Modern Note Taking – Say Goodbye to Pen & Paper

When we think of taking notes, most of us would immediately think of pen and paper. While pen and paper is the familiar method for note taking, it ultimately is inferior to modern digital note taking. I know that last sentence is a shot over the bow of every paper and pen note taker, so bear with me… and read on. After you finish reading it… please share your thoughts on what you use (or why I’m completely wrong).

Why Digital Note Taking?

There are so many reasons to take notes digitally, below is a quick list that I’ve complied from my experience.

Instant Search
Remember that meeting you had a week ago? The client said something REALLY important and you made a note of it. Now, where is that note? With digital note taking, simple tags and keyword searches will pop that note up instantly… leaving your paper and pen buddies struggling with the paper cuts that they’ve inflicted in their desperate search through reams of paper.

No Need for Organization
Granted, organizing and tagging notes is recommended (and something I take time to do); but, unlike paper, there is no need to file notes into folders or binders.

Others Can Read it
Unless you have immaculate handwriting, writing out your notes will only benefit one person – you. What makes digital note taking so powerful is the ability to quickly email notes from a meeting, without having to transcribe your notes into an email.

Syncing
One of the nice things about these modern web-enabled note-taking apps is that you can instantly sync your notes across all of your devices. This gives you the ability to make a note on your phone and then edit it further on your computer. It takes note-taking out of the device and makes it this thing that you can access it anywhere.

Overall… it’s Faster
Granted, I took typewriting in high school so my word-per-minute count is pretty high.

What Should I Use?

That’s the big question. There are many awesome platforms out there from Evernote to Google Keep. I personally use a great platform called Simplenote. In short, Simplenote has tons of apps built around it. Do you use a Mac? Use Notational Velocity (epic name, right?). Are you on an old Droid? Use Glance Note.

One of my favorite websites, the Verge, did a great piece on Simplenote (which you should check out). Here is quick video that they made about it.