Journaling and habit-forming tools

Today is the day I’m supposed to write something. After a morning dealing with bureaucracy to get my wife’s residence permit, I’m definitely not in the mood. On the other hand, I’ve been reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, and repetition is key to forming new habits.

I’d be mad to dismiss the compound growth. One post per week is roughly 52 per year; repeat for five years, and that’s about 250 posts. I could try to double the streak and write twice a week, but I don’t think that’s realistic for me. Who knows what will happen when I reach 200+ posts? One thing I’m sure of: I’ll be a less mediocre writer and sharpen my English skills.

I’ve been trying different journaling methods since the beginning of the year: LogSeq, Obsidian, and now an old-school notebook with Bullet Journal (BuJo). LogSeq was easy to start with, but its mobile app isn’t great, and I tired of the bullet list approach. Obsidian, created by Steph Ango, is a beautiful piece of software that requires some organization upfront, which sometimes slowed me down.

Eventually, I went back to pen and paper. After trying every productivity app imaginable, I wanted to try the Bullet Journal. BuJo helps me nurture habits by starting my day with a plan and ending it with a review. I’m not strict with it, as a long TODO list demotivates me, but journaling has helped me be more realistic and less hard on myself.

What works for me is using Obsidian to collect digital items like links and code snippets, and for a mind dump when I only have my phone. My notebook remains the source of truth. Recently, I added the HabitKit app to track habits. This combination has been working well for the past weeks. I’m far from where I want to be, but I’m enjoying the journey and experimenting with different tools and processes.