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We'll be changing to a much sleeker adaptive icon for the Journey app. Tell us what you think of it!

Update available in the beta version.

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Journey is featured on the iOS App Store.📱🎉

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The All New Journey.Cloud. Coming soon! 🎉

Features include:

New UI

Passcode

Optimized for mobile

Create entries via email^

Receive daily inspiration via email^

Integrate with Zapier & Microsoft Flow*

Auto backup*

^ Subscription Required

* Coming soon

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"With the ability to integrate with your social, health apps and your chosen cloud, the Journey app is a completely backed up private world all about you". — Hev Bailey

Read full review here.

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Create Customizable Journal Template in Minutes

Do you know the latest Journey desktop app comes with customizable template? 🤩 Watch this video below to learn to create Journey templates yourself from scratch in minutes.

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Added Touch Bar Support to Journey Mac

Journey Mac users can now get navigation menu, metadata options and contextual editing tools (e.g. Markdown Bold, Italic and strikethrough) at their fingertips with Apple Touch Bar!

You can now select your mood using the touch bar. 

Formatting texts is just a click away!

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5 Ways to DE-Stress

Stress can cause a negative impact on your physical, emotional, and psychological health. Stress often leads to headaches, irritability, fatigue, overeating, sleep problems, restlessness, decreased productivity and more! Here are some techniques that can help you relax after a long day: 

1. Hydrate

When your body is dehydrated, you tend to get tense and more irritable. Headaches also occurs when your body has a lack of water. Ever wonder why you often get Migraines? This could be it! 

Use a large water bottle and place it on your desk where you’d see it easily. It can be a subconscious reminder to replenish your body with water. Or set a reminder on your phone every hour or so to drink a glass of water. 

Caffeine is a form of diuretic, and can cause dehydration. Opt for refreshing fruit juice combinations like cucumber + watermelon + mint, which not only hydrates your body, but tastes great! Fruit infused water is a great option to take in fluids with the added benefit of vitamins! 

2. Rest

Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Just as how dehydration causes stress, depriving your body of rest can cause tension which leads to stress as well. Making sure you get enough rest every night lets you wake up feeling more refreshed, and causes less physical stress on the body.

3. Unplug and Unwind

Try giving yourself some time away from any distractions. Enjoy some quality time with your friends, or run yourself a hot bath and read a book. Light some candles, or massage a few drops of your favourite essential oil on your pressure points. 

A good face and décolletage massage helps to release tension caused by sitting at your desk in an air conditioned room the whole day. 

4. Meditation

Many people find progressive muscle relaxation soothing. It is a deep breathing exercise that starts with taking slow, deep breaths. Then, starting from the toes, work your way up your body by tensing and relaxing each muscle group for a few seconds. 

Yoga, walking, or swimming are some therapeutic exercises that are not too strenuous on the body, but gets some endorphins pumping. 

5. Eat Right

“Comfort foods” like coffee, ice cream, alcohol, and the likes often do more harm than good. Try cutting down on caffeine, sugar, nicotine, and booze, and opt for healthier choices, such as leafy greens, nuts and seeds, and whole grains.  

BONUS

Try keeping a happiness journal. Write down one thing that you are thankful for everyday. Whenever you’re stressed, take out your journal, and read all your past entries. Try Journey, our cross-platform private journaling app. You can create an entry while you’re on the go, or at the comfort of your own home.

Journaling has been proven to have many health benefits, including reducing stress, boosting memory, and bring healing emotionally, physically, and psychologically. One scientific study showed that 76% of adults who spent 20 minutes a day journaling daily before a medical biopsy were fully healed in 11 days!

Download Journey for free on the Google Play Store, iPhone App Store, Mac, and Windows. 

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Fountain 101: Writing Tips

What exactly is Fountain? 

According to John August, one of Fountain’s creators, Fountain got its name from Fountain Avenue, the famous Hollywood shortcut. Fountain was created to be a destination. It is neither an app nor a file format - just a way to get from a clutter of words to a screenplay. 

Fountain is a plain text markup language, and is almost the equivalent of Markdown, the syntax we talked about previously.  You can write in Fountain on any text editor, from an iPad, to an email. Fountain is the perfect syntax to use for collaborating with writing partner(s) on Google Docs, or any other apps. You don’t need a specific app to write in Fountain, though screenwriters will use another app such as Final Draft or Movie Magic Screenwriter to finalise the scripts. These apps don’t explicitly state to support Fountain, but they import and convert Fountain texts extremely well. 

JotterPad supports writing and previewing in Fountain. By understanding how simple syntax work, you’re ready to get down to writing your first ever screenplay! 

For example, to create sections such as acts or scenes, simply add a hashtag # at the start of a line, and a scene with 2 hashtags ##:

# Act 1

## Scene 1

## Scene 2

Synopsis helps you summarise what happens in that section of your screenplay, and the text is marked with an equals sign =.

Sections and Synopsis will not be included when you print out the final screenplay, but will be shown when you export an outline or summary. 

A scene heading starts with INT, EXT, EST, INT/EXT or I/E and has a blank line both before and after. You can also force a heading by starting the line with a period.

INT. HALLWAY, SCOTT'S APARTMENT BUILDING, A MOMENT LATER

.BACK IN THE APARTMENT

An action line is any line that doesn’t meet the criteria for another element.

Scott gestures with the card, as if that helps.

Character names are introduced in uppercase with a blank space before it with text on the line after.

SCOTT I got another birthday card today.

BAXTER That's great!

You can force a character line by adding the @ symbol.

@McCartney Hi

A dialogue line immediately follows a character or parenthetical. A parenthetical is a line enclosed in parentheses ( ), which immediately follows a character or a dialogue

NANCY (to herself) Like it ever takes that long.

You can center text by enclosing it between the greater than > and smaller than < symbol. Notes are enclosed in double brackets, and omissions are enclosed /* like this */. Transition line is in uppercase, and ends in “TO:”, with a blank line before and after. Force a transition line with a greater than symbol. 

> THE END <

/* ## Kitchen Scene = The kitchen staff preps food for the banquet. */

CUT TO:

> FADE TO BLACK.

You can make any text bold, italic, or underlined with asterix and underscores.

**bold** *italic* _underline_

JotterPad is a fuss-free, simple and minimalistic app to help you get started with writing your first ever screenplay. Available to use for free, with an option to upgrade to JotterPad Creative or JotterPad Pro for exporting to fdx and pdf, dark theme / night mode for easy reading, and more! 

JotterPad exports your script as FDX and imports it into Final Draft beautifully. 

You can also export your script as a PDF in a script format for printing. 

When exported to FDX or PDF, JotterPad converts your text into a professional screenplay, which, when imported into applications such as Final Draft Pro, let’s you continue editing and writing, with all the sections, headers, and text in the right position and formats.

JotterPad also converts the text using a monospace (or typewriter) font, which is how screenplays should look like! Professional, aye? 

Find out more about JotterPad Pro here. Download JotterPad from the Google Play Store today! 

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Creating A Relaxing Space For Increased Productivity

Does the physical environment of your workspace stress you out? Maybe your work area is excessively untidy, or your associates are too noisy; Perhaps your manager is continuously looking over your shoulder, or you can't stand the florescent lights. Whatever the cause, there's a decent possibility it's influencing your state of mind and productivity. 

You probably know at least one friend who’s read “The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” by Marie Kondo, and wonder if it is really that amazing and life changing.

It is.

Susan Kousek, a Certified Professional Organiser (CPO), says that “Our productivity is impacted by our level of organisation, ...Disorganisation bothers most people and causes stress. The clutter of disorganisation drags many workers down.”

Having a simple and relaxed space helps you to focus, and minimises the stress of having too much paper clutter or distractions that keeps you from being productive at work. 

Here are some tips on creating a relaxing space for a stress-free environment: 

Add Personal Touches

If your workspace stresses you out, try adding some personal items to your desk, cubicle, or office. Be it photographs of loved ones, an inspirational quote, a decorative item that has a special meaning to you, or even a book. 

Clean and Organise the Workspace

As mentioned above, it is difficult to focus when your desk is filled with clutters. Get an organisation system in place, and keep things neat and tidy. Dorothy Spira, the community expert at Evernote says that a messy desk or office results in lost ideas and documents, interrupted workflow, and reduced productivity.

If you’re having trouble deciding what should stay what what should go, ask yourself a series of questions, such as:

“Does this item have a purpose?” “Do I use it on a daily basis?”

“Am I keeping this because I need it, or because I might need it? If I need it, when?”

Do you remember that this was here? Clutter exists because our brain tricks us into thinking that everything is important. Ask yourself these questions, and you should know what to do with it, even if you don’t like the answer. 

Play Some Music

Put some upbeat music on to kickstart your day, or relaxing tunes to help you concentrate on a busy day. This Workday Zen Playlist by Spotify is a great one to listen to.

Incorporate Relaxation Exercises

If you’re allowed to, take a couple of minutes at least once a day to do some stretching, meditation, or go for a walk for some fresh air. Being cooped up in the office can drain you mentally. Breathing in some fresh air can help you to clear your head and put some thoughts into perspective, which can help to spark creativity!

Add Plants

Flowers are soothing, both visually and aromatically. If you don’t have green fingers, try getting a succulent or cactus, which requires less attention. The lemon balm plant is great as well, as it can survive in direct sunlight or shaded areas. Lemon Balm has been studied for its reported mood-boosting abilities. The pleasant smell of lemon that this plant releases is enough to make you feel better throughout the day, according to a study by Ohio State University.

Use a Diffuser, Candle, or Essential Oil 

Treat yourself to a spa-like environment or make your workspace feel more like home by having a diffuser on the desk. Some diffusers come in aesthetically pleasing glass jars, and choosing a favourite scent can help to make you feel better throughout the day. 

Go the extra mile to burn a candle, or massage a drop or two of essential oil on pressure points like your temples or wrists during the day to relieve tension and uplift your spirits. 

Calming scents like Lavender, Rosemary, or Jasmine can fight physical exhaustion, headaches and mental fatigue. Peppermint or Lemon are great refreshing and invigorating scents as well. 

Extra: Keep a Journal!

Journaling is a form of therapy that can raise self-esteem and make you feel happier overall. Expressive writing can also bring healing — emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Dr. Pennebaker, author of Writing to Heal has seen improved immune function in participants of writing exercises. 

Stress often comes from emotional blockages, and overthinking. Journaling increases your emotional intelligence, as it helps you process your emotions and increases your self-awareness. This internal familiarity becomes a bridge of empathy, you’ll better intuit and understand what others are experiencing. 

Journey is a cross-platform private digital journaling app that can help you to do just that. It’s completely private, and even the backup to your Google Drive is hidden and encrypted! Use it as a diary to jot down your daily thoughts and vent your frustrations, keep a gratitude journal, track your fitness and health, or much more! 

Journey is available to download and use for free on Android, iOS, Chrome, and Web; and paid on Mac, Windows. 

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Weekly Planning with Journey using Markdown

You’ve heard us go on and on about how many awesome features we offer on Journey Premium, but how do you actually use them? Although Journey is a digital journaling app, you are definitely not confined to only using this to journal your thoughts and daily experiences. Why not go one step further, and use this to plan your week?

“What is markdown?”

“Can you create a table on Journey?”

“How do you use markdown?”

So many of you have asked us how to effectively use some of the features on Journey, so today, we are going to show you how to use Journey to do your weekly planning.

Markdown is a formatting syntax that is basically a simplified HTML coding. Instead of having to worry about opening and closing tags like < header1 > Title < /header1 >, Markdown lets you create headers, tables, lists, and more using very simple syntax, such as a Hash (#), square brackets ( [ ] ), or an Asterix (*)!

# Header 1 (up to 6)

- [ ] Check List Unticked

- [x] Check List Ticked

* Unnumbered List

> Blockquote

You can even create a table by simply using hiphens (-) and vertical bars ( | ).

| Title 1 | Title 2 | Title 3 |

| ––– | ––– | ––– |

| Content 1 | Content 2 | Content 3 |

Here is how we can use Markdown to create a weekly + daily planner:-

I love planning my week ahead of time, so I usually sit myself over the weekend to take a look at my schedule, and see what needs to be done during the week so I can plan my time more efficiently.

I start of with creating a new entry, and getting all my headers done up so I can slot details in. By listing down all the dates, I start to create a check list for things I need to get done, and an unnumbered list more miscellaneous things to note.

I like adding a quote at the bottom of the “planner page”, so it keeps me motivated during the week, especially when things get busy and I lose focus.

Because of how simple it is using markdown, the editor doesn’t look messy at all, in fact, it’s very neat! I can easily spot where I need to key in the details. Journey also converts all the markdown syntax perfectly, which makes the final page look stunning.

Look at how beautiful it turned out - a table that showcases my entire week!

With the daily breakdown and checklists, I can go in during the week to check off whatever I've accomplished, and add on things that come to mind during the day that I want to get done, with whatever extra time I have.

I personally enjoy using the night mode best, because I love the contrast in colour. But the standard view creates an entry that looks just as nice.

I do prefer how tables and check lists look on the standard screens, but the night mode gives me better readability.

We hope that this will help to give you an idea on how to better use the markdown support feature on Journey!

Do share with us some of the ways you use Journey.

Have a great week ahead!

Love,

Us.

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World Poetry Day

On 21 March 1999, UNESCO's 30th session, a decision was made to declare the day as World Poetry Day. 

The main objective of World Poetry Day is to celebrate linguistic diversity. Poetry, much alike to music, is a universal language that reaffirms our common humanity. Poetry is able to reveal the same questions and feelings that individuals share anywhere in the world. Poetry is the backbone of expression, and can be used to communicate the innermost values of diverse cultures throughout, even over centuries. 

World Poetry Day is the occasion to honour poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and raise the visibility of poetry in the media.

To celebrate our love for this beautiful art, we are offering 21% OFF JotterPad Creative! We'd like to encourage the appreciation of poetry and the inspiration to write more. This offer is only valid till 25 March, so hurry up and purchase it now before it's too late!

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When Inspiration Strikes: 5 Tips for Writers

All writers know how annoying it is when inspiration suddenly hits, and you have nowhere to jot down your ideas on! No one really carries their physical notebooks or laptops everywhere they go, but they do carry their phones!

Meet JotterPad. 

JotterPad is a plain-text word processor that is designed with writers and novelists in mind. These functions are exceptionally useful for serious writers, as it allows you to write on the go with cloud synchronization.

Simply make sure that you’re saving the text file as you sync to your cloud account, and have ease of mind while you’re out and about that you can take out your phone and continue where you left off, or even start on a new piece, and continue when you’re back home.

So how can you make full use of JotterPad? Here are 5 tips on how you can utilize them when inspiration strikes, and hopefully, make your lives easier as writers!

1. Create A Conducive Writing Space

With 10 presets to choose from, writers can easily switch the look of the text instantly! For example, switch to a “Poem” preset, and your text will be written in center alignment. JotterPad also supports from font size 4 to 34, text alignment, line spacing, and margins.

With an array of fonts from Hoefler & Co, customize how you want your workspace to look like. The more conducive the environment is, the better it is for you to be inspired as well.

2. Organize your Thoughts in Plain Text Easily

Organize your thoughts using Markdown, a lightweight markup language that uses plain text formatting syntax to create headers, tables, lists (numbered, unordered, checked), block quotes, and even links and web images without the fuss and distraction of a word processor.

Easily jot down your ideas in point form using Markdown when you get a sudden bout of inspiration while riding on the subway, at the coffee shop, or even while you’re on the plane.

3. Carry a Digital Dictionary & Thesaurus with You Everywhere

JotterPad contains a built in dictionary, where you can easily lookup word definitions.

The thesaurus and rhyming dictionary helps you find new ways to express commonly used phrases and words, as well as rhyming words to help tide you through a writers block, when you are trying to come up with rhymes.

Having this built in research function saves you time from switching screens to a dictionary or web, which is perfect for writers. No more bad rhymes, hooray!

4. Focus, focus, focus...

With typewriter scrolling, you no longer have to worry about being distracted, or accidentally taking your eyes away, only to return to a sea of words on your screen. 

Typewriter scrolling greys out all surrounding texts and keeps the immediate section (3 lines) fixated on the center of the screen. This way, you will be more productive and focused when writing. 

5. Writing in the Dark

Staring at the screen for hours and hours can put serious strain on your eyes. With the dark theme, there is good contrast between the background and your text.

The night mode also adds an orange hue on the screen, turning the text a pastel shade of pink, thus reducing the amount of blue light. This helps to make reading and typing easier on the eyes, at the same time reducing digital eyestrain.

The basic free version is good enough for standard writing, but with JotterPad Creative, you get additional features such as Markdown and Syntax Highlighting, a Dark Theme with Night Mode, Thesaurus and Rhyming Dictionary, Snapshots, and more!

We hope that these will give you a better idea on the functionalities of JotterPad, and how you can use it to your advantage!

To the novelist in all of us - JotterPad Team

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We are pleased to announce that Journey iOS has finally added support for the following languages! Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, 日本語, 한국어, Português (Portugal), Русский, 中文（简体）, 中文（繁體)

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10 Categories To Organise Your Journals

Ever find yourself at a loss for words, or just not sure where to start when writing in your journal(s)? 

Keeping a journal helps you to collect your thoughts, and put things into perspective. Some people keep a separate journal for each aspect of their lives (personal, work, travel, etc.), whereas others might prefer having them all in one place. Which are you? Here at Journey, we believe that it’s easier to keep all our thoughts consolidated in one place. However, one of the downsides of having only one journal for everything, is, mess. When you create entry after entry, things get lost in all the chaos; Locating a particular entry could mean endlessly scrolling through hundreds or thousands of entries. This is exceptionally so on physical journals, where it means you’ll have to flip through pages and pages of books. #OMG To make this less of a hassle, Journey has a tagging system, which makes keeping your thoughts organised a breeze. Tagging lets you create categories for anything you'd like to journal about. This way, when you wish to look back on a specific memory, all you need to do is select which "tag" you like to view, and all entries with that tag will be displayed - SO simple! Not sure what themes to create so that you can be more productive? Below are some suggestions that you can consider having on Journey -

1. Things To Be Grateful For

Stop to smell the roses. A little gratitude goes a long, long way! The biggest step to becoming a more optimistic person is to first find positivity in everything, even through the bad. Lost your phone? Be thankful that you didn't lose your wallet instead. Find thankfulness for the 10 minutes of extra sleep you got this morning. In all things, be grateful.

2. Motivational / Inspirational Quotes

Journey gives you a daily inspirational quote that you can choose to write about. Meditate for about 5 minutes a day and write down your reflection. How did the quote inspire you? Did it invoke any emotions? If so, was it good or bad? If not, just write down a quote, saying, or speech that inspired you today.

One of our favourite quotes of all time is “You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction.” by George Horace Lorimer.

When you come across any inspirational posters during your daily commute to school or work, note it down. It never hurts having a collection of encouragements to get you through a rainy day.

3. Lists of Love (and even Dislikes)

Lists are always so much fun to write, because you can literally write about anything! Your top 10 favourite food (brunch, desserts, or just any 10), favourite books, favourite places, favourite songs, etc. Expand on each item; What made you keep going back to a specific restaurant? Was it the ambience, the waiter who can now remember your usual order, or the one dish that you can never find anywhere else?

List down some things that you want to change about your self, what you can do to help yourself achieve certain tasks more productively. What positive mindsets can you adopt to grow yourself into a better person? The lists goes on, and on, and on…

4. Milestones (#WINS)

What was something you accomplished today, this week, this month, or this year?  Celebrate small wins, like completing your task ahead of time, getting a compliment from your supervisor. Writing about these little landmark events can serve as a memorandum of all your achievements, no matter how big or small. Nothing is too insignificant, so don't hold back!  

5. Weekly Scribbles

Not a fan of writing daily? Try a weekly reflection. Think back on your week, and write about the good and bad. Pick a topic that interests you, and write your thoughts about it. For example, how would you be as president of your country, or what would you do with $1 Million?

6. Food Hunt

Keep a log of new cafes or restaurants you visit, or places you want to try out; Write about the dishes, ambience, service, value for money. Would you revisit, and would you recommend it your friends? Explain why. Talk about the entire experience. Share all the #foodporn worthy moments of your life. We won't guarantee that you will become a professional food critic, but it's a small start, right?! #no-losses

7. Travelogue

Creating entries on your travels can give you something to look forward to - your next vacation! On a mid-week slump at work, looking at your travels can give you a hit of motivation. Write down your plans, plan your itinerary, and your daily activities during the trip! This way, you have both mind and written memories to think back on.

8. Dreams

What do you see yourself doing 5 years in the future? How would like to make this world a better place? What gives you a sense of fulfilment? What is your idea of a perfect day?

9. Goals

Setting short and long term goals is the first step to get things moving along. Write down your goals and give yourself a timeline to accomplish them. Setting up a schedule gives you an outline of what needs to happen that day, and helps you stay on top of things.

Stick to your timetable complete certain tasks before a certain date, and before you know it, you're already halfway there.  

10. Rituals and Traditions

Do you have any rituals or traditions that you adhere to? Visiting a particular coffee shop for some muffins at the end your exams, or going for the special burger at fat boys with your whole class.  

We hope that this can provide you with some ideas on how you can categorise your entries.

Happy journaling to the organised mess of our lives,   Us.

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Just as new bloom spreads fragrance and freshness around, may the new year add a new beauty and freshness into your life. Happy Lunar New Year! 🐶🌸

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Journey is now featured on Android Excellence ⭐️ 2018!

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May the universe bless you in surprising and joyful ways. Happy New Year 2018!