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Also i know, at least for me, that when i find myself wanting to take notes most is whenever its a spur of the moment kind of idea that i dont want to lose. In

Also i know, at least for me, that when i find myself wanting to take notes most is whenever its a spur of the moment kind of idea that i dont want to lose. In that kind of scenario, i find that a small notebook and pencil is still superior to an app simply because i don't have to think too much about the process of getting myself into a position where i can actually record the idea. Its just too hard to get into the habit of remembering you have a note taking app on your phone that you can use whenever the good idea has just hit you. You are too excited about the idea and trying your hardest to recall all the key details and keep them freshly in mind to be able to navigate to the app, wait for it to load up, press the + button, type in the idea using your thumbs, write in a title, save it, shit the app just crashed, load the app back up, great my idea wasnt saved, guess ill try writing it again, damn it i wish these notifications would stop popping up and pinging me, uhhh crap what was the clever angle to my idea again? Damn it. Plus if im pulling out my phone, why not just use the voice controlled virtual assistant to record my ideas? Not only does it have speech to text recognition but its actually quicker and more reliable than pulling out your notepad, flipping to an empty page, and hoping your writing utensil doesnt break/run out of ink.

black-tea 8y ago
In emacs (where I do 100% of my work), I press a single key combination, make the note, then go right back to work.
- badfrog 8y ago
  What do you do about ideas you think of when you're not at a computer? Or when you're at a computer that doesn't have access to the network you usually store notes on?
  - geolgau 8y ago
    press a single key combination, of course! but in vim!
    - sverige 8y ago
      That's the best feature of vim, it works even when you're away from the computer!
  - thestephen 8y ago
    I pull out my phone and use Beorg, which syncs with my Dropbox. The next time I'm at my computer, the notes are right there in Emacs.
ams6110 8y ago
Another vote here for paper and pencil for notes on the go.
- steve_adams_86 8y ago
  One thing I like about paper and pencil is that I tend to have a better signal to noise ratio in my to-dos and notes. I guess the extra effort to write encourages me to trim the fat. I also can't check my mail from my note pad, so there's that.
mikestew 8y ago
After over 30 years of Franklin Planners, Apple Newtons, GTD, Sharp Wizards, Ecco (how I miss you), Field Notes, and a laundry list of others I have forgotten, I believe I have found the Holy Grail: a combination. Leuchtturm 1917 notebook for the bullet journal, Bear Notes on the Apple devices, vimwiki for heavy lifting on "real computers". Most of my time is spent in the paper journal for day-to-day. I use the Bear Notes complication on the Apple Watch to take a quick transcribed note that will probably end up in the paper journal. I also use Bear for shopping lists and checklists that I keep on the phone. And then for project notes, lab notes, anything worthy of an outline, or anything I don't want to hand-write or fiddle with on a phone, I use vimwiki. (I'd use Bear, but I have a Windows desktop at work, and Bear is Apple-only.) To put it another way, there are three tiers: 1. Hand-written, used most frequently day-to-day. 2. Digital Lite: Bear for quick notes, or reference when not at a desk. Don't particularly care about long-term persistence of these. If persisted, often goes in #1 ('do taxes next week'). 3. Digital Industrial Strength: Long-term storage, and long form documents. Trying to squeeze it all into one do-it-all tool became a fool's errand, IMO. Sometimes I need to just hammer a nail, sometimes I need to split wood; one hammer won't do both.
oftenwrong 8y ago
>navigate to the app, wait for it to load up, press the + button, type in the idea using your thumbs, write in a title, save it, shit the app just crashed, load the app back up, great my idea wasnt saved, guess ill try writing it again, damn it i wish these notifications would stop popping up and pinging me, uhhh crap what was the clever angle to my idea again? Damn it. This is like the black-and-white scene in an infomercial in which a person dramatically fails to perform a simple, everyday task. If using an app is truly that hard, use a different app. I have an "email to self" app on my phone. One tap and it opens my email app with my personal email address pre-loaded. Then I write whatever in there, or use voice dictation, and hit send. Syncing, backups, distribution to all my devices - all taken care of already because it's email. Fancy stuff. What it sucks for is any idea that is better explained or formulated with a drawing. For that I use paper. When I'm done, I take a picture with my phone, and then it gets synced to the cloud.
- usrusr 8y ago
  Also sticking to email for notes. It's the one account that I expect to migrate between providers when need arises,whereas something specific to notes I would likely just abandon. Advanced features like sync between devices is already set up and it's searchable, I have encryption when I want it, the UI is familiar. For even more transient notes I have a widget on my phone's main screen that is just a single, persistent multiline text field without even something as complicated as a save button. It will typically show the number of a hotel room I stayed in months ago or something like that.
- capedape 8y ago
  I use the app “launcher” at the top of the iOS widget area with slots that are pre-filled in templates that append to specific Evernote notes via email. Also, use a Siri voice shortcuts that launch specific Evernote notes. Have a Siri voice shortcut that transcribes what I say and appends to a specific note. Many solutions to get stuff into Evernote on iOS and I’m sure Android too. Paper is still superior at times, but stuff ends up in EN eventually. Getting stuff into it isn’t a problem I have with it.
ansible 8y ago
I still use pen and paper for some note taking. BTW, I should plug the Cross Jotzone journal: https://www.cross.com/cr_en_us/ac281-2s https://www.cross.com/cr_en_us/ac281-2s I wanted a way to keep a pen tucked into the journal. And I didn't want a spiral-bound cheap one. Most of the journals I've seen don't have a way to store a pen. Semi-ironically, I use a BIC Atlantis pen with it, because I don't like most Cross pens...
function_seven 8y ago
I hate glue-bound notebooks, because the page I'm writing on pillows up a bit. It's a personal tic for me, but I want the page to lie perfectly flat so it doesn't give while I'm writing. I finally found the perfect notebook. It's ring-bound, and you can add or remove pages from it easily. The paper is very smooth and heavy enough that you can use both sides without bleed-through. Even with a fountain pen. So this is my shill post for the Aqua Drops notebook. It's awesome: https://www.jetpens.com/Lihit-Lab-Aqua-Drops-Twist-Ring-Notebook-Semi-B5-Lined-Milky-White-Clear/pd/10073 https://www.jetpens.com/Lihit-Lab-Aqua-Drops-Twist-Ring-Note...
asynchronous13 8y ago
Same, sometimes pen and paper is just better for my needs. I keep flirting with digital pens. The idea is awesome, you write with a pen on paper and it's automatically digitized and backed up. (There's special markings on the paper to help the digitizer). In practice there's been some glitches, but in the worst case it's still paper and ink. I tried a Livescribe Echo pen for awhile. It always felt kinda bulky in the hand, and there were some glitches. It also had audio recording, and probably the best feature was you could point at your writing and it would fast-fwd/rewind the audio to the moment in time that you wrote that word. Great for filling in gaps when taking notes. Livescribe tried to integrate with Evernote at some point. Seemed like a great idea, but either Evernote or Livescribe failed terribly on that integration. Lost functionality from the stand alone Livescribe app, and never gained the functionality of Evernote. Ultimately my pen fell prey to a failed OLED problem that many of those pens had. Recently trying again with a Neo Smartpen. The first one had a firmware bug and after a few days it couldn't re-charge anymore. Customer service replaced it, and replacement seems fine. This pen feels much more like a regular pen. Power on/off is triggered by removing/replacing the pen cap, so I barely even notice it's not a normal pen. Digitizing quality has been solid. Not as many features as the Livescribe had, but the transcribing quality (OCR) is much better. (Of course, I'm comparing a brand-new Neo to a previous-gen Livescribe. Could be cool to check out the new version of Livescribe, too)
coffeeling 8y ago
Android at least has specific tasks in apps' home screen context menus (hold over app icon, get list of tasks). Those can be dragged to the home screen so you get buttons for specific actions. I have a host of quick capture tools on my home screen: "New Note" task icon (personal notebook) "Add new task" icon (adds new task in my todo app - personal or work depends on which one was open last) Office Lens (camera, documents, whiteboards) a shortcut to my work notebook's "quick notes" section (would be another "new note" button but OneNote can't handle that) I can pretty much press a button and instantly be capturing what I need to capture. The drag-a-task thing is also useful with Outlook, since the default Outlook shortcut opens the email client. Luckily, Outlook's tasks include "Open calendar", "new event" and "new email". Bam, calendar has its own icon on the homescreen too.
dehue 8y ago
For me taking notes on my phone is usually as easy as clicking on an app, clicking new page and then typing. I have never had any problems with crashing, synching, notifications or opening the app that you mention. I find it much easier and better than taking notes on paper. My handwriting is terrible and I can type faster on my phone than handwrite things. I have become significantly more organized since transitioning all my note taking and ideas to my phone rather than handwriting on some notebook where it will be forgotten and likely illegible.

black-tea 8y ago

In emacs (where I do 100% of my work), I press a single key combination, make the note, then go right back to work.

badfrog 8y ago
What do you do about ideas you think of when you're not at a computer? Or when you're at a computer that doesn't have access to the network you usually store notes on?
- geolgau 8y ago
  press a single key combination, of course! but in vim!
  - sverige 8y ago
    That's the best feature of vim, it works even when you're away from the computer!
- thestephen 8y ago
  I pull out my phone and use Beorg, which syncs with my Dropbox. The next time I'm at my computer, the notes are right there in Emacs.

ams6110 8y ago

Another vote here for paper and pencil for notes on the go.

steve_adams_86 8y ago
One thing I like about paper and pencil is that I tend to have a better signal to noise ratio in my to-dos and notes. I guess the extra effort to write encourages me to trim the fat. I also can't check my mail from my note pad, so there's that.

mikestew 8y ago

After over 30 years of Franklin Planners, Apple Newtons, GTD, Sharp Wizards, Ecco (how I miss you), Field Notes, and a laundry list of others I have forgotten, I believe I have found the Holy Grail: a combination. Leuchtturm 1917 notebook for the bullet journal, Bear Notes on the Apple devices, vimwiki for heavy lifting on "real computers". Most of my time is spent in the paper journal for day-to-day. I use the Bear Notes complication on the Apple Watch to take a quick transcribed note that will probably end up in the paper journal. I also use Bear for shopping lists and checklists that I keep on the phone. And then for project notes, lab notes, anything worthy of an outline, or anything I don't want to hand-write or fiddle with on a phone, I use vimwiki. (I'd use Bear, but I have a Windows desktop at work, and Bear is Apple-only.) To put it another way, there are three tiers: 1. Hand-written, used most frequently day-to-day. 2. Digital Lite: Bear for quick notes, or reference when not at a desk. Don't particularly care about long-term persistence of these. If persisted, often goes in #1 ('do taxes next week'). 3. Digital Industrial Strength: Long-term storage, and long form documents. Trying to squeeze it all into one do-it-all tool became a fool's errand, IMO. Sometimes I need to just hammer a nail, sometimes I need to split wood; one hammer won't do both.

oftenwrong 8y ago

>navigate to the app, wait for it to load up, press the + button, type in the idea using your thumbs, write in a title, save it, shit the app just crashed, load the app back up, great my idea wasnt saved, guess ill try writing it again, damn it i wish these notifications would stop popping up and pinging me, uhhh crap what was the clever angle to my idea again? Damn it. This is like the black-and-white scene in an infomercial in which a person dramatically fails to perform a simple, everyday task. If using an app is truly that hard, use a different app. I have an "email to self" app on my phone. One tap and it opens my email app with my personal email address pre-loaded. Then I write whatever in there, or use voice dictation, and hit send. Syncing, backups, distribution to all my devices - all taken care of already because it's email. Fancy stuff. What it sucks for is any idea that is better explained or formulated with a drawing. For that I use paper. When I'm done, I take a picture with my phone, and then it gets synced to the cloud.

usrusr 8y ago
Also sticking to email for notes. It's the one account that I expect to migrate between providers when need arises,whereas something specific to notes I would likely just abandon. Advanced features like sync between devices is already set up and it's searchable, I have encryption when I want it, the UI is familiar. For even more transient notes I have a widget on my phone's main screen that is just a single, persistent multiline text field without even something as complicated as a save button. It will typically show the number of a hotel room I stayed in months ago or something like that.
capedape 8y ago
I use the app “launcher” at the top of the iOS widget area with slots that are pre-filled in templates that append to specific Evernote notes via email. Also, use a Siri voice shortcuts that launch specific Evernote notes. Have a Siri voice shortcut that transcribes what I say and appends to a specific note. Many solutions to get stuff into Evernote on iOS and I’m sure Android too. Paper is still superior at times, but stuff ends up in EN eventually. Getting stuff into it isn’t a problem I have with it.

ansible 8y ago

I still use pen and paper for some note taking. BTW, I should plug the Cross Jotzone journal: https://www.cross.com/cr_en_us/ac281-2s https://www.cross.com/cr_en_us/ac281-2s I wanted a way to keep a pen tucked into the journal. And I didn't want a spiral-bound cheap one. Most of the journals I've seen don't have a way to store a pen. Semi-ironically, I use a BIC Atlantis pen with it, because I don't like most Cross pens...

function_seven 8y ago

I hate glue-bound notebooks, because the page I'm writing on pillows up a bit. It's a personal tic for me, but I want the page to lie perfectly flat so it doesn't give while I'm writing. I finally found the perfect notebook. It's ring-bound, and you can add or remove pages from it easily. The paper is very smooth and heavy enough that you can use both sides without bleed-through. Even with a fountain pen. So this is my shill post for the Aqua Drops notebook. It's awesome: https://www.jetpens.com/Lihit-Lab-Aqua-Drops-Twist-Ring-Notebook-Semi-B5-Lined-Milky-White-Clear/pd/10073 https://www.jetpens.com/Lihit-Lab-Aqua-Drops-Twist-Ring-Note...

asynchronous13 8y ago

Same, sometimes pen and paper is just better for my needs. I keep flirting with digital pens. The idea is awesome, you write with a pen on paper and it's automatically digitized and backed up. (There's special markings on the paper to help the digitizer). In practice there's been some glitches, but in the worst case it's still paper and ink. I tried a Livescribe Echo pen for awhile. It always felt kinda bulky in the hand, and there were some glitches. It also had audio recording, and probably the best feature was you could point at your writing and it would fast-fwd/rewind the audio to the moment in time that you wrote that word. Great for filling in gaps when taking notes. Livescribe tried to integrate with Evernote at some point. Seemed like a great idea, but either Evernote or Livescribe failed terribly on that integration. Lost functionality from the stand alone Livescribe app, and never gained the functionality of Evernote. Ultimately my pen fell prey to a failed OLED problem that many of those pens had. Recently trying again with a Neo Smartpen. The first one had a firmware bug and after a few days it couldn't re-charge anymore. Customer service replaced it, and replacement seems fine. This pen feels much more like a regular pen. Power on/off is triggered by removing/replacing the pen cap, so I barely even notice it's not a normal pen. Digitizing quality has been solid. Not as many features as the Livescribe had, but the transcribing quality (OCR) is much better. (Of course, I'm comparing a brand-new Neo to a previous-gen Livescribe. Could be cool to check out the new version of Livescribe, too)

coffeeling 8y ago

Android at least has specific tasks in apps' home screen context menus (hold over app icon, get list of tasks). Those can be dragged to the home screen so you get buttons for specific actions. I have a host of quick capture tools on my home screen: "New Note" task icon (personal notebook) "Add new task" icon (adds new task in my todo app - personal or work depends on which one was open last) Office Lens (camera, documents, whiteboards) a shortcut to my work notebook's "quick notes" section (would be another "new note" button but OneNote can't handle that) I can pretty much press a button and instantly be capturing what I need to capture. The drag-a-task thing is also useful with Outlook, since the default Outlook shortcut opens the email client. Luckily, Outlook's tasks include "Open calendar", "new event" and "new email". Bam, calendar has its own icon on the homescreen too.

dehue 8y ago

For me taking notes on my phone is usually as easy as clicking on an app, clicking new page and then typing. I have never had any problems with crashing, synching, notifications or opening the app that you mention. I find it much easier and better than taking notes on paper. My handwriting is terrible and I can type faster on my phone than handwrite things. I have become significantly more organized since transitioning all my note taking and ideas to my phone rather than handwriting on some notebook where it will be forgotten and likely illegible.