There are many ways to keep a diary or journal. You can use pen and paper like people have been doing for centuries. Or you can open a Word or TXT document and just start writing. But sometimes it's nice to have an application that's actually designed for the task, and which will separate your journal entries by date, let you search your diary for specific keywords, and offer some form of encryption to keep your nosy siblings from reading what you've written.

The problem with most free diary applications I've tried is that they don't do a great job of exporting your data in a standard format that you can know with confidence you'll be able to access 10 years from now.

For a while I used Journal Pro for Windows Mobile to keep track of my thoughts. But the company discontinued work on the project. And while that means the Windows Mobile and desktop versions of Journal Pro are now available as free downloads, it also means that if you want to convert your journal to a text document you need to do it with the Windows Mobile client. The desktop version doesn't have a text export feature. So if you replace your Windows Mobile device with a Palm, Symbian, Android, or Apple device you may never be able to read your journal entries again.

The other day I ran across LifeSaver, which attempts to get around this problem by allowing you to export your journal as an XML file. But the project is still in its early phases. I also tried Advanced Diary, which has an attractive interface and allows users to export entries as text files - but at least in the last freeware version of the application, Advanced Diary exports each journal entry as a separate text, HTML, or RTF file which can create a ton of individual files.

So I'm turning to the wisdom of the crowds here. Do you keep a diary? What apps or techniques do you use to keep your entries straight and to make sure your journal is future proof? Let us know in the ocmments.

Fans of 37signal's online task management and information gathering tool Backpack will be excited to hear about the tool's latest addition, a Journal page.

Backpack recently underwent a major update that moved the tool from a single-user focus to a tool intended to allow teams that are working together to keep information organized. The new Journal function continues the tool's move to more of a team focus, which is both exciting and a little frustrating. While none of the functionality that makes Backpack a good tool for individuals has been lost, it's disappointing to see 37signals lose their focus with respect to Backpack. Considering they already have three team-focused products (Basecamp, Highrise, and Campfire) it would have been nice for Backpack to have remained focused on individual productivity.

Opinion aside, the new Journal functionality allows teams to keep tabs on what each other are up to. There are two main elements. The first is the current status field, which can be thought of much like a private Twitter or Facebook status update. You use this field to tell everyone what you are currently doing. The second field allows you to enter what you have just completed, and these items are logged. This allows you to see what your team members are currently busy with, and what they have recently accomplished.

It seems to us that this might seem a little too much like big brother looking over your shoulder, but on the other hand almost all jobs require some sort of accounting for your time. Is this a feature you could see yourself using? Why or why not?

If you're still not quite sure what to make of this, a video demonstration of the new Journal page is available.