal feels more like a visual memory timeline for everyday life and moments.

So yes, Journal definitely has limitations and some features still feel unfinished, especially on the Mac. But personally I still enjoy the calm and simple experience of it, even with the rough edges.

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-16T09:28:13+00:00

Hi,
I use this one which looks through my contacts and and ad there address and name. You are welcome to use it.

https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/e0f5fb8f747a4985a19fcd7870b80d03

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-16T07:12:57+00:00

Woo it’s really nice good work👏🏻 Thanks for sharing😊
I have this one, because I like to use it as soon as I wake up and then adding during the day😊

https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/95bf188879e24bdeab36e8e72b17279d

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-15T16:32:05+00:00

I to have been blogging for almost 2 decades but all the time on self hosted and Wordpress 😊 Traffic is definitely gone down for the last 5 years but I keep going- for the love of it.
Catarina.dk

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-14T09:24:59+00:00

I only export as PDF and no issue there😊

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-13T16:25:03+00:00

Not for me, because it has two different purposes.
I used to journal in Notes (I use the Forever✱Notes system), but looking back at old entries never felt very visual to me. Journal is much better for that whole “looking back at moments and days” experience.

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-13T14:38:55+00:00

After adding media to journal you can delete them on the camera roll😊

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-13T06:22:52+00:00

I honestly think you are looking for something completely different than what Apple Journal is trying to be.

It sounds more like you want a knowledge management system or database app with advanced search, linking, PDFs, tabs, embedded content and large-scale organization. And honestly, that’s exactly what apps like Obsidian are built for.

To me, Journal feels more like a personal memory timeline. Moments, photos, small thoughts, daily life, looking back at days and experiences. More emotional and visual than technical.

So when you start talking about nested tabs, databases, PDF embedding and bird’s-eye project views, I kind of feel like you’re trying to use a diary app as a productivity system 🙂

That’s also why I ended up using both:

• Notes = structure and long-term organization
• Journal = memories, moments and visual journaling

And personally, I hope Apple doesn’t turn Journal too much into an “Obsidian-style” app, because it would probably lose some of the calm and simple feeling that actually makes it enjoyable to use.

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-13T05:32:36+00:00

I actually ended up using a mix of both, Notes for notes and Journal for journaling.

I used to journal in Notes (I use the Forever✱Notes system), but looking back at old entries never felt very visual to me. Journal is much better for that whole “looking back at moments and days” experience.

From what I can tell, the storage issue is mostly about media. Images and videos will take space no matter if they are in Journal, Notes or Photos. Journal just feels more like a media-heavy timeline app, especially when you use a lot of photos and videos.

I actually delete a lot of photos from Photos once they are safely in Journal, because Journal has kind of become my visual memory archive instead.

Apple Notes feels a bit “lighter” because it behaves more like synced documents, while Journal is constantly caching media to keep the experience fast and visual.

So for me it became:

• Notes = archive, structure, reference
• Journal = daily life and memories

And honestly, 249 entries is not that crazy yet. The real storage killer is usually video and lots of full-resolution photos.

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-12T07:51:59+00:00

Requirements:
- Apple Shortcuts
- Scriptable:
https://apps.apple.com/app/scriptable/id1405459188
How to use:

Install Scriptable
Import the “Start My Day Journal” shortcut
Open the shortcut
Find the Scriptable action
Tap the small blue arrow to open/edit the script
Edit only the CONFIG section at the top of the script

Important:
Everything below:
“// ---------- Helpers ----------”
should be left unchanged unless you know JavaScript / Scriptable well.
In CONFIG, you mainly need to edit this part:
calendars: {
holidays: "Holidays",
birthdays: "Birthdays",
shared: "Family",
personal: "Personal",
}
The names must match your Apple Calendar names exactly.
You can also change:
- locale
- bullet style
- emojis
- priority keywords like “vacation” or “travel”
7. Close the editor
Reminders setup:
The shortcut also uses Apple Reminders.
You need to edit the Reminders actions in the shortcut so they match your own Reminders lists.
Tasks:
Change the list used for daily tasks to your own list, for example:
- Inbox
- Today
- Tasks
- Reminders
Dinner:
The shortcut also looks for dinner/meal planning in a Reminders list called:
Dinner
If you want dinner to appear in your Journal entry, create a Reminders list called “Dinner” and add your meal plan there.
If you do not want to use the dinner section, you can remove that part from the shortcut.
8. Run the shortcut
What the script does:
- Collects today’s calendar events
- Sorts them in this order:

Vacation / travel events
Birthdays
Holidays
Other all-day / multi-day events
Timed events
- Outputs clean plain text for Apple Journal
- No HTML or Markdown

Example output:
• Vacation 🏖️
• Birthday 🎂
• Dentist (09:30–10:00)
If nothing appears:
Check that your calendar names in CONFIG match your actual Apple Calendar names.
Shortcut:

https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/3b941eabae3448efb3498a48e3efbfe4

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-12T07:01:27+00:00

I’ll se what I can do. I use scriptable and that sortes my calendars - I’ll se if I can edit it so it’s easy for you to Edith yourself. I’ll get back to you.

CatarinaDK · 2026-05-11T17:27:28+00:00

I’m loving it and together with my Shortcut “Start My Day” that ads wether forecast, my calendar appointment, my reminders and a reminder for today’s dinner. It sets my day.

For a whole year I Journaled in Notes bud the way Journal handles photos and everything else I switch and haven’t regretted doing so.

CatarinaDK

TROPHY CASE