Balancing life and school can be challenging and overwhelming. Thankfully, our digital world plays a vital role in helping us – busy people – to easily keep track of our notes.

I would like to share with you my go-to note-taking apps and why I choose them, perhaps you have already your go-to note-taking application (which I love to hear) and that’s great, and if you haven’t decided which one to use, I would love to share mine and encourage you to try them. But first, let’s take a look at how my notebooks take over my desk. As you see, it’s a real mess.

 

Now that you know the reason why I sway away from old-style notetaking, I also realize that that there are several benefits from it, for example;

• Easiness
  • Knowing that I can access my notes anytime, anywhere.
  • Easily imports handouts or PDF, or if you’re like me I take a screenshot of the actual book I’m reading and add them to my notes.
  • Organize (helps for better review preparation)
  • Search for important information easy

But before that, here’s are my criteria;

• Cross-platform
• Text input
• Hierarchical
• Free

Cross-platform

While I depend heavily on Mac as my daily OS (desktop and mobile), there are times that I like to try the applications on another platform such as Windows/Android.

Text-input

I personally struggle reading my own handwriting, so while looking around for note-taking application, I make sure that the apps offer a text-input.

Hierarchical

While some users like the idea of alphabetical, it doesn’t work form me because I like to see all my folders in a hierarchical order where I can add a sub-folder to a master folder.

 

So without further due, my top three notetaking apps

• Microsoft OneNote
• Apple Notes
• Notion

Microsft OneNote

I have been using this app since I decided to went back to school and this has been my go-to until this very moment. I love how you can either choose a text or handwriting to take note from lectures, an optical image resolution, an editor that is flexible and customizable., plus its free. The only time that you need to pay is when you need to upgrade for storage and if you’re lucky enough, most schools offer a bundle for students that has all the Microsoft productivity tools.

 

 

Apple Notes

As an Apple user, I like to access all my notes in all of my devices and while it doesn’t offer a hyper markdown capability, I like the idea where I can easily pull up my iPhone or iPad and have easy access to the scratchpad. I lie its features of formatting tools and of course the hierarchical feature, and free!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notion

 

And I wouldn’t end this section without mentioning my super go-to digital note-taking apps – the Notion. It is powerful and flexible plus it offers the hierarchical feature where I can easily save all my notes to a nested folder that I can easily locate whenever I need to access them. Not to mention the table feature that is basically a database. Now, as a student, you get a chance to get a free account assuming you register using your .edu email which is provided to you by your university.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary

While an old way to take notes is great, the only reason I kinda sway away from it is carrying many notebooks whereas going digital, I can only have an iPad or a laptop where I can access all notebooks from different class I am taking.

 

So, tell me what’s your favorite digital notetaking?