Track Your State of Mind with Journal Entries

Within the Journal app, you’re able to add loads of different data points on your day – whether it’s a workout you’ve done, music you’ve listened to, or photographs you’ve taken. But now, on iOS 18, there’s a new sort of data you can add all about how you felt when doing different things. Your ‘State of Mind’ from the Health app is now available to add within Journal itself.

So, I’m going to add a new post here all about my visit to The Lion King in London last week. When I’ve finished writing a couple of reflections about that visit, I can then use the new State of Mind button on this toolbar – it looks a bit like a tree or a plant growing. When you tap on it, you get the same kind of flow that you would in the Health app normally, where you can choose from feeling very unpleasant to very pleasant, and as you move that slider, those beautiful graphics get more or less spiky depending on how you’re feeling.

Then, when you go on to ‘Next’, you’re going to choose a couple of feelings that you associate with that mood. So, maybe I’m feeling amazed or joyful or relaxed. I think I’ll actually go for amazed and happy. And then, on the third and final screen, you’re going to choose a couple of things that impacted that mood. For me, it was travelling and being with my partner – they’re the two things I would perhaps choose for that.

When you press ‘Done’, you’re adding your State of Mind onto that journal entry, and you’ll see it appear at the top alongside the photos, map, and other things as well. Of course, I can drag and rearrange this to make it the main part or a smaller part of my journal entry, and I can long-press on it as well to switch to the small view. Now, the small view basically becomes a little footnote to your journal entry in a horizontal bar – it doesn’t become one of those squares that you can move around anymore. Then, when I’ve done this and added it to my journal, you’ll see that State of Mind showing up right underneath the post, and it’ll be added in the Health app as well. So, if you’re keeping track of things over there, you’ll find it in both places.

Whilst it might seem like a small update to Journal, I actually think being able to tag how you’re feeling along with your posts is a really important thing. It means that as you go back and relive your memories, you’ll know how you were feeling in that moment – and that’s really cool. There are loads more things your iPhone can do now that it simply couldn’t do before you updated to iOS 18, and if you want to learn what new tricks your device has got, please do check out my ebook down below – 100 Quick Tips for iOS 18 – or subscribe to my channel where there are loads more videos waiting for you.