I love Momento.

I first downloaded this free journaling app back in June and have become one of its biggest fans. The dashboard is divided in to timeline, calendar, tags and feeds, allowing quick access at the bottom of the screen. The timeline is a scrolling calendar that displays a quick snapshot of what you have written that day, referring to each of the entries moments. The calendar function also allows you easy access to past entries, denoting them with dots at the bottom of each calendar square. The tags function allows you to search entries and photos with custom or preprogrammed categories. You also don’t have to worry about opening the site each time you want to upload something new. The Feeds category allows you to set up default feeds that automatically upload posts from your Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts to Momento. The app with then archive all of your tweets and posts automatically.

One of the best features of this app are the available (but optional) reminders. You pick a topic or function and set a time and it will remind you to write about what you’re doing or take a photo. I found it a good way to force me to journal when I’m not on the road.  The reminders get you in the habit of recording your thoughts and taking snapshots or uploading photos, so when you do travel you’re already in the habit of keeping a good record your day. I’ve gotten used to the alert going off, opening the app and using the voice to text function on my phone rambling about whatever is on my mind (work, TV, sports, whatever), until the buffer is full and then hitting save. The sentences don’t have to be perfect; it’s just a rough idea of what’s on my mind that day or in that moment. I also use it to help archive important correspondence, like my daily emails to my wife.

The app also has a function to let you make a hard copy of what you’ve archived, just in case you’re worried that one day you’ll lose your spot in the cloud and all those moments will go *poof* into thin air.

You don’t have to be hard core about journaling, but like I said it gets you in the habit so when you travel it becomes second nature. Trust me when I say you don’t want to solely rely on your memory to remember those important moments of your life, without Polaroids or tattooing notes on your body. (Sorry, I had to get the Memento movie reference in or Amanda would divorce me.)