vscode has these two phenomenal plugins[1] that together convert vscode into a true journal with basic check lists and the ability to add arbitrary markdown notes to any particular entry.

It works wonderfully as a programmer journal since I generally have vscode open anyway (for gitlens even when I'm working in intellij) the friction is close to zero.

[1] https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=pajoma.v... and https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Gruntfug...