Benefits of journaling

There are many benefits of journaling. The key ones worth reiterating for this article are clearing your mind, reducing stress/anxiety, and helping fight procrastination. Here are some articles with more scientific discussion on this:

• Healthline - Journaling for ADHD
• add.org - Journaling for adults with ADHD
• Benefits of journal writing for adults with ADHD

Why is journaling hard with ADHD?

The reality is that traditional journaling is hard for us. Staring in front of the blank page is like staring into the abyss. Our minds are scattered and have a million thoughts going at once, but it’s challenging to get them out of our brains.

Why does voice journaling work better?

Atomic Habits is one of my favorite books (Atomic Habits Summary). The most powerful idea that I took away from it is that habits that stick start small. If your goal is to start running, rather than trying to run a mile on day 1, your goal should just be to put on your running shoes the first week. Eventually, you’re in the habit of putting on your shoes, so you’ll finally decide to go for a run.

Voice journaling is like putting on your shoes; it’s the easiest way to build the habit of journaling and mindfulness. All that you need to do is talk. Your only goal should be to say what’s truly on your mind. You can start out just doing a brain dump for 1 min, but eventually, you might go for a 10 min walk and journal with certain goals in mind.

Unlike traditional journaling, where you feel like you may have to go back and edit what you wrote, you can keep rambling about what you’re thinking. This has a surprisingly calming effect. The thoughts that are driving you crazy in your head aren’t so distressing once you just say it out loud and realize it’s not as big of a deal as you’re making it out to be.

Five ADHD journal prompt ideas

1. 1-minute brain dump - Just say what’s on your mind. It’s very easy to distract ourselves with social media or video games, but checking in for 1 minute can do wonders. If you still have something you want to get off your chest after the minute, keep going!

2. Dictate your first draft - If you select an app that transcribes what you say, you can use it for dictation too. This is super helpful for powering through procrastination. It’s 10x easier to talk about what would be in the first draft of an email, paper, or even text message than it is to type it out.

3. Talk about one thing you’ve been putting off - More on procrastination… If there’s something you’ve been putting off, ask yourself why. Is it as scary or daunting as you’re making it out to be? Maybe the answer is yes. Is there someone that you can ask for help?

4. Reflect on something good that happened - It’s very easy to be pessimistic and ignore the good things that happen on a day-to-day basis. Talking about those things can help boost your mood.

5. Think through a problem out loud - I’m a software engineer, and we have this popular strategy called rubber ducking. It’s the idea that rather than asking someone how to do something, you should first ask a rubber duck. Often the mere act of writing or talking through a question helps you look at it from a new perspective and get unstuck.

Best apps to start voice journaling

I started out using the default voice memo app for iPhone. There are a million other voice recorder apps on the iPhone and Android app stores. These can be a great intro to journaling. However, a lot of these apps aren’t built specifically for voice journaling and they don’t transcribe what you say.

If you’re looking for a purpose-built voice journal with transcription, here are some apps you can try:

• Juicy Memo - Shameless plug here. I have ADHD, and after many attempts of building a written journaling habit, the only thing that stuck was the voice memo app. I built Juicy Memo because I wanted an app tailored to me. Juicy Memo transcribes recordings so that I can export them and summarizes them so that I can go back and quickly remember what I talked about. It is also very minimal, so there aren’t any distractions like trying to build other habits, offering other types of journaling, or being too “mental health” focused. It is also completely FREE.

• Day One - This is one of the most popular journaling apps. It has a 4.8 rating over 100k reviews. It is primarily a written journal but offers voice journaling and many other features like uploading photos and drawing. It costs $6/month.

• Cocoon Weaver - This is another voice-first journaling app that transcribes what you say. It very much leans into mental health ideas typically associated with journaling, such as affirmations, gratitude, and mindfulness. It has great prompts encouraging those behaviors if you’re interested in that. It also organizes related voice notes into “cocoons,” which are visualized in a beautiful way. This also has a generous free tier.