Life is busy. Staying organised is daunting. What you need is one place to put everything. There are many different solutions on the market, with some offering unique features and others being well built. Let’s take a look at 5 apps that each give you a different way to manage your diary.
What makes a good diary app?
Like with most things, there is no one ‘best journaling app’. Different diary apps have different solutions to different problems, but there are some features that will generally give a better experience:
- Cross platform: Many of us use different devices with different operating systems. There are some great apps out there, such as Momento for iOS, only being available on iPhone can be limiting. Ideally, an app as crucial as managing your diary should be available on all your devices, whether that is a computer, tablet or mobile device.
- Well maintained: These apps work best with long-term use. The last thing you want is for development to stop, support to end, or worse, servers to go down. Apps which have endured the test of time can give you peace of mind that you won’t need to switch away anytime soon.
- Feature packed: For some apps, their selling point is simplicity, but that doesn’t mean it has to be basic. Great apps give you a simple user-experience without sacrificing on features. The longer you use an app, the more this becomes important, as you don’t want to have to switch away as your requirements change.
- Integrations: It’s rare to find a single app that does everything you want. Instead, you’ll likely want it to integrate it with your existing services to see everything in one place. There are some common integrations which most apps with have (e.g., calendars), but if you have a specific need, do some research to see which apps support it.
- Privacy: A diary is an extremely personal thing. You log information about your life that needs to be kept out of anybody else’s hands. Always ensure the diary apps you choose to put this information in have at the bare minimum industry standard security practices.
5 Diary Apps to help Organise your Life
1. Diarium: Digitally augmented diary
Starting off with a simple yet powerful tool, Diarium brings journaling into the 21st century. Just like a diary, it gives you a space to make reflect on each day with powerful editor. You can move beyond text and add rich elements, such as images, tags and files. And it doesn’t stop there: with integrations from Google Calendar, Fitbit, Strava, and more, it can be a one-stop-shop for your day.
As far a the concept of a digital journal goes, Diarium does pretty much everything you might need. Its simplicity makes it easy for anybody to use while giving your features to journal more effectively. It also supports syncing to all your devices, so you can take it with you wherever you go. Other diary apps that deserve an honourable mention are Diaro who provides some similar features, and Day One who gives a more straightforward and frictionless way to journal.
2. Notion: A complete solution
While Notion isn’t marketed the same as diary apps, it has features which suit it the purpose well. It provides a workspace with templates to quickly create to-do lists, journals, calendars, Kanban boards - the list goes on. All these templates have been preconfigured using Notion’s page building system, which further gives you the flexibility to create just what you need.
A key about Notion is that you can also use it at school, university, work, or in any other teams. By having larger groups adopt Notion, you can move away from a fractured workflow and to a central hub. This lets Notion become a life tool that you can carry around with you day-to-day rather than just as a personal tool. Used right, it can be your second brain for anything you need it to. An honourable mention goes to Obsidian; a similar app with a smaller set of features, but preferred by many.
3. Twos: Things galore
Twos’ approach is a little different than the others so far. While they focus on giving you a wide, open and customisable space, the focus here is on lists. That doesn’t just make it a to-do list though, as there are many features that break it away. You might be surprised with what seems like a checklist app on the surface.
A recent core development of Twos have been their Personal Active Lists (PALs) which aims to help you get things done faster. When you write things down, Twos AI features can analyse it and make suggestions of ways to get it done. It’s still in its early stages, but their goal is to reduce the friction between making a checklist and getting it done. Using AI, Twos has the chance to offer something that few diary apps do today.
4. Finch: Get stuff done, the self-care way
Finch is a bit different from the rest. It knows that things don’t always happen on time, and life is not a strict schedule. Instead, Finch is a self-care app with powerful tools to keep track of what you need to get done. It brings gamification to to-do apps, helping you feel more involved in the process and giving you the tools to build both regular habits and journaling habits.
If you’re looking for something a bit different - something that feels like its along the journey with you - Finch might be the way to go. It’s flexibility with task completions, tracking and journaling make it a calmer, friendlier place to get things done. Whether you’re looking to build routines or just get things done, Finch can help with that.
5. RescueTime: What are you actually working on?
Organising your life is one thing, but managing your time is another. You might have everything mapped out perfectly but if you don’t know what things take up all your time, it might seem like you’re still overworked. That’s where RescueTime comes in. It keeps track of what you spend time on, and can help limit distractions when you really need to focus.
The previous apps have mostly focused around figuring out what you need to do. RescueTime isn’t necessarily a diary app, but helps you with the how you need to achieve it. If you’re struggling keeping on-track and staying focused, or if you’re always running out of your time, this might be a great solution for you.
So, which Diary Apps should you pick?
I can’t answer that question for you. Only you know what you’re looking for in a journaling experience. The best way to find out is to play around and see what works. The five apps showcased here are a great place to start, but that doesn’t mean the good apps stop there. Explore, see what’s out there, and build a system that works for you.
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