Daily check-in in Oveluni: log your mood in 30 seconds

It's easy to notice how you feel during the day, but hard to remember it a few days later. Oveluni's Daily check-in is designed to let you log your mood and energy in a few taps. In this guide we walk you step by step through adding your first entry, adjusting the fields to suit you, and reading your records a few weeks later.

What the Daily check-in is, and what it isn't

The Daily check-in is a short record of how you felt that day. You choose your mood and energy on a five-point scale and, if you like, add a note of a few words. That's it: you don't need to write a long journal entry or answer every question.

It also helps to know what it isn't. The Daily check-in isn't a test or a health score. Oveluni doesn't interpret your mood, doesn't diagnose and doesn't predict the days ahead. In the app's own words: Empty days stay empty. This isn't a health score, it's a summary of the records you've kept.

The NHS, England's health service, lists paying attention to the present moment, that is, noticing your thoughts and feelings, as one of the steps it suggests for supporting mental wellbeing. The Daily check-in can be a practical way to turn that moment of noticing into a habit that takes a few seconds a day.

Adding your first entry in 30 seconds

There are two ways to add your first entry. Use whichever is closer to hand; both lead to the same record.

1. Open the Today screen. In the “How are you feeling?” section you'll see five faces. When you pick the one closest to how you feel, a short label appears below it, so you can see right away what your choice means.
2. Or use the Quick add menu. Tap the Quick add button and choose the Daily check-in record. This route is handy when you want to mark your energy on the same screen as your mood.
3. Choose your mood and energy. Both use a five-point scale. There are no right or wrong answers; mark the option that feels closest to you in that moment.
4. Add a short note if you like. A few words are enough, such as “slept badly”, “long walk” or “busy day of meetings”. You can also add the note with the A note record; it's linked to that day's check-in.
5. Save and get on with your day. The entry appears in the “The day's records” list on the Today screen.

That's all. For the first few days, simply making a choice is enough; don't make writing a note a must.

When you do want to add a note, keeping it short and concrete makes things easier. Just write down one thing that affected you that day: sleep, movement, the pace of work, a conversation or time spent with someone you love. Weeks later, these small notes help you remember why certain days felt different. Your notes are for you alone, and what you write yourself is never translated into another language.

Set up the fields and Home screen your way

Not everyone wants to track the same thing. Some people only want to log their mood, others only their energy. In your daily field preferences in Settings, you can choose which of the mood and energy fields appear.

• Home screen preferences: Drag the cards on the Today screen to reorder them, and hide any section you don't want. Support sections such as “Your records this week” and “Recent notes” are in this list too.
• Tracking settings: The Daily check-in is one of five tracking areas. If you want to take a break for a while, you can turn the area off; your past records are kept when you do.
• Appearance: Choose Light, Dark or Match iPhone so your entries are comfortable to read in the evening too.

Build the habit with a reminder

On busy days it's completely natural to forget. In the Reminder settings section in Settings, you can turn on the Daily check-in reminder and pick a time that suits you. In the same place you can also change the notification sound or mute it.

Reminders can appear on your iPhone and Apple Watch. If you don't want other people to see your notifications, take a look at the Notification Privacy settings too. Remember: a reminder is just a nudge; you decide when and how to keep your records.

If you miss a day, don't worry. As the Records archive also points out, skipped fields stay empty; they're never counted as zero. The next day you simply pick up where you left off. Badges reward keeping records too; taking a break doesn't erase your progress. We explain how the days you log show up as badges in Habit badges in a health app: how Oveluni badges work.

Reading your records in Summaries

The real value of the Daily check-in shows up after a few weeks. The “Your records this week” chart on the Today screen shows your recent days at a glance; if you'd rather read a day-by-day list than a chart, you can open the Accessible data list.

• Summaries tab: Choose a 7, 30 or 90-day period; the daily observation chart shows your mood and energy records for that period.
• Period comparison: See two equal periods side by side, for example to compare this month with last month.
• Records tab: In the Daily check-in archive you can go back through your past entries and notes one by one.
• PDF report: If you want to show your records at an appointment, you can add your daily observations to the report; notes aren't included by default.

When you look at the chart, try not to get hung up on single days. Everyone has good days and hard days; what really helps is seeing the trend over several weeks. For example, you might notice that midweek tends to be more tiring, or that you mark yourself differently after active days. These are your own observations: not a conclusion, but a way to get to know yourself a little better.

These summaries only reflect the history you've recorded; they don't assess your mood. If you notice a change in your mood that worries you or lasts a long time, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional and bring your records with you. If you have thoughts of harming yourself or of suicide, call the emergency helpline in your country without waiting.

If you'd like to start journaling outside Oveluni as well, starting a mood journal in five minutes is a good place to begin. To focus on your energy in particular, see tracking your energy as a one-minute daily habit, and to share your records with your doctor, read the guide to creating a PDF report in Oveluni. Oveluni is coming soon to the App Store.

Sources

1. NHS: 5 steps to mental wellbeing