Apple doesn’t release new apps often, so when they announced their own Journal app at WWDC this year, it made a splash. With iOS 17.2, Apple is finally ready to release the Journal app to the public. Once you update, you’ll find the Journal app sitting on your Home Screen, waiting for you to get started. 

It’s great that Apple is building its own take on journaling right on the iPhone. We know journaling can help reduce stress and anxiety, but not everyone has the time to spend their mornings journaling (though, if you’re interested in it, I personally recommend the Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages method). If you’re short on time, a simple journaling app is all you need.

How Apple’s Journal app works 

Apple takes a simplistic approach to journaling, and I’ve enjoyed using the app for what it is. In short, it’s a simple list of entries. You can create a new blank entry, and it will be logged with the date and time. From there, add some text, locations, photos, or record some audio. Things do get more interesting once you start using Apple’s suggestions and prompts—or “reflections,” as Apple calls them. Apple will ask you what the best part of your week was, or to reflect on the last time you made something. These prompts get you thinking about elements of your day you might not ordinarily think to write about. 

And once you give Apple permission to access your photos, music, and fitness data, their suggestions get deeper. If you’re on a day trip, Apple will pool in your location and all the best photos from your travels, and will ask you to journal about it. It can be a great way to note something that might get lost otherwise. It will also suggest places you went and workouts you completed, just to round out the day.

Limitations of Apple’s Journal app

Journal is not without its limitations, however. Yes, this is only the first version of the app, and Apple is sure to add more features going forward. Still, the app misses out on features that have become standard for popular journaling apps. 

The biggest issue is that at launch, the app is iPhone only, with no option for iPad or Mac. In my testing, there have been many times when I’ve wanted to continue writing more in-depth about a subject on my Mac. Hopefully, this will be rectified in a year. 

Intentionally, Journal is a simple app. You scroll through a list of your entries, in a reverse chronological order. You can bookmark entires, and the app will filter them for you based on photos, reflections, bookmarks, workouts, or places. That’s all there is to it. There is no calendar view, no tagging, no exporting—hell, there’s not even a Search field in sight. And, unlike some competitors, the Journal app doesn’t offer mood tracking. 

When you’re starting out, these issues might seem minor. But as you amass hundreds of entries, they’ll stand out like a sore thumb. 

Journal is a great gateway app

Let me digress a bit and talk about board game culture. In the wonderful world of tabletop games, we are obsessed with the notion of the gateway game: something simple, yet exciting, that’s just complex enough to hook a player, without being so overwhelming that the new player will run away. A perfect gateway game can make a lifelong gamer out of an unsuspecting citizen. 

And Apple has made the best gateway Journal app yet. It’s not perfect, but it’s not complicated. It has some glaring issues, and lacks features you’d expect in a journaling app (like cross-device support and a calendar view). But all that almost doesn’t matter here because Journal is great at what it aims to do, which is to help a large population try journaling, hopefully turning it into a sustainable, frequent hobby. 

Sadly, right now, that’s all it is. I hope Journal serves as a way for new users to get started, and that Apple brings out an Export option soon enough. That way, when users start running into walls, they can export their data to a better app like Day One or Journey, and can continue to build their daily journaling habit. 

If you are in favor of a simple journal app that’s already on your iPhone, I say go for it. How you journal doesn’t matter much—the fact that you are journaling is enough. 

The best alternatives to Apple Journal 

Journal is a great gateway app, but if you’re serious about journaling, you should start off with a more feature-rich app to boot; something that will support your journaling for years to come. 

Day One: If you’re all-in on the Apple ecosystem, Day One is the best journaling app for you, bar none. Yes, it’s paid, and it might seem silly to spend $35 a year for a journaling app. But you get a beautiful, fast, and feature-rich journaling experience for that price. All your data is stored securely in iCloud, and is easy to import and export. 

Journey: If you need to use this data on a PC, Journey might be the right option for you. It’s available on the web, and has mood tracking, shared journals, automation support, and more. A premium membership costs $50/year. 

Five Minute Journal: Consider this to be an elevated version of the Journal app. Five Minute Journal is a simple, timeline-based Journal app, but it also offers some important features like a calendar view, password protection, streams, and import and export. This can be another great gateway journaling app for you. 

Daylio: This is an easy-to-use mood and activity tracker that can help you quickly journal in short bursts. Use this app to check in with your moods, note down what you did, and how it made you feel. If you find the task of writing down your thoughts and feelings daunting, Daylio’s unique approach might help you get started. 

Source: LifeHacker – Apple Journal Might Help You Finally Start Journaling

This week, the publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary named “rizz” as 2023’s word of the year partly for its “potential as a term of lasting cultural significance or providing a snapshot of social history.” But they got it wrong. The real word that provides a cultural picture of 2023 is “vibecession.”

Coined by Kyla Scanlon, vibecession has come to mean something like “widespread pessimism about the economy regardless of the economy itself.” We’re currently in the middle of a huge vibecession.

According to a recent poll from the Pew Research Center, 81% of Americans  think the gap between the rich and poor will grow between now and 2050, despite the fact that it’s (finally) shrinking. Total consumer confidence in the US is lower now than it was in the middle of the Covid lockdown, and 71% of Americans say economic conditions in the country are “poor” or “very poor” with 38% of respondents going with “very poor.” 

In the real world, unemployment is hovering around 3.5%, down from 14.7% during the lockdown. The median household income in the US has risen from a pandemic low of $65,100 a year to $74,600. That number doesn’t reflect the “rich getting richer” either. It’s driven from the bottom: In 2022, people in the lower half of income distribution in the U.S. saw their earnings increase by 4.5%, where the average rate for all Americans was 1.2%. The rate of inflation has been steadily falling too: It’s currently 3.24% compared to 3.70% last month and 7.75% last year. The GDP increased by 2% in 2022 and 5% the year before. Despite the constant drumbeat of doom from social media, all major economic indicators suggest things are going pretty well. 

America is longing for the good old days—of 1973

In researching the vibecession, one data point stuck out to me most: 58% of Americans say that life for “people like them” is worse today than it was 50 years ago—in 1973, a year that was way shittier for way more people than 2023 in just about any way that can be measured.

To further both realism and optimism, here are the hard numbers on the shittiness of 1973:

In 1973, more than half the population of the earth lived in autocracies, compared to about 13% today. Almost 60% of humans live in democracies today, compared to 25% in the early 1970s. About half of the world lived in extreme poverty in 1973, compared to about 8% in 2023. A total of 988,892 people died in war between 1970 and 1973, where 394,375 died between 2019 and 2022, the most recent years for which we have complete statistics.

In terms of domestic economics, unemployment was at 4.9% in 1973, compared to our current 3.5%. The economy grew at a rate of 5.6% in 1973 compared to 9.2% in 2022. Inflation was at 8.7% in 1973, compared to our current rate of 3.24%. The federal interest rate was 8.74% in 1973, compared to 5.25% today. Women earned about 56.6 cents per dollar of mens’ pay in 1973, compared to 83.7 today. 

In 1973, 55,984 Americans died in car accidents compared to 42,795 in 2022, and there are about three times as many cars on the roads. There was more crime of every type in 1973. People lived on average to 71 years in 1973, compared to 79 in 2023. A 20-inch television cost around $500 in 1973 and could probably pick up three blurry channels. Adjusted for inflation, that’s around $3,300. A Chrysler LeBaron cost $7541 in 1973 and could be expected to last around 100,000 miles. That’s $52,255.56 in today’s money, to purchase a vehicle you can expect to drive for twice as long.

Every year is a bad year

I could keep going, but you get the point. It’s not like 1973 was a particularly terrible year either—things really start really going south in 1974, and they kept going south until the early 80s, when the interest rate was nearly 20% and unemployment was near 10%. At the time, I’m sure people looked longingly back to the “good old days” of 1936.

This lack of historical context is at the heart of the vibecession and illustrates its danger. Tangible progress is made through trying to force the real world toward the perfect one we imagine could exist, but misremembering the past and convincing ourselves we let a utopia slip from our fingers does the opposite. It leads to pessimism, inaction, and defeat. People are feeding on that defeatism, too—politicians scaring people into voting for them, corporations profiting from selling comfort to an unsettled populace, social media companies monetizing angst, and more. But buying into to doomerism is not only depressing, it dishonors the people who devoted their lives to making 2023 marginally less shitty than 1973. I mean, who wants to pay $52,000 for a Chrysler LeBaron?

Source: LifeHacker – What People Are Getting Wrong This Week: The ‘Vibecession’

Failing a class in college is weirdly taboo, even though it happens to all kinds of students. If you found this post, you’re likely facing the likelihood of failing a class. It’s hard to know what to do after that. Like, what … happens to you? The answer is actually nothing, unless you’ve failed a bunch of them. What’s more important is what you do next. If you just failed your first class, here’s what you do.

Do not freak out when you get your grade

I’ll be honest here: I went back to school for my master’s last year, thinking that because I had a whole decade of adult experience under my belt and I was always a good student, it would be easier than ever to do well in class—especially now that I was taking specific courses I already know I’m interested in. What I did not account for was that there would be math involved at this level. Math is something I struggle with tremendously; I barely scraped by in the intro-level stats class I had to take in undergrad. It did not occur to me, as someone who cannot do math, does not do it in daily life, and has no plans to do it in the post-grad future, that there was a chance of it coming back around. I thought, when I signed up for epidemiology, that I’d be learning about diseases—and I did! But it was basically math. It was a ton of math. And, I soon found out, all of my other classes were based on the foundational stuff I learned in that secret-math class. Despite my best efforts, I did not pass on my first time through it. Even at my big age, this “failure” hit me hard. Was I going to get in trouble? Was I going to get tossed out of my institution? Was I an idiot for thinking I could go back to school at all? No, no, and no, it turned out. What happened was I had to have a slightly embarrassing chat with an advisor and retake the class, since it was a required course. 

When you find out your grade at the end of the semester, don’t panic if you didn’t pass a class. It’s not going to help; what’s done is done. As Dr. Kim Crowley, Associate Professor of English at Bismarck State College puts it, “Don’t ruminate.” First, remind yourself this really does happen to people. For instance, Crowley—who has a PhD—had to take college algebra more than once in order to pass it. You’re in good company if there’s a class you struggle with. Next, consider a very simple question: Is the class required or not? 

What to do if you fail a required class

If you failed a class that is required for your major or program, you don’t have much of a choice but to take it again. You do have some choices when it comes to how you take it, though. Crowley says you should consider whether you want to take it the next semester “while material is fresh in your mind” or “wait to let the emotion of the whole thing go” and try again after a little break. When I retook epidemiology, I opted to do it right away—but that was because it was a prerequisite for all the other classes I had to take. I found this out by conferring with an advisor, which you should do right away when you find out you didn’t pass. Their job is to help you figure out your next steps; mine worked fast to help me get into a second-semester class. While I had no choice about having to retake it, I did get to choose if I took it online or in person, which is something Crowley says you should think over, as well. My first shot at epidemiology was in one of those big, bowl-shaped halls with hundreds of seats; I didn’t stand a chance of retaining a thing and usually sat in my stadium chair feeling vaguely sick. When I got to go at my own pace, sit in my un-intimidating apartment, and read (and reread and reread again) the materials online, I did way better. (I got a B+!) If you took your failed class in the morning, consider an afternoon slot. If you took it online, try in-person for some extra accountability. If you really hated your professor, you already know whom not to retake it from.

There are some questions you’ll need to ask your advisor when you chat about failing a required course. An academic advisor I spoke to (who will remain anonymous because she forgot to check her employer’s media policy before agreeing to the interview) suggested these:

• When can/should I retake the class?

• Does this impact my financial aid?

• Am I able to remain in my major?

• Which of my other required classes can I not take until this is done?

• What is the consequence if I continue to do poorly?

You’ll likely end up on academic probation, which means you’ll have to check in with your advisor periodically. In some universities, you’ll get a humbling email explaining that to you. In others, you might have to reach out to the financial aid office and your advisor directly to see what repercussions you’re facing. The good news is that in most schools, when you retake a failed class, the new grade replaces the old one, shoring up your GPA. 

What to do if you fail a class that isn’t required

Here’s where it gets tricky. If that class wasn’t required, you may not want to retake it at all. Crowley suggests calculating your GPA overall to see just how big of a hit one F is going to give you. If it’s a significant drop, retake the same class, if you can, to replace the grade on your transcript. If it’s not, though, it might just be OK for you to skip it. For instance, if you need three credits of some kind of art and you hated theater and ended up failing, there might be wiggle room in your GPA to just sign up for drawing or something and take the loss. 

Again, discuss all of this with your advisor before proceeding, but consider if retaking something that was hard for you and sort of unnecessary is really a way to keep morale up while you’re on probation. Bear in mind, too, that required classes are usually offered abundantly at various times, with different professors, and using different structures, but electives are rarer. In your school, it may not be possible to retake the same exact class again, so work this out directly with your advisor. The worst thing you can do is dither over it and let it slow down your progress into the next semester. One F won’t destroy a GPA full of other good grades, but spending weeks agonizing will torpedo your productivity. 

What to do about a failed class in the future

Honesty is the best policy here. If you go on to apply for jobs, transfer to a different school, or seek admissions to a program for a higher degree, the failed class is likely to show on some version of your transcript—even if you retook it and your GPA is solid. Not all jobs will ask for transcripts, but as a rule, most schools will. Don’t shy away from discussing it. In a job interview, this would be a great story to pull out when you’re asked about a time you overcame a hardship or adversity (provided you went on to get a better grade the second time). Failing isn’t necessarily a bad thing and won’t destroy your reputation. Being able to detail exactly how you reoriented and did better afterward will make you look good. 

Crowley says that when she was applying for grad school, she was clear in her admissions essay about the issues she faced in undergrad that led to some of her worse grades. I know another student who was recently accepted into a school’s “second chance” program after detailing in a letter to administrators why he’d failed so many classes in his previous attempt to secure a degree—and how, after a few years away from the classroom, he was in a much better position to do well. 

“Even if you have nothing to write other than, ‘I was a dumb 18-year-old who couldn’t make it to class,’ sometimes just ‘fessing up to that at least shows someone down the line that you’re taking responsibility for it and you’re less likely to do it again,” says Crowley. 

Source: LifeHacker – What to Do When You Fail a College Class

Not everyone can afford a Peloton. Even when they go on sale, you won’t find them going for anywhere near 40% off. Luckily, there are other brands that can get the job done just as well without sending you into a financial crisis.

NordicTrack’s commercial Commercial S22i Studio Cycle spin bike is currently on sale for 40% off, making it $899 (down from $1499.99) on Amazon, which matches the levels it reached on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

What the NordicTrack Commercial S22i Studio Cycle offers

Founded in 2012, Peloton might be the biggest player in the spin bike scene, but they weren’t there first. NordicTrack has been making home gym equipment since 1975, and is a trusted brand among fitness enthusiasts.

The NordicTrack Commercial S22i Studio Cycle spin bike has a lot of the same features as the basic Peloton Bike, making it an attractive alternative to the leading brand—especially at this price point.