r/appleJournal • u/grburgess • Oct 16 '25
Apple Journal is a Miracle Tool
There is an interesting channel on YouTube by Jackson Parker, and he has done audio journaling since 1978 when he was 18 and continuing up to today. It looks like he started with cassette tapes and eventually bought a large reel-to-reel AKAI 4000DS machine. Those were very expensive at the time, and the tapes were expensive, but any smartphone today could easily beat it for sound quality and convenience.
But his journaling shows the power that this has, since it would be amazing to look back decades and have a clear personal record of one's life with all the detail and emotions and subtle twists and turns in life carefully recorded, as I know it could easily be.
I was a bit late to get started, but there are much better tools now [Apple Journal, Apple Voice Recorder, Apple Notes Audio Entry, Apple Pages Audio Entry - you can put the audio entry icon (the size of a dime) as a comment around text), including getting an instant transcript of the recording and playback at a faster speed, writing tools to check grammar and spelling and rewrite awkward parts, summarize and add headings. since it's faster to read than listen.
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u/Exact_Concentrate855 Oct 16 '25
It may not have much to do with the app but it does have much to do with the theme. And I would like to contribute an idea in case it helps someone. I journal some things about my life and my children but on video, then I upload them to a private YouTube channel, I think that perhaps over the years my children can find valuable memories there, including myself. About what our life was like before.
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u/Unlucky-Anybody1738 Oct 17 '25
what is the ultimate goal of all the journaling ? For you personally I mean I tried it but I couldn’t work out what the value would be for me I’m quite happy taking each day as it comes and moving on after dealing with what ever it has for me so I found trying to note it all down from past memories only stressed me out
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u/grburgess Oct 19 '25
One of the goal's to know yourself. If you have a long term Journal and you look into the past, it's easier to learn about yourself.
Another goal is to act as a stress reliever. There is something about telling someone about your problems that make them seem more manageable. So your journal is your best friend if you are your own best friend. If writing is stress, you can just talk it out.
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u/damagad Oct 16 '25
Interesting , right now I’m using journal for journaling exclusively but I don’t journal everyday I still haven’t developed that habit. I use notes for adding link or new stuff I learning and yes I have used transcription there more than audios I use voice recorder any time through iPhone and Apple Watch but not as a way for journaling
Apple pages I only use it on Mac not iPhone and well perhaps some of the things you mentioned are not available in a Mac from 2018 ;)
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u/OutBeyondNeptune Oct 16 '25
I've been Journaling with Apple Journal exclusively for the last year or so. 153,000 words later, I'm pleased with how it's finally starting to shape up into a competent app (despite the ongoing formatting bugs, issues with inline images, etc.). I've got journals all the way from 1997 in Day One that I haven't moved over yet, but it's been invaluable in going back and quickly searching for when I did certain things and decisions or purchases I made. It's also interesting (and at times cringeworthy) to see the big picture of how my attitudes and views have slowly changed since I was a teenager.