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A thought diary that works in three seconds, not thirty minutes

No blank page. No prompts. Just a log of what your mind did. Mendly is a thought diary for iPhone that takes one tap per entry — a timestamp and an optional 15-second voice note. Hourly charts show when thoughts cluster across the week. Milestones mark the habit forming. It's a thought diary for people who've never managed to keep one.

The research

Expressive writing research found benefits after 15-20 minute sessions over several consecutive days — a bar most people never clear. Mendly's entry takes roughly three seconds, trading the depth of expressive writing for a completion rate closer to 100%.

— Pennebaker, 1997

Want to understand why this happens? What is catastrophizing — and how to tell when you're doing it

Quiz

What's your thought-tracking pattern?

Question 1 of 4

What's stopped you from keeping a diary before?

“A diary you actually keep beats a diary that would theoretically help more if you kept it. Completion rate is the real independent variable, not entry depth.”

Features

Hourly patterns

See when your inner critic is loudest. Morning spirals? Late-night overthinking? Your data, your story.

Milestone badges

16 badges that celebrate your awareness, not your perfection. First Catch, Streaks, Early Bird, Voice Found — each one earned.

Voice notes

15 seconds to say what was actually going through your head. Optional, private, and yours.

Not quite your pattern? An overthinking tracker that shows your mind's pattern, not just its noise might fit better

Apps like MindLift use CBT-guided diary entries that ask you to identify distortions alongside your thoughts. If you've bounced off diary formats before, adding a structured CBT layer makes the barrier higher, not lower. Mendly's entry is a tap.

See the full comparison

Common questions

Is there a way to add more detail to an entry, or is it just the tap?
Each entry can include a 15-second voice note recorded right in the moment. That's the depth layer — optional, always private. There's no text field, no prompts, no follow-up questions.
How is this different from a journaling app?
A journaling app gives you a blank page or structured prompts and expects a written response. Mendly's entry is a tap and, optionally, a 15-second voice note. The insight comes from accumulation across many small entries, not from the quality of any one reflection.
Can I export my data?
Yes. You can export your log as a CSV from the settings menu — dates, times, and any voice note transcripts included.
What does the free trial include?
The full app, no restrictions, for 7 days. After 7 days you choose monthly ($7.99) or annual ($59.99, about $5/month). Cancel anytime via your Apple subscriptions — no emails required.
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See for yourself — 7 days free.

Try Mendly on iPhone. Cancel anytime via Apple subscriptions.

Download on theApp Store