Author: Neera

Note-taking Apps

Neera

Back in September 2021, my writing life turned a corner.

I was writing online for almost three years. I had published a book, written over 300 articles, and experienced burnout.

What was killing me, ironically, was not the writing, or the vast amount of reading but keeping notes.

I was saving everything that I found even remotely interesting thinking I will use it in my next article or book. But as soon as I saved it, I forget about it.

I had become a digital hoarder.

The crunch came when I moved from Windows to Mac. Took me days to transfer my files, and the process left me bewildered.

That got me thinking why am I keeping all these notes if I can’t find them when I need them?

I tried to organize them for easy findability first in Microsoft files then in One Note Finally in Evernote.

But none of the methods worked.

Then something happened.

In September 2021, I found a tool called Roam Research. I was immediately hooked.

It could store notes as atomic units complete on their own and yet be able to interact with each other, forming unexpected connections.

I started using it straight away. A year later, I had a massive knowledge bank which has become the backbone of my writing.

Six months ago, I moved to another tool even better It’s called Obsidian. My writing has more depth and substance now. I couldn’t have done it without my knowledge bank.

A right notetaking tool has the power to lift your writing much beyond your imagination.

Yesterday, I wrote about notetaking archetypes. Today I am going to share which apps are suitable for which archetypes.

Check out which one is for you:

Architect Archetype

The app for the Architect archetype is Notion.

Notion allows you to create personal dashboards, just-in-time indexes of notes and information that can be tagged, categorized, sorted, and updated dynamically updated as it changes.

Gardener Archetype

The apps for the Gardener archetype are Roam Research and Obsidian.

These apps are very different in how they organize knowledge. Both of them are fundamentally about creating new connections between disparate pieces of knowledge.

A visual map of content that organically grows as your knowledge bank grows and surprises you even with new insights you didn’t plan for yourself.

Librarian Archetype

Librarian archetypes love Evernote.

Evernote kicked off the modern note-taking phenomenon and has specialized over the years to be the best in class.

With Evernote, you can collect information from any number of different sources. It’s quick, it’s accessible across all your devices, and it’s a highly dependable platform for modern knowledge workers.

Student Archetype

The Student archetype’s needs are different. Their notes are likely a mix of documentation, practical notes, to-dos, and even word-for-word transcripts.

The apps suitable for them are:

  • Apple Notes,
  • Google Keep,
  • Notability
  • Simple Notes

These apps are simpler. They’re pared down in their features than the apps mentioned earlier. They’re practical, quick, flexible notetaking.

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4 Types Of note-taker archetypes

Neera

I am a gardener cum librarian.

Confused?

These are two of the four archetypes of note-takers.

Before deciding which note-taking app you should choose, you need to know what is your note-taking style.

Anne-Laure Le coffee, the founder of Ness Lab, gave a very useful model to find out your note-taking style.

According to her, note-takers fall into three archetypes.

1. Architects

Are you looking for structure in your note-taking?

Do you need a simple system to organize every facet of your life?

Do you need customization in the note-taking app that blends practicality, function, and aesthetics?

Then, you are an architect.

An architect note-taker approaches everything about their note-taking with a systems mindset of architecting their knowledge.


2. Gardeners

Is your primary feeling about note-taking one of wandering, dreaming, imagining, and making spontaneous creative leaps?

Do you want to cultivate new ideas, cross-pollinate concepts, and sprout lots of creative possibilities?

Are you looking to blend your existing concepts, maybe create something new? You’re probably not necessarily trying to create a system that knows where it’s headed.

Then, you’re probably a gardener.

The gardener approaches everything about note-taking with a nurturing exploratory approach of reimagining the relationship to information and making novel connections.


3. Librarians

Do you have a deep desire to find the most useful or interesting things that exist in the world, capture them, keep them, and then study them?

Are you always collecting new bits of information, categorizing your learnings, retrieving your insights, combining old and new information into a new understanding, and especially sharing your favorite learnings with others?

You are likely a librarian.

Librarians often have a project orientation, like architects, but instead of architecting their entire life, their research supports specific projects and learning obsessions.

The librarian approaches everything about note-taking with a fundamentally practical relationship to information.

———-

Don’t fit in any of the three archetypes so far?

Or do you resonate with several of them and find the whole decision really confusing and kind of unnecessary?

If that’s you, then you are a student.

Tiago Forte, of Building A Second Brain, added the fourth archetype to these.

4. Students

Students use note-taking to manage many aspects of their lives but do not necessarily go too deep into any one of them.

As a student, you desire ease of use in your notetaking. Something quick, something easy, something accessible.

The student archetype is actually the most common type of note-taking archetype. It is something we default to when we don’t have extra time.

—–

Take a look at these archetype definitions in the carousel and find out which one you are.

Usually, not that hard to figure out which one you are.

Note-taking is a highly personal process, and for that reason, it’s based on intuition and feeling.

You will immediately resonate with one archetype or the other.

Or, like me, a blend of two.

Tomorrow, I will tell you which app is suitable for which archetype.

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Get out of your own way

Neera

We think of motivation as an example of Newton’s Law of Inertia.

You better keep pushing that motivation ball or it’s guaranteed to slow down and stand still after a while.

As a mental model, it’s a disaster.

It implies that our default state is one of “not taking action” and we must continually push ourselves to be productive.

It sets up a subtle but powerful internal conflict between who you want to be (productive and focused) and who you “imagine” you really are (a procrastinator and a slacker).

It means you have to force yourself to do things doesn’t matter how meaningful they are and how committed you are to doing them.

Then often, you grow so resentful of all these self-forcing that you rebel by refusing to take action, defiantly asserting your independence from the internal taskmaster, by failing to achieve the goals you care most about.

What if there is an alternative?

What if it’s “taking action,” rather than “not taking action,” is our default state of being?

What if the major problem isn’t we can’t get ourselves to work on what matters, but we erect psychological barriers that get in the way of action that might otherwise occur without too much effort?

That has certainly been my experience.

When I think about all the things I wanted to do in my life but failed to do them, the lack of time or motivation was not the issue.

Rather, it’s the fears, anxieties, and lack of self-confidence that ended up placing me in my way.

This shift in perspective of “action” as the default state makes it easy to take action. It makes the whole thing a lot less unpleasant.

I don’t have to force myself to do things that need to be done. Instead, just focus on doing whatever feels pleasurable or fun.

Once the pressure is off, and I am enjoying what I am doing, the same activities that I was forcing myself to do, are done effortlessly.

Telling stories

Neera

When I started writing online, I didn’t want to share my personal life too much.

I wrote about what I was learning.

I wrote about the interesting things I read.

I wrote about the challenges I set myself to make life interesting.

All that sounded harmless and had just enough detail about me without exposing my dirty laundry in public. I thought I was protecting myself. And sparing my readers from the ugly side of my life.

But I was wrong.

I wasn’t protecting myself, I was hiding. My readers were not connecting with me because they were not seeing the whole of my story.

I am researching storytelling. This week I immersed myself in storytelling books. I read three books and made countless notes in “my personal knowledge management system (my second brain).

What I am trying to figure out, is how can I tell stories from my everyday life that educate, entertain, and inspire. As an online writer, I can’t escape from writing about myself. Both good and bad.

Two reasons for that:

One: nothing educates, entertains, and inspires more than stories.

Two: the stories are much more impactful if the writer features in them.

What I thought of as dirty laundry was in fact my vulnerabilities.

Without revealing my vulnerabilities, I can’t make a trusting connection with my readers. My vulnerabilities shape me. They made me the person I am today. I wouldn’t have been the purpose-driven, challenge-seeker, productivity-junkie, I am today, had I not gone through all that I have.

At its core, stories are all about making tough decisions to overcome one’s fears or obstacles.

And that’s what online writing is all about. Sharing stories of our triumphs and failures to educate, entertain and inspire.

Create your own book of wisdom

Neera

I started my first journal at thirteen. It was an old hardback notebook that belonged to my father.

I started collecting quotes, little anecdotes, and bits of writing that inspired me.

As my collection grew, and I had a bit of money, I bought a nice notebook and transferred everything on it.

That journal stayed with me all my life. Whenever in a conundrum or needed the company of a wise counselor, I would open it randomly and would always find something to soothe me.

After that journal, I started several more. So many that I am running out of space to store them.

I know, one day, when I move to a smaller apartment or move on to another existence, they are going to end up in the recycling bin.

I want to save the wisdom collected in them. It has served me well over my life. I want it to serve others as well.

Today, I came across a book, where Kevin Kelly (of 1000 true fans fame) has collected hundreds of bits of, advice, in the form of aphorisms, concise observations, and quiet insights.

The project started with him collecting insights to share with his children.

He writes on his website: “I’ve been jotting down bits of advice I wished I had known earlier in my life, and then sharing them with my children. Each one is like a tweet — a wisdom tweet. This year I have put 450 of them into a pocket-sized book.”

Kelly is not claiming to have originated all the advice he presents in the book. Instead, he says, “I am primarily channeling the wisdom of the ages.”

The book is a pleasure to read straight through or jump around at random.

It has been put together in an effortless way. Not overthought, not made to look overly intelligent.

His book gave me the idea!

I, too, should turn the wisdom collected in my journals into a book. It will survive much, much later than me. And might end up helping someone else.

Here are some nuggets from Kevin Kelly’s book:

“For a great payoff, be especially curious about the things you are not interested in.”

“That thing that made you weird as a kid could make you great as an adult – if you don’t lose it.”

“If you are stuck in life, travel to a place you have never heard of.”

“Taking a break is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.”

“Don’t keep on making the same mistakes; try to make new mistakes.”

“If you stop to listen to a musician or street performer for more than a minute, you owe them a dollar.”

Make every day, a sexy day

Neera

“You can’t have each day as a ‘sexy’ day,” said my friend.

We were coming back from a parlor after having a facial. It was the highlight of the day for us. Something we wanted to do for months. Something we were looking forward to all week.

“Why not?” I protested.

“Because most days are mundane. The same job. The same housework. Even the entertainment is the same. There is nothing new. The same stuff over and over again.”

“Give me something to look forward to.” I said. “I don’t want to wake up each day to cook and clean and tire myself with mundane routine. I want to wake up to do something special each day.”

“Good luck to you then.” She said.

We had this conversation before I finished working and became a full-time writer.

In my new life, I wanted to do interesting stuff, so that I had something to look forward to each day.

I was determined to make each day count.

So,
I learned new skills.
I started my website.
I wrote a blogpost a day.
I wrote and self-published books.
I enrolled in several online courses.
I wrote on social media platforms.
I interviewed interesting people
I got interviewed.
I made friends.
I sketched.
I traveled.

I am a published author now.
People all over the world are reading my stories.
I have made friends in countries I still haven’t visited.
If I ‘Google’ my name, there is a ton of content with my name on it.

I am having a ‘sexy day,’ every day.

Some nights I am so excited, I find it hard to sleep.
I want the day to continue.

How are your days?
Are you having ‘sexy days?’
If not, what are you doing to make them ‘sexy days.’

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