Matt Gedye
Conversion to Plain Test Journaling
I put pen to paper in my first journal in June, 2016. Eight years and eleven journals later I transitioned to a digital journal, which is simply a single plain text file called journal.txt.
Up until quite recently I was adamant I was never going to type my thoughts in this way. I was a staunch advocate for always using pen and paper. The two major factors that helped sway my decision to migrate to a digital version were; firstly, moving back to Australia from the US and not being able to bring all journals with me for practicality reasons. Secondly, transitioning to Ubuntu as my operating system as part of a larger project in which I’ve rediscovered the joy of working with computers.
Each new journal entry begins with the same four lines to denote date, time, title and location. Then I’ll write what I have to say before concluding the entry with some simple tags and a line break:
Date: 2024-12-23
Time: 18:45
Title: Fatherhood Log
Location: Craignish, QLD
## First Steps
It was moments before his bed time and Little Man took his first steps.
They might have been tiny and awkward, but his huge smile just lit up the room.
It feels extra special that he chose this moment in his Grandmother's house only days before Christmas.
#fatherhood #reflecting
---It’s been over six months since my digital transition and I can safely say that it was an excellent decision. I only wish I’d have done it sooner. Despite my initial trepidation, I’ve thus far only encountered benefits:
1. Searching the file: This is the major benefit.
I can simply use grep to search the whole journal.txt
file, using my #tags as key words, to return everything relevant to
the particular tag.
2. Simplicity: For things I write about frequently like reflecting on fatherhood, training, tech exploration, or my PhD research, I categorise journal entries as specific logs in the title, such as the above example of my Fatherhood Log. It keeps the journal.txt file neat and tidy and also further simplifies my searching process when I need to dig out something specific. I can also type much faster than I handwrite and the result is far more legible.
3. Enduring: Plain text files can be read on just about anything. I don’t have to worry about software going out of date. I’ll always have access to this file.
4. Autonomy: Related to the above, there is no need to have to rely on specific websites or apps. Pen and paper has this benefit as well and it’s wonderful that it can be so easily retained digitally.
5. Backing up: journal.txt is currently 249kB. Backing it up to my private server takes milliseconds.
I suppose the only disadvantage is the lack of portability. I did enjoy taking my physical journal to a park bench or a brewery and just sitting and writing. But the pros far outweigh the cons. I’ve since committed to using plain text files for all of my writing and many other projects. Whether it be collating notes from books and drafting short stories, to making lists, data sheets or writing scripts for personal and professional projects.
The big ambition now, which I began on New Years Day 2025, is to transcribe all handwritten journal entries into journal.txt.
P.S What I’m doing now.