After your first moments (journal entries), you'll notice something: Some thoughts belong together. The frustration about your boss and the idea for the new project. Last week's dreams. The small moments with your family. Collections in Dreavie are there for this – but differently than you might think.
What Collections Really Are (and What They're Not)
Forget rigid folder systems where you first have to figure out where something belongs. Collections in Dreavie are more like magnets: They attract similar moments, but nothing sticks permanently.
The crucial difference: You don't have to decide BEFORE writing where a moment belongs. Write first, sort later – or don't sort at all. The search finds everything anyway.
Why Collections Transform Your Journaling
You See Patterns You'd Otherwise Miss
Imagine you have a collection called "Small Joys". After a month, you scroll through and notice: Nothing on Mondays. Zero. An insight you'd never have noticed without collections. Maybe it's time to consciously make Mondays more beautiful?
The psychology behind it: Our brain loves patterns but can only recognize them when information is grouped. Collections make invisible patterns visible.
You Write More Honestly
A collection called "Just for Me" or "Secret Thoughts" can work wonders. Why? Because you know: Only moments that really nobody should see land here. This psychological safety often leads to the most honest and healing entries.
The trick: Name this collection so it feels like a vault. "My Hideaway", "Under Lock and Key", or simply "🔒".
You Discover Who You Really Are
After a few months, you'll see: Your "Work" collection has 5 entries, "Daydreams" has 47. Or vice versa. Your collections show you what really occupies you – beyond what you think should occupy you.
The Collections Almost Everyone Needs
The Feelings Collection
Call it "Inner Life", "Emotional Chaos", or "❤️" – the main thing is you have a place for everything that's churning inside you. Anger, joy, confusion, love. Everything can be here.
Why this matters: Feelings that have a place don't need to pop up everywhere else. You'll notice: Once anger has its place, it appears less often in everyday life.
The Dreams Collection
Not just for nightly dreams (though those too!), but for everything that starts with "What if...". Your crazy ideas, your big plans, your secret wishes.
The hidden benefit: Writing down dreams is the first step to making them real. What starts in the dreams collection often ends up in real life later.
The Gratitude Collection
Yes, it sounds cheesy. Do it anyway. But differently: Instead of the usual "I'm grateful for..." just write in the moments that made you smile. No comment. No "grateful". Just: "The cat squeezed into the box."
Why this works: Your brain learns to notice these moments. After two weeks, you see them everywhere. Your perception shifts toward the positive – without any force.
Collections You Don't Expect (But Will Love)
"Conversations That Never Happened"
For all the things you'd like to say but can't. The letter to your ex. The speech to your boss. The apology that comes too late.
"Plot Twists"
For moments when life surprised you. The chance encounter. The unexpected news. The day everything changed.
"Future Me"
Write to yourself in a year. Or in 10. What do you hope? What do you fear? What don't you want to forget?
How Collections Work in Dreavie
No Stress While Writing
When you create a new moment, you don't have to choose a collection. Your entry automatically lands in "All Entries" and waits patiently until you're ready to sort it – or not.
Moving moments – it's that easy: Right in the journal editor, you'll find a button that opens a menu. There you select the appropriate collection. Done. You can change this anytime, nothing is set in stone.
Navigate Through Your Collections
In the app (iOS/Android):
- Simply swipe from left to right in the journal overview to open the collections menu
- Or tap the name of the current collection at the top left
- You see all your collections at a glance
- One tap on a collection – and you only see those moments
The key: You can switch between your collections lightning fast. From "Work" to "Dreams" in a second. This way you discover connections between different areas of life.
On desktop: You'll find collections in the left sidebar. One click on a collection immediately shows you all associated moments. Here too there's a plus icon for creating new collections.
Create a New Collection
In the collections menu, you'll find a plus icon at the top right. One tap and you can design your new collection:
What you need:
- Name – Short and personal ("My Fears", "Small Victories", "Chaos in my Head")
- Emoji – As a visual anchor (❤️ for love, 🌙 for dreams, 💡 for ideas)
- Color – So you can recognize your areas at a glance
Optional:
- Description – A small note for yourself about what this collection is for
Tip: Choose emojis and colors that feel right. Your brain will use these visual cues and you'll find your collections intuitively.
The Magic of Colors
In your journal overview, you immediately see which collection a moment belongs to – each entry has a colored strip at the front in the collection color.
Why this is brilliant: Your brain recognizes patterns without you having to think. After a short time, you know: Blue = Work, Pink = Dreams, Green = Family. You can see at a glance what you're dealing with a lot – or what's falling short.
Edit or Delete Collections
Your needs change, your collections can too:
In the app: Tap the three dots next to the collection you want to change in the collections menu.
On desktop: Hover your mouse over a collection in the sidebar – an edit button appears on the right.
In the edit window you can:
- Change the name ("Work" becomes "Career Chaos")
- Choose a new emoji (🎯 instead of 💼)
- Adjust the color (from gray to vibrant orange)
- Add to the description
Delete collection: Scroll all the way down in the edit window. There you'll find the delete button. The entries contained within will be permanently deleted! If you want to keep them, move the entries to another collection before deleting the collection.
Practical: How to Really Use Collections
Phase 1: Just Start
Create 3-4 collections that feel right. Don't think – what comes spontaneously? These first collections are usually the most important.
Phase 2: Observe
After 2-3 weeks you'll see: Where do most moments land? Which collection stays empty? Without judgment – just observe.
Phase 3: Adjust
Delete what doesn't work. Add what's missing. Rename what no longer fits. Your collections grow with you.
The most important tip: A moment doesn't have to stay in one collection forever. You wrote about work today but realize: Actually it was about fear? Move the moment directly in the editor. Everything is flexible.
The Danger of Over-Organization
Warning: You can also have too many collections. If you spend 5 minutes before each entry figuring out where it belongs, something's wrong.
The rule of thumb: If the decision takes longer than 3 seconds, you need fewer collections. Or an "Unsorted" collection for everything that doesn't immediately find a home.
The Secret Magic
Here's what nobody tells you about collections: After a while, they develop their own personality. Your "Dreams" collection feels different from your "Work" collection. You'll notice: Depending on which collection you're writing in, you write differently. More freely. Or more focused. Or more courageously.
That's not a bug – that's the magic. Let it happen.
Ready for More Freedom?
In the next article, we'll talk about something many are interested in: What does Dreavie actually cost? Spoiler: The most important things in life (and in Dreavie) are free.
