Switching my journal from Day One to Everlog 📝
Considering a switch from Day One to Everlog for journaling, the decision hinges on cost, developer support, and the app’s ability to meet personal journaling needs.
review
Default app updates for 2026 Q1
I’m updating some app defaults to explore indie alternatives, enhance content discovery, and reduce reliance on Apple services.
iOS-only backups with BeeStation and Parachute
Transitioning to iOS-only usage led to the adoption of the Synology BeeStation and Parachute app for efficient, independent file and photo backups.
There’s a new interesting Day One Labs feature: Daily Chat. This is an LLM that you chat with throughout the day. Usually it starts with a question about your intentions for the day and then asks follow ups that expand on your responses. Then at the end of the day, Day One converts the chat into a fully narrative journal entry (as in, it doesn’t just paste in the chat).
After using the feature for a few days, I can see the appeal. The entries generated are far more detailed than I would typically write and are quite reasonable summaries of the chat. The responses from the LLM are also usually on target, eliciting more details, but also move on to new topics without getting too repetitive.
At first, I found I had to write a lot of “as you know” type responses, since the LLM didn’t know anything about me, my interests, or family. So, things like “as you know, I have a dog named George”, so that it knew George wasn’t one of my children. This seemed to improve over days, so presumably the previous entries are getting included in the processing. There’s also a short biography you can write to guide the LLM.
Despite being impressed with the feature overall, I don’t think I’ll use it. The main reason is that I prefer to create entries throughout the day, as they happen, rather than having one summary entry per day. Also, I can’t quite get over that the LLM is writing the entries as if they are from me. I know that I provided much of the content. But, I prefer that my journal be where I write things down, not something else on my behalf.
I’ve found the “Go Deeper Prompts” more compelling. These are LLM generated prompts that are based on what you’ve written so far that trigger further writing. I find these are helpful nudges and I’m still the one doing the actual writing.
I’m glad DayOne continues to experiment, even if I don’t end up using all of the features.
MacSparky's "Apple Productivity Suite Field Guide"
The newly released Apple Productivity Suite Field Guide offers a comprehensive tutorial on Apple’s built-in apps, enhancing user understanding and effectiveness, especially for those new to them.
After using the new Reeder for a couple of months I’m going to stick with it.
I like having all of my sources (RSS, Micro.blog, Mastodon, Bluesky, and podcasts) consolidated into one feed with easy gestures to tag as “read later” or open in a native app. The recent addition of folders was helpful, as I’ve created an “Attention” folder for anything I really don’t want to miss. Everything else is part of the river of updates and I don’t worry about completion.
One issue with the consolidation is that I’m following people across multiple services and seeing duplicate posts. I’ve been standardizing to their Micro.blog timelines, when available. This fragmentation across services is a common complaint and I expect I’ll be experimenting with different solutions. Now that we can so easily cross-post, we also need to manage our conversations. Recent updates to Micro.blog have been really helpful for this.
Non-default apps
As a follow up to my list of default apps, I have a few non-default apps that weren’t on the original list from Hemispheric Views. 🏃♂️Fitness: As I wrote about recently, I use HealthFit (mostly) instead of Apple Fitness 🧘 Meditation: Waking Up, instead of Mindfulness 📓 Journal: Doesn’t count yet, since Apple hasn’t released their journalling app. Soon, though, DayOne instead of the default 📚 Books: Libby instead of Apple Books, mostly because of the public library integration 🎸 Listen later: MusicBox instead of the Apple Music library
Duel of the Defaults: My List
Episode 097 of the Hemispheric Views podcast held a fun Duel of the Defaults! competition. Here’s my list. I’ve really shifted to defaults over the past year. I’m conflicted about this: I really like a good indie app, yet find my needs don’t justify the complexity of using non-defaults. ✉️ Mail Client: Apple Mail 📨 Mail Server: iCloud Custom Email Domain 📝 Notes: Apple Notes ✅ To-Do: Reminders 📷 iPhone Photo Shooting: Camera.
Choosing a portfolio of fitness apps 🏊♂️🚴♂️🏃♂️
There’s a bewildering array of fitness apps out there. Here’s an attempt to document what I’m currently using. I have some criteria when considering a fitness app: Available on the Apple Watch, ideally as a first class app, rather than just presenting data from the phone Suitable for multisport. I’ll consider a highly specialized app, though prefer one that covers at least running, cycling, and swimming Consolidated and local data.
Switching podcast apps, again 🎧
As predicted, after a couple of months with the Apple Podcasts app, I’m back to Overcast. I think that Apple’s Podcasts app is great for anyone new to podcasts, given it has a strong focus on discovering new shows. I’m looking for a podcast app that simply plays my carefully curated, short list of podcasts. With Apple Podcasts, I kept finding new episodes of shows I didn’t intend to subscribe to in my queue.
Listening to Apple Music Activity Playlists for a week 🎶
As an experiment, I spent the past week listening only to the Activity Playlists in Apple Music. So, whatever I was doing, I picked the most closely related playlist. Often these were straightforward. Cooking dinner with help from the kids: Cooking with Family; triaging the morning inbox of email: Checking Email; mind mapping a project: Brainstorming. Other times it was more mood oriented. Reading by the fire when it is -20ºC: Winter; augmenting an early Wednesday morning coffee: Wake Me Up!
Readiness To Train with the Training Today app 🏃♂️
I’m trying to sequence my workouts in a more systematic way to avoid overtraining. I’ve found Training Today really helpful in determining this Readiness To Train (RTT). The app uses data collected by my Apple Watch to provide a straightforward indicator of how ambitious I should be on any particular day. As an example, here’s today’s evaluation: This matches how I feel 🥴. So, today was a good day for some recuperative yoga.
MindNode is the best mind mapping app for iOS
Continuing my plan to update App Store reviews for my favourite apps, up next is MindNode. MindNode is indispensable to my workflow. My main use for it is in tracking all of my projects and tasks, supported by MindNode’s Reminders integration. I can see all of my projects, grouped by areas of focus, simultaneously which is great for weekly reviews and for prioritizing my work. I’ve also found it really helpful for sketching out project plans.
Supporting my favourite apps with App Store reviews 🎖
I’ve been negligent in supporting some of my favourite apps on the App Store. In many cases, I reviewed the app a few years ago and then never refreshed my ratings. So, I’m making a new commitment to updating my reviews for apps by picking at least one each month to refresh. First up is Fantastical. This one took a real hit when they switched to a subscription pricing model. I get the controversy with subscriptions in general.