Hello!

This month was a little quieter on the blog. However, I did write several entries on journaling, including one detailing a Shortcut that I use to quickly access my daily gratitude journal on my iPhone, iPad, and Mac. I also wrote about the rumor that Apple might be getting into the world of journaling with a new app coming in iOS 17, expected to be released later this year. More will be revealed in June at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference.

While it's just a rumor, I hope it's true. Having a massive company like Apple create a journaling tool that ships with their biggest selling product will prompt more people to think seriously about starting a journaling practice

I want more people to journal because it has so many benefits. It can help you process feelings, get more organized, reduce stress, and manage anxiety. Writing down something you are grateful for can help you sleep better and have better relationships with others.

It's likely that you have journaled or kept a diary at some point in your life. Maybe you thought you grew out of it or just got busy.

I get that.

I journaled daily for years and stopped for half a decade before returning to a daily practice.

If you stopped before, you have permission to begin again.

Grab a notebook from your kid's room, find a notepad in your work bag, open the Notes app on your phone. Heck, you can even use yesterday's junk mail and write on the back of it!

The format, frequency, and content are all things you can figure out later.

Everyone can benefit from journaling. Start today, and remember that the message matters more than the medium. 💡
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Media Recommendation

I’ve been watching the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul on Netflix, and it’s excellent. Like Breaking Bad before it, Better Call Saul builds tension and uses the quiet moments between dialogs with significant effect. It’s enjoyable to see the big plot points and the story wrap up. I’m halfway through the season now, watching pieces of each episode while doing the dishes or folding laundry. With two young kids, dedicated TV time is minimal (my wife, while proofreading this, remarked that it’s nonexistent and aside from cleaning up after dinner, she’s right!).

I was surprised that Breaking Bad made it to Netflix, although that’s where I’ve been watching it for most of the series run. I expected it to stay on whatever streaming platform AMC had created and planned to subscribe to that long enough to watch the season when I had more time. I rarely open Netflix these days and have considered suspending my account. Still, they get to keep my business for at least another month or two because, besides Better Call Saul, I found another promising show too! It’s all about retention for these companies. If I dig into it, I’ll have more on that other show next month.
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From the Blog

I published 5 entires on the blog in April. Here are a few of my favorites:

• ​The Daily Gratitude Shortcut: A Simple Solution for Efficient Journaling​
• ​Weekly Quote: The Daily Stoic on the Power of Authentic Connection​
• ​Weekly Quote: Reflecting on Time with Steve Jobs​

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Monthly Readwise Quote

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From the Studio

My quarterly planning plans mentioned in last month’s newsletter didn’t happen in quite the way intended. I’m a stay-at-home dad, and everyone was sick for several weeks this month. Of course, I focused on helping everyone through it, so I did less of everything else. Less planning, less writing, less reading. It was a week and a half of survival, followed by the same recovery period, and now we’re all back on track.

I took my own advice and followed my three tips for starting again. How do you manage things when it all goes a little sideways? I’m getting better at it because practice makes progress!

Until next month, I'll see you at 24 Letters!

Joe

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