Micro journaling,
in iMessage

A journal that messages you first

Not sure what to write? Steps sends your own questions to iMessage. A few words is a whole entry. Skip one, and your own reason comes back.

For iPhone, or an iPad or Mac signed into Messages. Nothing to install, and no streak to keep. 30 free days, no card, then pay what you want, $3 to $15 a month.
Steps
Today 9:00 AM
Hey, how are you doing?
Good. Coffee first, cold or hot.
What went well yesterday?
Finished the book on the bus and nearly missed my stop.
What's something ordinary you're glad of this morning?
The light through the kitchen window with my first coffee.
Delivered
iMessage

A journal can start to feel like homework

Steps is micro journaling in iMessage. It sends your questions one at a time, and a few words back is a full entry.

What is micro journaling? →

“I never know what to write.”

Your questions arrive in iMessage, built from three quick answers at sign-up. Each asks about one small thing, yesterday or today, so there's always somewhere to start.

“It started to feel like a chore.”

A few words is a full entry, and there's no length to live up to. Miss a day and there's nothing to catch up on.

“I want to remember these days.”

One question about yesterday, one about today, like “What's a moment from yesterday worth keeping?” Every answer is dated and kept, in your own words, to read back later.

Built by a busy dad of four

I have four kids and a company, and I've kept journals on and off for years. The long entries never lasted, but a few words over coffee did, so I built Steps to send me a few questions in iMessage while I drink it.

Line-art portrait of TiagoTiago, father of four in Porto

Today 8:00 AM
Hey, how are you doing?
Today 1:12 PM
No rush — this morning's journal is still open. Two minutes, whenever you have them. Don't want these afternoon texts? Tell me and I'll stop.
nap time finally. here
What are you grateful for today?
Tea while it's still hot. The baby asleep on me. Sun on the balcony.
What are you grateful for in life?
The kids. My mum ten minutes away. A partner who does bath time.
(1)

A message at the hour you pick

Pick your mornings and the hour, like 7, or 9 after drop-off. The message is the reminder, so there's no app to open. If the morning gets away from you, one follow-up comes in the early afternoon, and one reply stops it.

app.steps.org
Your journal
What's a moment from yesterday worth keeping?
Why answer it: So yesterday's best minute is written down.
Picked for “A head full of lists”.
SwapRewordRemove
What do you want to notice today?
Why answer it: So today gets a minute of its own.
Show me a different journal Add your own question
(2)

Questions picked with you

At sign-up, a short configurator asks what brings you here and how much time you really get. It suggests two to four questions, like “What's a moment from yesterday worth keeping?” or “What do you want to notice today?” Swap any, reword any, or add your own, up to five, with a line on why it matters to you.

Yesterday 7:00 AM
What went well yesterday?
Today 7:00 AM
Hey, how are you doing?
better than yesterday
You wrote: “So a good day gets written down, not only the hard ones.”
What went well yesterday?
Pancakes for dinner. The kids called it the best day ever.
(3)

Skip a question, and your own reason comes back

Every question carries a note to self, the reason it matters to you. Skip it, and the next morning your note comes first. Counting skipped mornings is off unless you turn it on.

Three steps to your first entry

  1. Tell Steps what brings you here and how much time you really get, and, if you like, what you want to look at. It suggests two to four questions made for you. Ask for different ones, change any, or add one of your own, up to five.
  2. Choose a time, on the hour, and any mornings from one a week to all seven.
  3. Say hi in iMessage to the number on your screen. Your first journal opens right there with its first question, and your 30 free days start, no card. After that, Steps messages you on the mornings you chose. Reply in a few words, then get on with the day.

Try for free

Not sure yet? Read a plain introduction to micro journaling →

Painting of tree-crowned crags under summer clouds

A year of mornings, in your own words

A line about yesterday and one about today is a minute on the day you're in. Each is dated and kept, so a year from now you have a year of them, to read back or download.

Some of the questions Steps can ask, each about yesterday or today.

Looking backWhat's a moment from yesterday worth keeping?
GratitudeWhat are you grateful for today?
GratitudeWhat's something ordinary you're glad of this morning?
TodayWhat's one thing you can let wait until tomorrow?
TodayWhat do you want to notice today?
Someone you loveWho made yesterday a bit better?
TodayWhat's a small thing you're looking forward to today?
Looking backWhat went well yesterday?
TodayWhat's in front of you today that matters?
GratitudeWho are you grateful for this morning?
TodayWhat's the one thing you want to get done today?
A numberHow many minutes did you spend outside yesterday?
Looking backWhat did you do yesterday that you want to do again?
Someone you loveWhich friend would be glad to hear from you today?

Or write your own, with a line on why it matters to you.

A question for the thing that matters today

Today 7:00 AM
Who do you want to give your full attention to today?
My daughter at bath time. Phone stays in the kitchen.
What will you do today to get closer to not working from an office by the end of the year?
Ask my manager for Fridays at home, at the 3pm one-to-one.
(4)

A question for what matters at work and at home

At home, a question from Steps' list. At work, Tiago's own, word for word, because he wants to stop working from an office by the end of the year. Add one of your own at sign-up, or later in iMessage, with a line on why it matters.

More prompts →

Skip a morning. Nothing resets.

Kids get sick, and some weeks nothing gets written. That's allowed here. Your score reads like “You answered every question on 18 of your last 24 mornings,” and the next hello comes on schedule.

Who is it for

Busy parents → A few words about the days with the kids in them New to journaling → Never know what to write? Your questions come to you Starting again → Tried journaling before? This one messages you first Micro journaling → Where the word came from, and how to start on paper

Questions, answered

What is micro journaling?+

Micro journaling is keeping a journal in very short entries, such as a line, a few words or a quick list, usually written in a minute or two. Steps brings it to iMessage. On the days you pick it says hello, then asks your questions one at a time, and whatever you send is saved with that day. There's no app to open, and a few words are plenty.

The full introduction →

What do I write if I don't know what to write?+

Answer the question and stop. One honest line is a full answer, like "Pancakes on a Tuesday." A question about one small thing is easier than "How was yesterday?" If nothing comes, write that nothing comes. The next morning asks again, with nothing to catch up on. The note-to-self method starts here, with a question about one small thing.

The note-to-self method →

I've started journals before and stopped. Why would this stick?+

Maybe not, and we won't pretend otherwise. Most journals wait for you to find the notebook or open the app, and a week of sick kids is enough to end that. Steps comes to you instead, at the hour you pick, and a few words answer a question. A skipped day costs you nothing. If you stop for a while, every word stays saved, and the next hello comes on your schedule.

Does Steps replace my journal?+

No. Keep a notebook, a one-line-a-day book, morning pages, a planner or Day One as it is. Steps is micro journaling in iMessage, a few questions on the days you pick. To move an answer into your journal, copy it by hand, or download everything as a Markdown or JSON file at app.steps.org. Steps doesn't connect to other apps.

Is this a mental-health app?+

No. Steps is micro journaling in iMessage. It asks your questions, saves your answers and reads them back when you ask. It never analyzes you, scores your mood or gives advice. It's for adults, so kids don't get an account, and it isn't therapy or medical care. If anything you write suggests you're in danger, Steps stops and points you to real people at steps.org/safety. If things feel heavy, please talk to someone who can help.

All questions, answered →

Privacy, in plain words

A journal only works if it's private. What you write is encrypted on the way to us and while it's stored, in the EU, under European privacy law. Some services Steps uses, like Anthropic, are in the US.

Steps is software, not a person. An AI model from Anthropic writes its short replies and, once a day, labels your entries so you can find them later and so a word you keep repeating can be counted. Nothing you write is used to train AI, and Steps never analyzes you or gives advice. Those labels are never a reading of you.

Someone at Steps may read a conversation record to make replies better. Before anyone can, we automatically hide the names we can find in it (yours, your kids', anyone you mention) and every email and phone number.

Nothing is sold or shared for ads, and no child needs an account. Take everything with you, or erase everything, whenever you like. Read our privacy promises →

Painting of a house on a green hillside

Tomorrow, at your hour, a few questions and a few words back.

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© 2026 steps.org Built by Tiago Micro journaling in iMessage, by Steps
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