Journaling guide and storyteller Antoinette McDonald joins the Day One Podcast for a conversation about slowing down, paying attention, and using journaling to orient through the year ahead.

Antoinette shares insights from more than a decade of teaching journaling workshops and retreats, including the metaphors and practices that help people feel more grounded, connected, and honest with themselves, especially in seasons that feel full or uncertain. The conversation includes her "Be the Elephant" approach, inspired by the wells elephants dig, and how those ideas can translate into everyday life through writing.

This episode explores journaling as a rhythm, the importance of remembrance, and a reflective end-of-year exercise that invites listeners to write from the perspective of their future self, offering a steady place to return to as the year unfolds.

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As we step into a new year, this episode offers a moment to pause, reflect, and look back. Over the past year, the Day One Podcast has been a space for thoughtful conversations about journaling: how it helps us pay attention to our lives, process what's hard, create space in a full world, and understand ourselves more deeply over time.

In this special New Year's episode, Kristen looks back on the first year of the podcast, sharing meaningful excerpts from conversations with writers, researchers, coaches, and everyday journalers. Together, these voices offer gentle reminders about why journaling matters, and how it can support us as we begin again.

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In this episode of the Day One Podcast, Kristen sits down with Katie Swanson, a yoga instructor and journaling guide who brings together movement, mindfulness, and writing in her in-person journaling workshops. Katie shares how her journaling practice began during extended travel, why yoga taught her how to face a blank page, and how slowing down can create space for insight and growth.

The conversation explores journaling as a companion through uncertainty, the role of breath and ritual in writing, and why community can transform a deeply personal practice. From restorative yoga and seasonal rhythms to creative blocks and returning to the page, Katie offers a grounded, compassionate perspective on what it means to show up—again and again—for yourself.

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In this episode, Kristen sits down with Dr. Kyra Bobinet—physician, public health leader, behavior change designer, and author of Unstoppable Brain—for a fascinating look at the neuroscience of motivation, failure, and change. Dr. Kyra explains the role of the habenula, the small but powerful brain structure that shapes our moods, our habits, and the moments we suddenly lose motivation—even with practices we care deeply about.

Together, they explore how subtle expectations, perfectionism, and everyday "micro-failures" can shut down our desire to keep going, and why adopting an iterative mindset can transform the way we grow, learn, and navigate our lives. They also talk openly about journaling as a tool for self-awareness and sovereignty, and how it helps us understand our inner narratives, track our patterns, and gently re-enter habits that once felt overwhelming.

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Engineer-turned-homeschool mom and photographer Kt Anderson has kept a daily journal for more than five years, documenting the small details that make up her life. In this conversation, Kt shares how her These Are the Days journal reminds her to stay present and record moments she might otherwise forget. From her 365 photo project to her shelves of colorful printed Day One books, Kt reflects on how journaling helps her preserve memories, find gratitude in the ordinary, and create a lasting record of her life story.

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Vocalist, composer, and multimedia artist Misha Penton brings her creative world to her journal each day. In this conversation, she shares how her daily template—My Wonderful Day—helps her stay grounded, connected, and inspired. From morning affirmations to her Atelier section for studio work, Misha reveals how structure can become a form of self-expression. We also explore the quiet rituals that shape her day, and how consistency fuels creativity.

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Bestselling author Kristy Cambron joins the podcast to talk about her newest novel The French Kitchen and the role journaling plays in her daily life. Kristy shares how Day One helps her track runs and health goals, capture family memories, and even keep a book journal. The conversation also explores why she sees writing as "painting with words," and how journaling preserves the fleeting moments and unexpected ideas that shape our stories.

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Executive coach Akshay Kapur shares how journaling supports both his family life and his work with leaders navigating uncertainty. He explains how photo journaling in Day One became a daily practice during the pandemic, why the On This Day feature helps him preserve memories, and how reflective questions from his coaching often become prompts for his own writing. The conversation also explores the role of surprise in a good question and how journaling deepens both memory and self-understanding.

Visit dayoneapp.com/podcast/episode-75-akshay-kapur for more resources and links from this episode.