Demo of how I do my daily journal using github
I have kept a daily journal for a number of years. Being in tech, I initially tried several notes apps and journal apps but found them all too restrictive and difficult to keep up. Eventually, I settled on nice solid paper, and I tried several options there too. I tried the lined journals, I tried the grids, I tried the dot journals, and the blank ones. Of all of those, I loved the dots and the blank ones, since I felt the most free to express myself however I liked.
- I did settle on one really nice implementation, which involved a dot page and a pre-filled task page with day summaries on the other page, one set of each per day. This was such a good way to do it that the disadvantages I am about to list were almost outweighed and I almost stayed with this method. Here is where you can buy such a journal: Freestyle Journal
I went for years using these, journaling every day and I had a few things I noticed.
- tasks often had to be in a single place I could refer back to, or I would have to transfer them over into the new day. I did not like having to spend time copying over lists of things every day but this was the best view, when it was all in one place
- I had no way of searching my journals for things. I found myself flipping through book after book trying to find where something happened. It was a lot and I started having so many journals they took up a whole shelf
- I worried about my privacy, and how any family member could grab one and read through it. With just one or two journals it was relatively easy to keep safe, but I started having so many I could not ensure their safety
But then I started documenting things for work and for personal projects in git with markdown. I started loving markdown and how flexible it was, and I realized that it solved all my issues with my previous journal, plus adding some surprising benefits.
The obvious benefits
- Copy/paste task lists, no re-writing is needed
- Search my entries, and I can even tag things for quicker searches
- Totally private, in a private git repo
The surprising benefits
- Much more verbose when typing, so my journal entries are more rich
- Don't have to worry about space on the page, a single days entry can be as long as I need it to be
- Always accessible - I don't need to carry a book around with me. I can use my phone and it works just as well. (iPhone8+ paired with my magic keyboard)
- Can link directly to other documents and lists, not to mention any website
- Can insert images into my entries
- Can have ascii art in my entries!
- Can easily share things I write and split things out into other documents - nothing I write is wasted
- Can automate parts of my journal, and have the template get generated for me (and be customized)
As far as how I edit it, I have the repo pulled down on my pc and I will edit it like that when I am on there, But I have it set up simple enough to just edit in the github online editor, which is what I use from my phone or outside device. Currently 80% of the time I am using the github online editor and sending commits with the message "update" directly to main. Yes, its not proper git technique, but its just a journal lol.