One of the big journaling debates centers around using a paper or digital journal. Your own values and style are probably the best indicator of which you prefer; the most important aspect is getting something that you will make effective use of, and then ensuring that [[Create a permanent journal asset|you keep it safe]]. # Paper journals Until smartphones became ubiquitous, paper was by far the most popular choice in travel journals. Paper journals, particularly with high quality paper and fancy covers, often just feel...special. ## Advantages - You can sometimes capture other interesting trip momentos alongside your notes, such as admission tickets, sketches at the local coffeeshop, pressed wildflowers, and so forth - Creates a very tangible keepsake from a trip - Seeing your own handwriting many years later - No batteries needed ## Disadvantages - Less portable—you'll need to carry it and a writing utensil with you - It's harder to do [[Progressive journaling]] in the future - Some people struggle to use "nice" journals, because they worry about "spoiling" them - It's much harder to create a backup of it - You'll have to transport, store, and keep it undamaged forever ## Suggestions - Use a small pocket-sized notebook to [[Note the details|take notes]] before you write in your actual travel journal. This will allow you to [[Quick capture your trip notes]] without having to wordsmith in the moment. You also won't need to worry about your penmanship. - Make a backup! The easiest way is to simply take photos of each page, then store those in a safe place. # Digital journals ## Advantages - More portable, so you can always have it with you - Far easier to back-up, and easy to store many backup copies - Easier to share snippets with others - [[Progressive journaling]] is a breeze - Similarly, it's easier to edit, insert, or delete - Can be [[Journals should remain private|password protected]] ## Disadvantages - Possibility of losing it due to file format changes - You may need to travel with a larger keyboard for long-form journaling - Requires batteries ## Suggestions - Use an app that allows for easy export (plain text or markdown is best, followed by Word or PDF) - Don't rely heavily on proprietary formats - Don't rely on [[Journaling vs social media|social media posts]] as your journal # What I use and why I fall into the digital journal camp. For me, the biggest deciding factors are backups, being able to easily edit trip notes, and having those notes be easily accessible at any time (especially between devices). I use three main apps: - [Drafts](https://getdrafts.com/) - [Bear](https://bear.app/) - [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md/) Because I use these same apps—and generally the same workflow below—for most of all of my writing and ideation, I'm pretty comfortable with this setup. But there are a number of other apps or solutions you can employ instead. ## My workflow ### It starts in Drafts... I use Drafts to [[Quick capture your trip notes|quickly capture]] trip details that I want to save, which the app excels at. It opens directly to a blank note so I can start typing immediately. The Apple Watch shortcut allows for one tap transcription, which works very well (way better than Siri, for me at least). The result is a list of quick notes outlining short, discrete ideas or observations. I use the free version and have this app installed on my phone, watch, tablet, and computer. ### ...gets processed in Bear... When I'm actually journaling, as opposed to just taking notes, I'm using the Bear app. I review the list of Drafts I've collected and use them to remind me of [[Note the details|details]] I wanted to write about. Bear is an elegant and focused writing tool, so it works well as a vehicle for [[§ 1.4 - Reflect|reflection]] and general writing. In addition to password protection, it also offers markdown, so it's easy to transfer to other apps like Obsidian. I pay for Bear Pro ($15 annually), which allows syncing across my phone, watch, tablet, and computer. ### And stored in Obsidian (and Notion) After I'm done writing and am back home, I transfer my items to a dedicated vault in Obsidian. I use Obsidian as my "permanent" home for my travel journals, and will add additional links and details (such as total trip costs, miles driven, etc) to help flesh out the trip further. I call this a [[Trip dashboard]]. Obsidian is free, and stores in simple markdown files on your local computer, so it's about as future-proof as you can get outside of plain text files. There is mobile app, and my files are regularly backed up to both physical and cloud-based storage with the rest of my digital files. *[Side note*: these words reside in an Obsidian vault and are published using Obsidian Publish.] I also repost some of my travel journaling and notes into [our travel management system in Notion](https://rscottjones.com/how-i-plan-trips-using-notion/). ### And occasionally posted in Wordpress I use some of the journaling to create blog posts on [my personal website](https://rscottjones.com), though this step is definitely hit-or-miss and varies over time.