When it comes to journaling, the handwritten approach is often preferred. However, the easy access to my laptop sometimes makes it a more obvious choice to jot down a journal entry for the day. This post is about how I keep a desktop journal on my desktop with Mac Stickies.

The benefit of this journal hack is that it makes me write at least a little every day.

Step 1 – Desktop wallpaper as background for my journal

I am writing on a Macbook with a 13 inches screen. When using the Stickies app for my desktop home screen, I wanted a background to match it. To do this, I looked up the pixel size for my MacBook to be 2560×1600 and made a wallpaper desktop PNG image, and used this as my desktop image. (template from Picmonkey)

Step 2 – Stickies and desktop aesthetics

Then I made a set of fixed stickies. The calendar, the top three priorities, a photo, and a post-it note.

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This occupies four of the six squares on my wallpaper and leaves two open. One I use for my folder icons, and the other one is where I keep my desktop journal entries.

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Step 3 – Desktop journal entries with Stickies

I have set the pink Stickie as default so when I make a new note by typing ⌘ + N a pink Stickie note pops up. Then I title the note with the date and collapse it by clicking the upper right corner. I do this so I have one ready for a week ahead.

All I have to do when I want to write is to choose the dated note and start writing.

An extra trick to Stickies

I often mess up my creative writing with random journal entries in the middle of my writing, but having a journal on my desktop has offered a solution.

By using Stickies, I have a shortcut to transferring the journal parts of my other writings to my journal in an easy way. I select the portion of the text I want to transfer, but instead of copy/paste, I press command+shift+y. Doing this makes a sticky note instantly with the selected text. This shortcut is one of my favorite features of using Stickies.

So this is how I keep a journal on my desktop with Mac Stickies. How do you prefer to keep a daily journal? Please share in the comment.

If you still prefer the handwritten way, you can go to the bottom of this blog post // journal letter paper for a free download (no email asked)