Writing · Chapter 7

Writing it up with AI

When you are tired in the evening, the AI can make a suggestion for the page from your notes. It writes in your first person and in the language of your notes, putting them in order and smoothing them out. Its suggestion lands in the editor, and you change whatever does not sound like you.

What has to be set up first

nexdiary comes without any AI. The operator enters a service under “Settings”, “AI” tab, such as a local model in your own network, with Ollama for instance, or a service that speaks the OpenAI interface. How that works and what goes out is on the page AI and writing prompts.

The operator can also switch the AI off for single accounts. And you decide for yourself under “My account”, “AI” tab, with the switch “AI for me”. When it is off, the button disappears and your texts never go to a model.

Having a day written up

1. Collect notes

   The AI needs at least one note on the day. From nothing it makes nothing.

2. Choose the length

   On the card “Write the day up” on “Today”, pick “short” or “long” next to the button. “long” is preselected.

3. Press “Write it up with AI”

   The writing view opens and shows “Your notes are becoming a page …”. Depending on the model this takes a few seconds, or longer with a small computer at home.

4. Read and change

   Above the text it says “A suggestion. Change whatever does not sound like you.” If the length is wrong, “Longer” or “Shorter” at the top of the bar writes the suggestion again.

5. Save

   Only “Save” turns the suggestion into your page.

Next to the button it always says where your notes go. With a local model it reads “Written with the local model of your server. Nothing leaves the house.”, otherwise the line “Your notes go to … for this.” names the service. All that goes out are the notes of that one day with their times, without your name, without the date, without photos and without values.

The model is given firm rules. It is to use only what is in the notes, make nothing up, leave names as they are, and neither judge nor console. A model can still get things wrong, which is why this is a suggestion and not a finished page. If you write with a template, the AI fills only the sections your notes say something about. The rest stays empty.

A page that grew out of a suggestion carries the mark “written up with AI” in the journal, even if you rewrote it afterwards.

Ask me first

Sometimes the most important thing is missing from the notes. “Headache since lunchtime” does not say whether it was better by the evening. With “Ask me first” the AI reads your notes and asks you up to two short questions about what they leave open.

1. Tap “Ask me first”

   The button is on the card “Write the day up”, below “Write it up with AI”, and in the writing view at the top of the bar.

2. Answer

   In the window “A few questions first” each question stands with the note it refers to. Answer as much as you like. Anything left empty is passed over.

3. Go on

   “Write it up with AI” writes the page with your answers, “Go on without answers” writes it without them. The answers join your other notes as new notes.

Writing

If nothing is open, the window says “Nothing in your notes is open.” The AI asks about health or feelings only when a note itself talks about them.

Writing a page up anew

Once a page exists, the writing view offers “Write it up anew with AI” at the top. It is meant for notes you added after saving. nexdiary asks first, “Write the page up anew?”, because the AI writes the page anew from all the notes of the day. “Keep the page” leaves everything as it is. “Write it up anew” brings a new suggestion, and your current text is replaced only when you save. On a locked day the button is not there.

Automatically in the morning

If you never get round to it in the evening, you can have a draft made from yesterday's notes every morning. This is the only place where notes go to the AI without a press of a button, so it has two locks. The operator has to allow it under “Settings”, “AI” tab, with “Allow writing up automatically”, and you switch it on for yourself.

1. Switch it on

   Under “My account”, “AI” tab, switch on “Write up automatically”. nexdiary asks first and tells you where your notes will go every morning.

2. Choose time and length

   From the start these are 07:00 and “long”. Any half hour from 04:00 to 11:30 is possible.

3. Accept the draft

   In the morning “Today” shows the card “Your draft from yesterday is waiting”. “Take a look” opens it. “Accept” turns it into the page of that day, “Discard” throws it away.

Until you accept it, the draft is not a page. It does not count towards your streak, does not appear in the statistics and cannot be shared. A draft is made only for days with notes that have no page yet and are not locked, and each day is tried only once.