Daily Journal
The journal is the heart of Reflecto. Write daily entries with mood tracking, categories, streaks, and a calendar system that makes it easy to build and maintain a reflection habit.
Reflecto limits you to one journal entry per day. This keeps your daily reflection focused and prevents fragmentation.
The Write Page
Access the Write page by clicking Write in the sidebar or navigating to /write. The layout includes:
+---------------------------------------------+
| Fri, Mar 7 Saved Star |
| Friday |
| |
| [ Journal ] [ Category ] [ Mood: 4 ] |
| |
| +--------------------------------------+ |
| | Start writing your thoughts here... | |
| | | |
| +--------------------------------------+ |
| |
| Tagged: #gratitude #work |
| Mentioned: @Alice |
+---------------------------------------------+The header shows the current date, a cloud sync indicator, and a star button to mark the entry as important. Below that, you choose the entry type, category, and mood before writing.
Calendar Navigation
Navigate to Journal in the sidebar to browse entries by date.
Monthly Calendar
The full calendar view displays the current month with:
- Dots on dates that have entries
- Highlight on the selected date
- Circle around today
- Arrows to move between months
Click any date to see entries from that day.
Calendar Strip
Toggle to a compact horizontal strip that shows 5-7 days at a time. Scroll left and right to navigate. Entry indicators appear below each date. This view works well on smaller screens and for quickly jumping between recent days.
One Entry Per Day
Reflecto enforces one journal entry per date. If you navigate to a date that already has a journal entry, you edit the existing one instead of creating a new one. This design encourages you to add to a single reflection rather than scattering thoughts across multiple entries.
Other entry types (highlights, ideas, notes, dreams, wisdom) are not limited — you can create as many as you need on any date.
Journal Categories
Every journal entry can be assigned a category to organize your reflections:
| Category | Use For |
|---|---|
| Thoughts | General observations and musings |
| Involved Me | Events you directly participated in |
| Around Me | Things happening in your environment |
| Memories | Recalling and processing past experiences |
| Gratitude | Things you are thankful for |
| Reflections | Deep introspection and self-analysis |
| Tiny Wins | Small victories worth celebrating |
| Daily Log | Factual record of what happened |
| Venting | Emotional release and frustration processing |
The category field also accepts custom text, so you can create your own categories like “Project Alpha Log” or “Reading Notes.”
Mood Tracking
Rate your mood on a 1-5 scale using the mood selector in the metadata panel:
| Score | Label | Emoji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terrible | Very low |
| 2 | Bad | Below average |
| 3 | Okay | Neutral |
| 4 | Good | Positive |
| 5 | Great | Excellent |
Mood data feeds into the Insights page, where you can see trends over time, average mood by day of week, and correlations with tags and categories.
Mood tracking is optional but provides valuable patterns. You can set moods retroactively by editing past entries.
Starring Entries
Click the star icon in the Write page header to mark an entry as important. Starred entries display a gold indicator in all list views, making them easy to spot when browsing your journal calendar or timeline.
Use stars for entries you want to revisit: breakthroughs, key decisions, memorable moments, or insights worth reviewing.
Bulleted Mode
Bulleted mode is the default for journal entries. Every new line becomes a bullet point, and the header shows a count like #15 indicating total bullets.
Enable bulleted mode
Click the bullet icon in the Write page header. You can set this as the default in Settings.
Write with bullets
Each line becomes a bullet point. Add timestamps, tags, and mentions as needed:
* 8am - Morning yoga session
* Coffee with @Alice, discussed #project-alpha
* Completed quarterly report
* Feeling #grateful for the team's support
* Evening walk in the parkReview your count
The bullet count updates in real time as you write, encouraging structured and consistent entries.
Building a Streak
Reflecto tracks your writing streak — consecutive days with at least one entry. The Journal page displays your current streak length, and the Insights page shows detailed statistics including your longest streak and streak history.
Tips for maintaining consistency:
- Write daily, even if it is just 3-5 bullets
- Use bulleted mode on busy days for quick captures
- Set a regular time (morning, lunch, or evening)
- Do not stress about missed days — just start again
Journaling Workflows
Morning Pages
Morning Pages
Start your day with a brain dump. Open the Write page, choose the “Thoughts” or “Daily Log” category, and free-write for 5-10 minutes without editing. Add tags and mentions after you finish. Set your mood to capture how you feel going into the day.
* Slept well, feeling rested
* Top priority: finish #project-alpha proposal
* Need to call @Mom this afternoon
* Worried about the deadline but feeling #motivated
* Goal: stay focused and avoid distractionsBest Practices
- Write daily, even briefly — consistency matters more than length. Three bullets are better than nothing.
- Pick a category — categorizing entries helps you filter and analyze them later in Insights.
- Track mood consistently — setting mood on every journal entry builds meaningful trend data over time.
- Use tags and mentions — they connect entries across time and make your journal searchable.
- Star what matters — mark entries you want to revisit so you can find them quickly.
- Review weekly — browse the calendar each week to spot patterns and recall context you may have forgotten.
- Experiment with workflows — try morning pages for a week, then evening reflections, and find what fits your routine.