Ask HN: Do you use a mood tracker / journalling app? Why/why not?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22790732

by zaksingh • 6 years ago

2 3 6 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I've bounced between paper notebooks, Apple's notes app, and have recently begun looking at apps designed specifically for journalling and/or mood tracking. Is there a better alternative? Is it even worth the time investment?

billconan• 6 years ago

I do not. I can't self heal. I need to talk to others.

randomor• 6 years ago

I do. Went so far as creating an app for it cos I can’t stand using note taking apps or other badly designed tools. It’s called ZenJournal: https://thezenjournal.com/

analyticascent• 6 years ago

I use an app that has that as a feature, but I personally never utilize it.

The main reason is that each time I take a moment to "think" about how I feel, my mood changes accordingly.

In a way it's like a self-inflicted Hawthorne Effect when I try to consciously track my mood.

[caveats to the Hawthorne Effect: https://www.nber.org/papers/w15016.pdf]

Another issue is that I'm not sure what to do with the information such an app feature would generate. For many, mood is the result of things that aren't within their control.

Ask HN: Do you use a mood tracker / journalling app? Why/why not?

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