HW Journal vs KATA

Work plans, personal errands, and the thoughts that pop up in between. Your whole day, in a notebook that is yours alone. HW Journal is a notebook app for people who love to write by hand. Write and expand ideas on iPad; check tomorrow and wrap up the day on iPhone. Two devices, one notebook. ■ What you didn't finish comes back to you Circle something, or underline it, with the Carry-over Pen, and it moves to the top of tomorrow's page at its original size. It stays every day until you erase it, so even if you forget you wrote it down, it finds you. Each morning, Today's Summary gathers carried-over items, events, and to-dos in one place. ■ A big A3 page to write freely (new in 2.0) The memo area is one full A3 sheet. In portrait you see the A4 half; slide right to reach the rest. Whatever the device or orientation, what you wrote looks the same. ■ Photos and stickers Place photos, rotate them, resize them. Lift the subject out of a photo and stick it on the page as a sticker. ■ Sticky notes Small handwritten notes you can put anywhere on the screen. ■ Daily records beside the date Show medication, blood pressure, weight, steps, and trash-day reminders next to the date. Turn off whatever you don't use, one by one. Health records are stored only on your device, never in iCloud. Connecting to Health is optional and off by default. ■ A small touch for other pens If you use a pen other than Apple Pencil, double-tap the page with a finger to switch between pen and eraser (turn it on in Settings). You can also trigger the switch from the Shortcuts app. ■ And more - Day view, week view, and month calendar, linked with Apple Calendar and Reminders - Five-year diary and Day Diary, protected by Face ID or passcode - Extra pages with blank, ruled, or grid backgrounds, plus PDF markup - Holiday colors, and Japanese rokuyo, holiday names, and weather - Touch mode lets you use the app with just your finger - Most display items can be switched on or off in Settings - You can go back to the previous layout (1.x): Settings > Display & Layout > Screen Layout ■ Pricing The app itself is free. The Supporters Pack (one-time purchase) unlocks more pages, backgrounds, search, passcode lock, and more. Tips are also available. ■ Note If you use both iPad and iPhone, update both to 2.0 before using.

When a routine lives only in your head, it's easy to lose your place or lose track of time. KATA turns a note into a routine you can play. Pick a routine. Press start. "Three minutes: jump rope." KATA announces each step and moves on when time is up. No need to keep checking your notes. Even with your hands busy, you know what's next. That's the whole idea. ■ Why it beats a note ◆ Voice guides every step Step names and remaining time, read out loud. While you're in another app, step changes arrive as notifications. Switch between voice, sound, vibration, or silent — for the gym or the office. ◆ Paste a note, get a routine Copy your existing note and paste it into KATA. "3 min", "20 reps", "x3 rounds" are detected automatically. No rebuilding the sequence from scratch. ◆ A quiet log When you did it, how long it took. Facts only. No streaks. No charts. No cheering. KATA records — it never judges. ■ Three step types, one routine - Check: advance with a tap — for work procedures and checklists - Timer: auto-advance — for practice menus and stretching - Count: tap to count reps, chime at the target - Rounds: repeat a block, like "3 min x 3 rounds" Mix them freely. Workouts, vocal drills, podcast release checklists — one app. ■ Nothing interrupts a session - No ads during a session. Ads appear only on the Home and Logs screens - Lock Screen shows the current step and remaining time - Interrupted? Resume right where you stopped ■ Fast to start, easy to share - 51 built-in templates (workout, vocal warmup, morning prep, release checklist) - Organize routines into categories; add, rename, or delete them anytime - Start from a Home Screen widget with one tap - "Hey Siri, start Morning Prep in KATA" (iOS 18+) - Export any routine as text. Anyone can paste it and play it ■ Fair by design - No account. No sign-up - Create, run, and log routines offline - Free with no feature limits. Unlimited routines (ad-supported) - No subscriptions or in-app purchases ■ Made for - People who run their own training menus - Singers, musicians, language learners with daily drills - Podcasters and creators with release checklists they can't afford to miss - Anyone who loses track of time or wants the next step prompted - Anyone who puts off repeatable tasks because getting started feels unclear - Anyone tired of noisy habit apps