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.