I started writing a diary 2019. To be precise, I don’t like keeping a diary. What’s more, I’ve found that my brain works better if I take a moment every morning to pour its contents onto paper. This practice got me through 2020, an extremely difficult year, and I’ve stuck with it ever since.
My diary is not advanced. From the time I started, my therapist recommended a few sections – for example, I fill one section each day with things I look forward to. I use another section to think about what I’m going to eat and other things to do that day. All of this is simple; I just use a template with a header for this content.
But I like to collect and include some information. For example, the weather every day. I’ve noticed that I’m often in a bad mood on rainy days, so recording the weather and my thoughts can give me some useful context when reviewing entries later. I would also like to know when I wrote this post, where I was when I wrote it, and if possible, include a quote from the day or something else worth reflecting on.
I can manually collect all of the above information myself every morning. But I found it much faster to use Apple Shortcuts to get the job done. This app, which comes pre-installed on every Mac, iPhone, and iPad, automatically extracts all kinds of information and formats it nicely for my journal. I run a custom automation every morning. Here’s how I build it.
Date, weather and location
Apple by Justin Porter
Launch Apple Shortcuts on the device of your choice and create a new shortcut. The software can be a little confusing, but don’t worry, I’ll walk you through everything. In the right column you’ll see a number of different small automations you can run. Drag any number of these into the main column on the left. I like to search for what I’m looking for, but if you prefer, you can manually explore the options to see what the shortcut does.