How to Build an Evernote-Style Journal in ClickUp

If you’ve outgrown Evernote or want a more flexible system, you can recreate and improve your journal workflow directly in ClickUp. This guide walks you through setting up a structured, searchable digital journal that mirrors popular Evernote journal templates while adding powerful productivity features.

The steps below are based on the concepts and structure of the Evernote journal templates described in the original ClickUp blog guide, adapted into a clear how-to for everyday use.

Why Move Your Journal From Evernote to ClickUp?

Traditional note-taking apps are excellent for capture, but they often fall short when it comes to planning, tracking, and following through. Rebuilding your journal in ClickUp gives you:

• Better structure: Tasks, custom fields, and statuses help organize your entries.
• More context: Connect journal entries to goals, projects, and docs.
• Flexible views: Switch between List, Calendar, and Board views for the same journal data.
• Automation potential: Set reminders and recurring entries so you never forget to reflect.

Plan Your ClickUp Journal Structure

Before you create anything, decide how you want your Evernote-style journal to live inside ClickUp. A simple approach is to dedicate one Space or Folder to journaling.

Recommended ClickUp hierarchy

• Space: Personal Growth or Journaling
• Folder: Journal
• Lists:
  • Daily Journal
  • Weekly Review
  • Gratitude & Wins
  • Goals & Reflections

This mirrors the way Evernote notebooks might be separated, but gives you additional control through statuses, tags, and fields.

Create a Daily Journal List in ClickUp

Your Daily Journal List will hold one task per day, similar to a dated Evernote note.

Step 1: Add a new List for daily entries

1. Open your Journal Folder in ClickUp.
2. Click + New List.
3. Name it Daily Journal.
4. Choose the List view as your default.

This List will act as your main timeline of entries.

Step 2: Configure task statuses for your journal

Statuses help you track whether you’ve completed your reflection for the day.

1. In the List, open Settings > Statuses.
2. Use a simple set, such as:
   • To Reflect – you haven’t written yet
   • In Progress – you started the entry
   • Complete – reflection finished

Unlike Evernote, ClickUp lets you see which days are missing entries at a glance by filtering or grouping by status.

Step 3: Add core journal custom fields in ClickUp

Custom fields give your entries structure without forcing long, repetitive typing. Consider adding:

• Mood (Dropdown): Great, Good, Okay, Tired, Stressed
• Energy Level (Number or Dropdown): 1–10
• Focus (Dropdown): Work, Health, Learning, Relationships, Personal
• Tags (Label): Morning, Evening, Deep Work, Habit, Idea

To add these in ClickUp:

1. Open your Daily Journal List.
2. Click + Add Column.
3. Select the field type (Dropdown, Number, or Label).
4. Name the field and add the options you want.

This replicates common Evernote templates but makes filtering and reporting much easier.

Design Your Daily Entry Template in ClickUp

Instead of manually formatting each new note, create one rich task template that captures your daily prompts and sections.

Step 4: Create a journal task with prompts

1. In the Daily Journal List, click + New Task.
2. Name it something generic like Daily Journal Template.
3. In the task description, add headings and prompts such as:
   • 1. Morning Intentions
     • Today’s top 3 priorities:
     • How I want to feel today:
   • 2. Gratitude
     • Three things I’m grateful for:
   • 3. Highlights
     • Best moment of the day:
     • A small win worth noting:
   • 4. Reflection
     • What went well?
     • What could be improved?
     • What did I learn?
   • 5. Notes & Ideas

This gives you the same guided experience as an Evernote journal template but with richer task functionality inside ClickUp.

Step 5: Save the entry as a task template

1. With the template task open, click the three-dot menu.
2. Select Save as Template.
3. Choose Task Template.
4. Name it Daily Journal Entry and assign it to your Journal Folder.
5. Enable options to include description, custom fields, and subtasks (if you use them).

Now you can spawn a complete journal entry in seconds from anywhere in ClickUp.

Automate Your Daily Journal in ClickUp

To build a reliable journaling habit, automate the creation of your entries so you never forget or feel friction.

Step 6: Use recurring tasks for daily entries

1. Create a new task in the Daily Journal List.
2. Name it with a dynamic date, like Daily Journal – {{date}} (or manually include the date).
3. Apply the Daily Journal Entry template you created.
4. Set the task to repeat daily from the due date.

Each day, ClickUp will generate a fresh entry with all your prompts, ready for you to fill in.

Step 7: Set reminders and notifications

1. Open the recurring journal task.
2. Add a due time that matches your preferred journaling window (for example, 8:00 PM).
3. Enable notifications so you get an alert when it’s time to reflect.

This automation goes beyond what typical Evernote templates can offer, turning journaling into a guided, scheduled routine.

Create Weekly and Monthly Review Templates in ClickUp

Reflection doesn’t stop at daily entries. Set up Lists and templates for higher-level reviews to complement your Evernote-style notes.

Step 8: Build a Weekly Review List

1. Create a new List called Weekly Review inside your Journal Folder.
2. Add custom fields such as:
   • Week Start (Date)
   • Week End (Date)
   • Rating (Number 1–10)
3. Create a Weekly Review task with prompts like:
   • Biggest wins this week
   • Challenges I faced
   • Habits that helped or hurt
   • Top lessons learned
   • Priorities for next week
4. Save it as a task template for future weeks.

Use the same recurring-task approach so ClickUp automatically generates a new review entry every week.

Step 9: Add a Monthly Reflection List

1. Create a List named Monthly Reflection.
2. Add high-level prompts such as:
   • What am I proud of this month?
   • Where did I grow the most?
   • What should I stop, start, and continue?
   • Key metrics or habits I tracked
3. Save this as another reusable template inside ClickUp.

These review Lists act like specialized Evernote notebooks, but they benefit from unified views, filters, and reporting.

Use ClickUp Views to Navigate Your Journal

One advantage of ClickUp over static Evernote notebooks is the ability to look at the same entries in multiple ways.

Step 10: Add helpful views to your Lists

• Calendar View: See entries laid out by date and quickly spot gaps.
• Board View: Group journal tasks by mood, status, or focus area.
• Doc View: Create running narrative logs that reference your tasks.

To add a view:

1. Open your Daily Journal List.
2. Click + View at the top.
3. Select Calendar or Board.
4. Customize filters and groups (for example, group by Mood or Status).

This level of visibility makes your Evernote-like journal system in ClickUp far more interactive.

Enhance Your Journal With ClickUp Integrations

Once your basic journaling system is ready, you can connect it with other workflows.

• Link journal entries to tasks from work projects for context.
• Attach files or screenshots directly to daily reflections.
• Use Docs to store longer-form essays or annual reviews, then link them back to your journal tasks.

If you want expert help optimizing this setup and ensuring it aligns with your broader productivity system, you can work with a specialist through Consultevo, which focuses on advanced system design.

Next Steps: Evolve Your ClickUp Journal

By rebuilding your Evernote-style templates inside ClickUp, you gain a flexible journaling system that grows with you. Start with:

• A Daily Journal List with a reusable task template
• Weekly and monthly review Lists
• Custom fields for mood, focus, and energy
• Recurring tasks and reminders to build the habit

As you use your new setup, refine your prompts, fields, and views. Over time, your ClickUp workspace becomes a single, powerful hub for notes, reflection, and action—achieving everything you once did in Evernote, and much more.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

Get Help

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