6 ways to get better entries from deariary
deariary writes your diary from the data your connected services provide. More context in means a better diary out. If your entries feel thin or generic, there are a few things you can do about it.
These tips are based on what we have seen from early users and from our own daily use.
Connect more than one integration
This is the single biggest factor. With one integration, deariary sees one dimension of your day. With three or more, it can see the shape of your whole day.
A GitHub-only diary reads like a commit log. Add Google Calendar and it knows you had a team lunch between two coding sessions. Add Slack and it catches that your colleague thanked you for a quick code review. The same afternoon becomes a scene instead of a list.
On the Free plan you get one integration. If your entries feel flat, upgrading to Basic (up to 5) is the most direct way to improve them. See pricing on deariary.com for details.
Use your tools as you normally would
deariary works best when your connected services reflect what you actually did. You do not need to change your behavior, but it helps to be aware of a few things:
- Calendar events with titles produce better entries than blocks labeled “Busy.” If your calendar already has descriptive titles, you are set.
- Todoist tasks that you mark complete show up as accomplishments. Incomplete tasks do not appear in your diary, so there is no pressure.
- Slack messages in channels give deariary conversational context. Direct messages are not collected for privacy reasons.
- GitHub activity includes commits, pull requests, issues, and code reviews. Write a commit message that says what you did, and your diary benefits too.
None of this requires extra effort. It just means the tools you already use become better diary sources when they contain real context.
Pay attention to which day feels empty
When you read your diary and a particular day feels thin, check which integrations were active that day. You might notice a pattern.
Maybe weekends feel sparse because your only integration is GitHub. Connecting Steam, Todoist, or Bluesky could fill in the rest. Maybe Fridays are light because your team communicates on a platform you have not connected yet.
Gaps in your diary usually point to gaps in your integrations, not gaps in your life.
Use webhooks for things deariary does not cover yet
The Webhook integration lets you send custom events to deariary via HTTP. This is useful for activities that no existing integration covers.
Some examples from early users:
- Logging a workout with a short POST request from a phone shortcut
- Sending a “finished reading [book title]” event from a Shortcuts automation
- Piping home automation events (arrived home, left home) into the diary
A webhook event only needs a timestamp and a short description. deariary treats it like any other data source and weaves it into the day’s entry.
Read your diary regularly
This one is not about the technology. It is about closing the loop.
When you read your diary, you start noticing which details matter to you and which do not. That awareness makes you a better judge of which integrations to connect and which to skip.
Some users read every morning. Others catch up once a week. There is no right cadence. The point is that reading helps you tune the system to your life.
Give it a few days
Your first diary entry might feel underwhelming. That is normal. deariary improves as it accumulates context across days. Patterns emerge. Running themes appear. By the end of your first week, the entries read differently than they did on day one.
If you just signed up, connect your integrations and let it run. The diary you read on Friday will be better than the one you read on Monday.
These tips come down to one idea: deariary is only as good as the context it receives. You do not need to write anything. But the more of your day it can see, the more your diary will feel like yours.
