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Welcome to Reflect AI! This guide will walk you through creating your first journal entry and understanding how the app helps you reflect on your thoughts.

Getting Started

1

Open the Calendar

When you launch Reflect AI, you’ll see a calendar view showing the current month. Days with existing entries have a small colored dot and mood emoji.
2

Select a Date

Click on any day to open the journal editor for that date. You can write entries for today, or reflect on past days.
3

Choose Your Approach

Reflect AI offers two ways to start writing:Option 1: Quick Nudges (Recommended for beginners)
  • For new entries, you’ll see the Nudges section
  • Type quick notes about your day (e.g., “morning run”, “stressful meeting”, “dinner with friends”)
  • Press Enter or click “Add Nudge” to save each note
  • Once you have 2-3 nudges, click “Generate Entry from Nudges”
  • The AI will create a full journal entry from your notes
Option 2: Free Writing
  • Click “Skip, I’ll write myself” to access the text editor directly
  • Start typing your thoughts freely
4

Use Writing Prompts

At the top of the editor, you’ll see prompt chips:
  • Free: Open-ended writing
  • Gratitude: “Today I’m grateful for…”
  • Reflection: “Today’s highlights… What went well… What I learned…”
  • Goals: “My intentions…”
  • Emotions: “Right now I’m feeling…”
Click any prompt to change the placeholder text and guide your writing.
5

Write Your Entry

Type your thoughts in the text area. The editor automatically:
  • Counts your words (shown in the header)
  • Saves your draft as you type
  • Provides a distraction-free writing space
There’s no “right” way to journal. Write as much or as little as you feel comfortable with. Even 50 words can capture meaningful moments.
6

Add Context (Optional)

Below the text area, you can:
  • Add Tags: Click ”+ tag” to categorize your entry (work, personal, health, etc.)
  • Attach Photos: Click ”+ Photo” to add up to 10 images (memories, screenshots, etc.)
7

Save Your Entry

Click the Save button in the top-right corner. Within seconds:
  • Your entry is saved securely to your device
  • The app analyzes the sentiment of your writing
  • You’ll see a mood emoji appear (😊 🙂 😐 😔 😢)
  • You may receive an encouraging message based on your mood

Understanding Mood Detection

After saving, Reflect AI automatically analyzes your entry using VADER sentiment analysis:
  • 😊 Very Positive (Joyful): Compound score ≥ 0.5
  • 🙂 Positive (Content): Compound score 0.2 to 0.5
  • 😐 Neutral (Balanced): Compound score -0.2 to 0.2
  • 😔 Negative (Reflective): Compound score -0.5 to -0.2
  • 😢 Very Negative (Processing): Compound score ≤ -0.5
The mood detection is based on the overall emotional tone of your words, not a judgment. All emotions are valid parts of the human experience.
Mood detection happens only when you save. While editing, the mood indicator won’t update until you click Save again.

Tips for Meaningful Journaling

Focus on building the habit rather than writing “perfect” entries. Even short entries on busy days help maintain your practice.
Your journal is private and stays on your device. Write truthfully about your feelings without self-censorship.
Instead of “Had a good day,” try “Felt energized after my morning walk and the positive feedback from my manager.”
Mention recurring activities (exercise, sleep quality, social time) to help Reflect AI identify patterns in future insights.
Click the microphone icon to dictate your entry. This is great for capturing thoughts on the go.

Editing and Deleting Entries

To Edit an Entry:
  1. Click the date on the calendar
  2. Make your changes in the text editor
  3. Click Save to update
To Delete an Entry:
  1. Open the entry you want to remove
  2. Click the Delete button in the top-right
  3. Confirm the deletion (this cannot be undone)
Deleting an entry permanently removes it from your journal. Make sure to export your data regularly as a backup.

Unsaved Changes Protection

Reflect AI automatically detects unsaved changes:
  • If you try to close an entry with unsaved edits, you’ll see a confirmation dialog
  • Choose “Leave” to discard changes or “Stay” to continue editing
  • This prevents accidental data loss

Next Steps

Understanding Moods

Learn how sentiment analysis works and what your mood scores mean

AI Features

Explore AI-powered writing tools and pattern insights

Customization

Personalize themes, prompts, and styling

Export & Backup

Keep your journal data safe with regular exports

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