Can an app make journaling more accessible?

Many see journaling as an accessible and easy-to-start mindfulness practice. It gives form and shape to the writer's thoughts. Those thoughts become easier to process creating greater mental clarity and peace of mind. Awareness around mental health and well-being grows more every day. With this growth, practices like journaling become ever more popular. For many, this seemingly simple practice is entirely inaccessible.

A recent conversation with my partner prompted me to think deeply about this issue. She has an attention disorder and severe dyslexia. On top of that, she works extreme hours. She often talks about her desire to start journaling but finds the habit is unsustainable. Her dyslexia and attention disorder make writing hard enough. Add in her time limitations, and it is nearly impossible for her to build the habit. All of this made me wonder - if mindfulness practices are so important, why are they so inaccessible?

The barriers to traditional journaling go beyond those faced by my partner. Many other obstacles stop people from writing for an extended period every day. Mental difficulties like attention disorders and dyslexia are obvious culprits for preventing writing. Busy lives also create time constraints that can stand in the way of someone carving out 20-30 minutes everyday to journal. Even physical difficulties can stand in the way when people have limitations in fine motor skills. Writing with pen and paper is commonplace for many. For others, it is physically impossible. 

Beyond these obstacles, other barriers prevail. Many people struggle with a fear of imperfection. They hold onto the notion that if they can't write something "good", they should not write anything. I have experienced this myself and writer's block is no joke. Self-expression is a muscle many undertrain. It is a difficult process even if the audience is only oneself.

These are only the barriers to entry that I could think of. Many other reasons also exist. For many, overcoming these obstacles seems like too high a price for simply writing in a book every day. I wish for a way to allow people to find journaling easier. I believe journaling can be hugely beneficial to anyone. It requires commitment and patience but can offer great insight into your mind, relationships and life. So, is there a way to reduce the barriers to entry? Can journaling become universally accessible?

After the initial conversation with my partner and some research, I resolved to create an app. I wanted the app to break down the barriers that prevent people from journaling. Using my partner as an example user, I created Journalizr. With unprecedented access to low-cost, AI-powered Speech-to-Text technologies, there is an opportunity to make journaling more accessible. The idea was to make an app that took the writing out of journaling, sped up the process and made it easier to unlock the user's inner world.

Journalizr is simple. It is an app that harnesses Deepgram's Speech-to-Text API to transcribe a user's recorded voice journal entry. The transcription is stored in a digital journal for them to read and edit as they please. My hope is to make it easier than ever to create digital journal entries.

For those who struggle with writing, I designed Journalizr to remove writing from the process. To help those with attention deficits, I hope the Speech-to-Text aspect helps the process feel more conversational and engaging. For those who struggle with self-expression, I added several prompts to help get the ball rolling with their entries. I wanted everything to be simple and "fluff-free". I hope the UI reflects that.

Obviously, I want to plug Journalizr as much as possible. That said, I can't stand by and say there are no alternatives. Products like Me.bot and Audiosmith offer similar experiences. It gladdens me that the development community is actively seeking to solve this problem and make journaling more accessible and engaging to everyone.

In the modern world, we cannot escape the need for mental clarity and good mental health. Journaling is a practice that offers many benefits in those areas. I believe digital journaling apps, like Journalizr, can help bring journaling to a wider community and remove the barriers to entry that many have.