How to stay focused and get the most out of digital journaling
Have you tried digital journaling and ended up ditching it for your trusty analog paper journal and pen? Maybe you went back to paper because you thought the digital experience didn’t feel immersive, or that it felt impermanent. However—with the right tips and techniques, you can get a ton out of your digital journaling practice—and more!
In this post, I’ll discuss how and why to prep your iPad for focused digital journaling.
If you’re really good at staying on one app for a long time and ignoring notifications, then you can skip this. You should also email me right away so I can pick your brain on how the heck you do this in this attention-stealing economy, and so we can discuss Catherine Price’s work on the impacts of screens on our life. Anyway.
For the rest of us? Staying focused on a digital device can be really hard. We’re programmed (and brainwashed) to respond to dings and haptics and banner alerts. We’re also programmed to check our inboxes, constantly.
So, if you want to learn how to get the most out of your digital journaling sessions—while writing on your iPad with your Apple Pencil in Notability—then read on!
Step 1 for focused digital journaling: Delete unnecessary apps from your iPad
If you want to use your iPad as a tool instead of an entertainment center or a second computer, you’ll be better off deleting apps you don’t need on your iPad. Don’t worry—you’ll still be able to access Instagram on your phone and email on your laptop.
By setting an intention for how you want to use your iPad, you’ll get the most out of digital journaling or digital planning. Design your iPad life!
For me, I use my iPad as a drawing tool, a digital journaling tool, and a digital planning tool. I try not to use it for browsing the web, ping-ponging back and forth on email and LinkedIn, or even messages.
For me, when I get a little sloppy with my iPad use, I find myself deleting these apps or apps like them:
Instagram
Email
LinkedIn
Financial apps
Netflix
Amazon
This allows me not to be tempted to use my iPad for these entertainment or social media purposes. Sure, I will re-download Netflix on my iPad if I’m sick and I need a rest, but otherwise I keep it off of there.
You can do the same—delete distracting apps and re-download them if you absolutely need them. Increasing the friction between you and distracting apps by deleting them can be a powerful trick to helping you use your iPad like a helpful tool and not a consumption machine.
Step 2: Turn off iPad notifications so you can focus on journaling. Like all of them.
Whoa, scary right? But if you’re using your iPad for your digital stand-in for a planner and journal, you’re going to want to do this. For example, I turned off all sounds, badges, and banners for text messages on my iPad. I still get notifications for important messages on my watch or phone, but when I’m in my iPad journaling, I don’t have to worry about being distracted by pings.
Sure, this is a great practice to do on your other devices, as well, but sometimes easier said than done. By practicing Screen-Free Saturdays/Sundays, I’ve been able to
Significantly decrease my screen-time use
Gain clarity on how I want to use my devices
Organize my thoughts around which device should be used for what
Continue to use my iPad on screenless days, because I designed it to be a tool and (mostly) trained my brain not to skip around on apps
And let’s be honest, turning off notifications for everything is pretty freeing. I now only get push notifications for messages having to do with my kids.
Step 3: Set up Focus Modes on your iPad for digital journaling
Do. Not. Disturb. This is up to you, but I always recommend using Do Not Disturb or a specific Focus Mode when you’re journaling.
This is your time to focus on yourself and what’s on your mind—so don’t let other demands get in the way!
You can do this manually by turning on Do Not Disturb on your iPad, or if you’re feeling fancy you can set up an automatic Focus Mode for when you use Notability to turn off notifications and banners when you use the app.
If you want to get really fancy, you can set up your iPad to hide or lock certain apps with Focus modes and Screen Time in settings.
Since I started using Screen Time blocks for my kids, I also realized I could do it for myself. So, I will set downtime for myself during certain times where the more distracting apps aren’t available.
Play around with your settings, and try to find the best combination of deleting apps, turning off notifications, and setting Focus modes that works best for you.
Step 4: Save your eyes by adjusting your iPad display
On my iPad, I keep my brightness turned down to as dim as it can go but so I can still see my handwriting, and then I’ll also use Night Shift at all times of the day so the iPad gives off the warm amber color instead of the harsh blue light.
Also, you can try Notability’s Night Mode. Notability has its own version of night mode which creates a color inverse of what you’re working on. This is different than using night mode on your iPad, or using a dark template with a white pen. This will allow you to switch between dark-on-light and light-on-dark seamlessly with a toggle. Try it with the 3 dots at the top-right corner, View, and toggle on Night Mode. It’s great for late night journaling or if you just prefer writing light-on-dark.
Step 5: Practice mindfulness in everyday life
Okay, I know it’s a big ask to say “practice mindfulness,” but that’s what it really comes down to. So quickly we can get into popcorn brain mode when using our devices.
One thing that’s helped me immensely is a tip from The Power of Less by Leo Babauta where if you feel the need to task-switch:
Pause.
Recognize the urge to switch apps or tasks.
Take a deep breath.
Make the decision to stay on task.
You can do this with anything in your life, and it’s especially helpful when you’re using screens. How often have you picked up your phone to look at your calendar but then 20 minutes later you realized you answered all of your emails and scrolled Instagram stories, and that you never actually looked at your calendar?
Set intentions, pause, and slow down.
If you DO need to switch tasks, I still recommend pausing and staying on task for at least 5 more minutes to help train your brain. If you feel like you’ll forget, you can make a note elsewhere. (This is why I keep an analog day journal in my Traveler’s Notebook Passport size these days!)
Enjoy your newfound focus and journaling on your iPad in Notability or your app of choice! I’m here to help—comment below or get in touch to ask questions about digital journaling on the iPad.
