A journal is an important first step in taking control of our health. If we don’t learn how to take control of our health then how can we truly expect to improve our lives? this is why I believe it’s so important for you to keep a journal. But not just any journal will do, some journals are better than others. But here I’m bringing you my list of the best free journal writing software. These are pages that allow you to write on them and they can help you take control of your health!
Here are the best journaling software that you will love.
RedNotebook
RedNotebook is an open source journal software for Windows. This software has a calendar included in it. So to create a journal, you can start by picking a date from the calendar. Then, the journal is created corresponding to that date. The journal can include multiple pages.
You can create a journal related to work, day-to-day life, blog, diary, newsletter, review, etc. for a particular date. In order to do so, it provides two modes: Edit and Preview. While Edit mode enables you to add and modify content of a journal, Preview mode lets you see the actual preview of the journal without used syntax(s). You can’t edit content in Preview mode.
In Edit Mode, you can create a journal by inserting title, line, line break, bullet list (first, second, and indent items), tags, and date & time. So, you can create newsletters, blogs, reviews, articles, etc. To add other important information to any of such journals, you can use pictures, files (music, video, etc.), and links. You can’t see the image, files, or link in this mode, as they are added with a particular syntax. Here, you can format the text by using typographical emphasis and formatting font. Use spellcheck tool to find errors in text. Also in this mode, you can even add various type of templates like Call, Journey, Help, Meeting, Personal, or even create a custom template and use it in future too.
In this journal writing software, you can use Statistics option to view counts of words, letters, lines, distinct words, edited days, etc. General preferences like date format, font, close program to system tray, etc. can also be set. You can also search previously created journals by a phrase, using the search box at the left panel.
To export, it supports formats including Plain Text, PDF, HTML, and Latex. While exporting a journal, you can choose whether you want to export all days’ journals, current day’s, or a selected range of journals. Also, you can choose to include text, tags, or both in output.
It doesn’t let you format image size or its alignment. So, you have to do it manually as per the specifications of your journal.
It is easy to use and comes in portable version.
Reflectly
On top of encouraging a regular journaling practice by prompting daily reflection, this popular app uses positive psychology, mindfulness, and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), an action-oriented mode of therapy designed to combat unhelpful thought patterns, all to teach you how to reduce stress, develop gratitude, and gain perspective in life. It also doubles as a mood tracker, thanks to the A.I.-generated journaling prompts that collect info on how you’re doing.
Use it: $10/month or $48/year; iOS and Google Play
Diaro
You can use this multiplatform diary app across your devices, whether you want to tap out entries on your phone, tablet, or computer. Its interface is simple but has a lot of helpful features, like the ability to attach photos to your entries, customize the look of your journal, and organize your entries by folder, tag, or location. (Android users especially love this app—it’s currently sitting at a 4.6-average rating across over 95,000 reviews.)
Use it: Free or $6 per year for premium; iOS and Google Play
Daylio
If you’re not the sort to write long, rambly journal entries but still want to keep track of your life, Daylio might be a good option for you. You can create a daily entry in basically two taps of your finger, logging your mood and daily activities. Each daily entry has a space for notes, if you do want to write about your day, reflect on your feelings, or whatever else you want to record. You can backup your entries to your cloud storage and export your entries in a PDF. Just in case.
Use it: Free or $24 per year for premium; iOS and Google Play
Day One
Users love Day One for its lovely and easy-to-use interface. On top of elegantly designed space for journaling, Day One also has plenty of prompts for those days you have no idea what to write about. While the premium version does come with some extra bells and whistles, like unlimited video and audio entries and syncing across multiple devices, the free version has what matters most: unlimited text entries for your journaling needs.
Use it: Free or $3 per month for premium; iOS and Google Play
Happyfeed
Therapists often recommend gratitude journaling for better mental well-being. If you’ve had a hard time picking up the habit, try Happyfeed. On top of recording daily things you’re grateful for, you can upload pictures and memories to go with it. When you need a pick-me-up, shake your phone to access your “Happiness Jar” and you’ll be able to see a random day from the past.
Use it: $3 per month or $30 per year; iOS and Google Play
Reflection.app
Just because this digital journal has a minimal look doesn’t mean it lacks features. Reflection.app syncs across mobile and desktop, makes it easy to organize and search your entries, and has a few helpful frameworks to guide your journaling practice, like monthly and annual reviews.
Use it: Free or $3 per month; iOS and Google Play
Jour
This interactive mindfulness journal prompts you to reflect daily on yourself and the world around you. Not only will that help you make a habit out of journaling, it will also provide insightful reports of your well-being over time.
Use it: $8 per month or $60 per year; iOS
Zinnia Journal & Planner
This digital journaling app aims to mimic the experience of keeping a pen-to-paper notebook (especially when you use a stylus to mimic the ~organic~ journaling experience). You can use templates, stickers, and other in-app designs to express your creativity and create a beautiful journal at the same time. Plus, if you’re a person who loves bullet journaling, this is a solid app to translate that habit to a digital platform.
Use it: $40 per year; iOS
Prompted Journal
If you’re specifically looking for a diary app with plenty of prompts, Prompted Journal is full of gentle and thought-provoking “conversation starters” for “chats between you and…you.” Get to know yourself better, develop self-compassion, and reflect on your life up to now. Even cooler, some prompts recur every few months so you can keep an eye on how you’re changing and growing over time.
Use it: $1 per month; iOS and Google Play
Windows Journal
Windows Journal is a free software for journal writing. It lets you create multiple journals in different windows, like newsletter with current date stamp, blogs with simple paragraphs, pictures, or drawings, articles, reviews, or even personal day to day diaries. Multiple pages in a journal can be added.
Background of a journal can be customized by using File > Page Setup option. You can set paper size, paper orientation, paper style (A4, Executive, Letter, etc.), line style, line spacing, line color, margins, and background and title area. You can add an image in the background of a journal as well.
To start with, you can add title and then the actual content. The current date will appear below the note title. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide a calendar feature to write for a particular date. You can only create journals for the current day.
It lets you add text, pictures (JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, EMF, etc.), and drawings to create journals. You can adjust image size and position by using PC’s mouse. Here are some tools offered by Windows Journal to create a desired journal:
- Text Box: You can write content by inserting a text box. To format text, select the desired text in the text box and right click on it. You will see a context menu with Format Text option. This option lets you modify font type, size, style, color, effect, and script. This tool helps you in creating a journal in customized layout, as you can place text box anywhere in the page. For example, you can create a two columns newsletter by placing two text boxes at left and right.
- Pen tool: Using this tool, you can draw or write anything within the journal. This pen comes in five types: Fine Chisel, Fine Point, Very Fine Point, Medium Point, and Marker. You can even customize pen settings including its color, thickness, and tip style. So using this tool, you can write creative journals with drawings, sketches, etc.
- Highlighter: This is used to highlight specific part within diary or journal. Customization of the highlighter tool is possible. You can select a highlighter style (medium, thick, or extra thick), color, thickness, and tip style.
- Space Tool: You can add spaces between paragraphs or specific text as per your requirement.
- Eraser: It is simple to delete any of the drawn items.
- Flags: Different colors of flags can be added to a journal.
The created journal can be exported as Windows Journal Note (JNT), Windows Journal Template (JTP), Web Archives (MHT or MHTML), or Tagged Image File Format (TIFF). You can also print the journal, send it to a mail recipient, and do more.
Windows Journal is a good journal creator software. Apart from above mentioned features, it also lets you pan through opened journal, zoom in/out, open it in reading mode, view recent notes, view entries by creation date, modification date, flags, list, or folder, etc.
Conclusion
Journaling is vital to improving your well-being by boosting your creativity, mental health, and self-care. Imagine if you had a place to record and reflect on memories and how to improve — a place where you can get in touch with your emotions and history. For some, this place is called a journal and for others it’s simply a notebook or a blog. Journaling can be used as therapy or to simply keep track of thoughts and ideas.