I will by no means pay for a note-taking app when these free choices exist

I am glad my educational profession ended earlier than lecture halls had been crammed with iPad Professionals and the fixed clacking of keyboards. Granted, the lessons I took (as an English main) had been crammed with like-minded college students: those that purchased into the idea that bodily writing issues down with pen and paper in some way additionally etched them higher into our huge brains.

However I not too long ago talked to some present college students, who all appear to swear by one paid app or one other. After wrapping my paper-oriented thoughts across the idea of paying for a digital sheet to take notes on, I took an extended, laborious take a look at the note-taking apps I take advantage of in my working day. Between my telephone, iPad, laptop computer, and exploring all of the paid-app choices, I made up my mind that placing any cash right into a note-taking app was a waste. Listed below are the free options I take advantage of and why I will by no means spend a cent on note-taking apps.

You do not want fancy apps in the event you take notes like this

Easy is healthier

Paid apps are simply lighting cash on fireplace in case your note-taking habits are so simple as mine:

Title

Subtitle

(repeat as wanted)

This basic note-taking technique is known as “outlining,” and I realized to do it in sixth grade. Whereas some colour coding can completely spruce it up, you do not want fancy illustrations, sparkly highlighters, and even insane fonts — the vital factor is absorbing info, which will be achieved with probably the most fundamental of pen strokes or keystrokes. Customary formatting like headings, subheadings, bullet factors, numbers, and letters is greater than sufficient to prepare the data you are amassing in any capability.

At its core, any note-taking app ought to have these parts accessible. Except you want extra or crave a little bit additional creative freedom, that is all you want. Whereas I’ve many artistically inclined mates who love Goodnotes on their iPads and take frame-worthy notes, I additionally discover how a lot additional time and power they pour into their notes. Some declare that it helps them bear in mind the data much more, however to me, pace and effectivity take precedence. After utilizing a elaborate notes app as soon as, I missed two or three very important factors in a gathering as a result of I could not resolve which serif font and darkish blue to make use of for the highest heading.

There isn’t a room in my busy day for aesthetic alternative paralysis. As a full-time editor, social media marketer, freelancer, and social butterfly, I will discover vibrancy and colour exterior of my notes — in there, it is strictly enterprise. As a result of fundamental apps get the job performed superbly, listed below are those I take advantage of, plus a few different dependable mediums.

Apple Notes

For on a regular basis ideas and easy accessibility

As somebody pretty locked into the Apple ecosystem, I deal with my Notes app like a private diary. I’ve a memorable piece of poetry written at 3AM in 2017 sitting beside a packing listing for spring break, plus novel concepts that I’ve but to jot down. As a result of my telephone is all the time on me, any fast thought, to-do listing, plan, or thought has a fast place to go it doesn’t matter what.

Like many of the firm’s native purposes, Apple Notes is intuitive and easy, but in addition loaded with simply sufficient additional options to make the try-hards completely happy. If you wish to shortly jot down a grocery or to-do listing, you may select a guidelines format. If you happen to’re taking notes throughout a gathering or class, you’ve gotten the basic bullet factors, dashes, numbers, and all the usual formatting you’d discover on any note-taking app or doc software program.

Since I’ve quite a lot of Apple gadgets, I like that my Notes app syncs up throughout all my tech. If I am on my telephone and wish to reference a be aware I made on my iPad the day earlier than, it is proper there. Cloud-syncing is just about customary throughout most apps these days, however fixed accessibility on each my transportable and not-so-portable gadgets is a game-changer. All my ideas are all the time accessible to me.

However the Notes app feels fast and fleeting. It looks like a “thought drive-thru” you pop out and in of fairly than a “thought café” the place you may quiet down in all day to work on a mission. For that motive, I wanted one other platform to complement it with.

Google Docs

For work notes and long-form writing

Google Docs is a free, browser-based software I’ve used to jot down each college paper, freelance article, and even manuscript in my private life {and professional} profession. Whereas it has the identical basic parts because the Apple Notes app — and many extra — it is primarily a text-based software that appears like an incredible huge, endless pad of paper. As a result of it is browser-based, I may also entry it anyplace I can log into my Google account, so I am by no means with out my notes.

I choose Google Docs for long-form content material, particularly once I’m writing extra structured or official paperwork that require greater than quarter-hour of my consideration. These sorts of paperwork additionally have a tendency to wish a number of units of eyes on them, and Google makes it extremely simple to share them with others to allow them to straight edit, counsel edits, or remark. Sharing on Apple Notes is not as seamless — particularly if whoever you wish to share it with would not have an Apple ID.

Opening Docs looks like extra of a dedication than simply popping into an OS-native app, which successfully makes me lock in on no matter I am engaged on as a substitute of treating it like a fleeting thought. It will get the job performed, and between that and Apple Notes, these two free apps scratch each fundamental note-taking itch I’ve.

Completely different gadgets (and codecs) work for various individuals

iPads, Kindle Scribes, and the basic pen and paper

I have been speaking about note-taking apps for this complete article, however there are nonetheless so many different strategies which may be just right for you as a substitute of an app. Admittedly, iPads aren’t my favourite note-taking instruments — I choose to make use of mine for streaming, gaming, and studying, however some individuals swear by the notes they take with their Apple Pencils. These customers often embody college students sporting a Goodnotes subscription, however I do know loads of Notes App wizards, too. I simply dislike the sensation of the Pencil tip on the glass display.

Model

Apple

Storage

128 GB

CPU

A16

Working System

iPadOS

Nonetheless, there’s one other pill I swear by: the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. With even fewer formatting choices than Google Docs or the Notes app, taking notes on a Kindle Scribe is calming, intuitive, and really feels like real paper, which my iPad may by no means obtain with out an costly third-party display cowl. I may also share my handwritten notes with my Alexa Echo device, which I can reference and ask questions on by the Alexa app on my telephone. Amazon baked in some AI that I really discover fairly helpful for summarization, too.

Decision

150ppi

Storage

32GB, 64GB

Model

Amazon

Display Dimension

11-inch glare-free show

However when all of it boils right down to it, pen and paper is not damaged. Irrespective of how handy or mandatory digital writing and note-taking are, writing one thing by hand on a chunk of paper nonetheless feels positive, satisfying, and innately human.