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Taking notes is a process. If you're tired of the apps, then you haven't put enough thought into the process. The available apps are fine. Picking a tool to so

by gexla 6y ago

Taking notes is a process. If you're tired of the apps, then you haven't put enough thought into the process. The available apps are fine. Picking a tool to solve a problem is the opposite approach to how you solve the problem. You instead need to define the problem and then find the tool which is the best fit. If you're frustrated with the tool, then you might need to put more thought into the problem.

gexla 6y ago
Also, many people like Journals and plain text because these methods don't lend themselves to blaming the tool. They force you to think about the problem rather than the tool. Plain text doesn't fix note-taking any more than it can fix to-do lists. Again, there's no tool to blame.
- GoblinSlayer 6y ago
  Plain text certainly fixes it, because notes are text and the best tool to handle text is my favorite text editor.
gukov 6y ago
Premature optimization also plays a role. Everyone should start with a notepad and a pencil and move up to something more advanced once they outgrow the most basic method of note taking. It's a bit like buying a top of line DSLR when you're just starting to get into photography.
- osmarks 6y ago
  Having to carry some paper and writing tools around would make note-taking significantly more annoying for me than just being able to use my phone/laptop.
  - faceplanted 6y ago
    I think his suggestion still works in digital form, just switch pen and paper with whatever your built in notepad is and go from there.
  - biztos 6y ago
    I did that for years, and I found it wonderful as I love ink on paper... but one day I took a look at my several boxes full of journals and decided: nope, Notes will have to do. I still write and draw on paper but not for journal purposes.
- faceplanted 6y ago
  The other side of that equation though, is if you started photography with something too cheap to the point of say one of those point and shoots that don't even have manual settings you've also just hamstrung yourself in a slightly different way.
ClikeX 6y ago
I ran into a lot of issues with note apps over the years. Tried many, but none really stuck. Until I realized that software based note/planning tools just don't work for me. W An app is hidden away on my phone, and I need to actively open it to use it. But my bullet journal is always in my bag. It serves as a physical reminder. And it oddly gives me way more flexibility in how I structure it. Being a software developer myself, the irony isn't lost me.
- gexla 6y ago
  I think people try to do too much with note apps and then they fail. What people normally try to accomplish with a note app should actually be like 4 - 5 different apps which handle different elements of what you're trying to accomplish with notes. Or at least, it would be 4 - 5 completely different processes and a given note app isn't best for all of them. I use... App for capture and inbox (this is an actual note taking app but I don't use it for writing) App for writing notes (my own writing App for display and management of networked notes App for arranging (networked notes), outlining and building to the draft stage of writing These are all part of a typical note cycle which many people use one app for. I put these notes through a cycle in the order that I wrote them. Typically I would start out with capturing information, then creating my own notes from that information and then eventually using that information for my own writing. I'm not a writer, but writing helps me think through things I want to understand better. I could constrain myself to a physical journal. I could constrain myself to anything. It would drive me nuts though. I would end up attacking the journal with scissors and then pasting pieces of paper to the walls. Then arranging pieces and pasting notes on top of each other as my ideas change.
  - ClikeX 6y ago
    What do you mean with networked notes? Maybe point me to what you use as well. I'm looking for a note taking tool that allows me to link pages together easily. Similarly to a wiki, but for notes. As far as the physical (bullet) journal goes. It works great for me as I use it to structure my daily tasks. It allows me the freedom of structuring using visuals without being constrained by GUI tools. It's quick and doesn't get in my way too much. Which is what I need for it to stick for my habit.

by gexla 6y ago

gexla 6y ago

Also, many people like Journals and plain text because these methods don't lend themselves to blaming the tool. They force you to think about the problem rather than the tool. Plain text doesn't fix note-taking any more than it can fix to-do lists. Again, there's no tool to blame.

GoblinSlayer 6y ago
Plain text certainly fixes it, because notes are text and the best tool to handle text is my favorite text editor.

gukov 6y ago

Premature optimization also plays a role. Everyone should start with a notepad and a pencil and move up to something more advanced once they outgrow the most basic method of note taking. It's a bit like buying a top of line DSLR when you're just starting to get into photography.

osmarks 6y ago
Having to carry some paper and writing tools around would make note-taking significantly more annoying for me than just being able to use my phone/laptop.
- faceplanted 6y ago
  I think his suggestion still works in digital form, just switch pen and paper with whatever your built in notepad is and go from there.
- biztos 6y ago
  I did that for years, and I found it wonderful as I love ink on paper... but one day I took a look at my several boxes full of journals and decided: nope, Notes will have to do. I still write and draw on paper but not for journal purposes.
faceplanted 6y ago
The other side of that equation though, is if you started photography with something too cheap to the point of say one of those point and shoots that don't even have manual settings you've also just hamstrung yourself in a slightly different way.

ClikeX 6y ago

I ran into a lot of issues with note apps over the years. Tried many, but none really stuck. Until I realized that software based note/planning tools just don't work for me. W An app is hidden away on my phone, and I need to actively open it to use it. But my bullet journal is always in my bag. It serves as a physical reminder. And it oddly gives me way more flexibility in how I structure it. Being a software developer myself, the irony isn't lost me.

gexla 6y ago
I think people try to do too much with note apps and then they fail. What people normally try to accomplish with a note app should actually be like 4 - 5 different apps which handle different elements of what you're trying to accomplish with notes. Or at least, it would be 4 - 5 completely different processes and a given note app isn't best for all of them. I use... App for capture and inbox (this is an actual note taking app but I don't use it for writing) App for writing notes (my own writing App for display and management of networked notes App for arranging (networked notes), outlining and building to the draft stage of writing These are all part of a typical note cycle which many people use one app for. I put these notes through a cycle in the order that I wrote them. Typically I would start out with capturing information, then creating my own notes from that information and then eventually using that information for my own writing. I'm not a writer, but writing helps me think through things I want to understand better. I could constrain myself to a physical journal. I could constrain myself to anything. It would drive me nuts though. I would end up attacking the journal with scissors and then pasting pieces of paper to the walls. Then arranging pieces and pasting notes on top of each other as my ideas change.
- ClikeX 6y ago
  What do you mean with networked notes? Maybe point me to what you use as well. I'm looking for a note taking tool that allows me to link pages together easily. Similarly to a wiki, but for notes. As far as the physical (bullet) journal goes. It works great for me as I use it to structure my daily tasks. It allows me the freedom of structuring using visuals without being constrained by GUI tools. It's quick and doesn't get in my way too much. Which is what I need for it to stick for my habit.