Confessions of a Sucky Note Taker ISO of Note Taking app
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As a lifelong reader and writer, it’s not the reading I’m concerned with, but my ability to retain the amount of information, not just for one semester but for the entire three years and beyond. When I was a kid I used to deep dive into books as my way to escape and then when I got to high school my parents enrolled my brother and I into a speed reading class.
At the time, I thought it was a ridiculous concept but then because I became a superb speed-reader, I was featured in the local newspaper. Yippee for me?
I still think the way they were teaching students was not manageable long term but I do see the value (now) for learning to read quickly. What I took away from that and have been doing, especially throughout my academic studies, is to skim, and because I’m a skimmer, I imagine there are more skimmers out there, which is how I write my blog posts on medium.com. If you’re interested – nblackman.medium.com.
I have also been a lifelong writer (poetry, short stories, blog posts, and ghost writing). When I ghostwrite, I tend to record the sessions and then listen to the voice of the person so I can hopefully capture their essence in words. Someone mocked me a while back about my process, but it’s my process and I enjoy it.
As for general writing, I feel like it’s a gift God granted me, so I hope to use it throughout my life in many, many ways, not just to write blog posts but to serve others in meaningful ways.
But that’s not what is expected of us here.
As the headline suggests, I struggle with note taking. I want to figure out a system that makes sense to me, and I hope during this three-year journey I will accomplish that. I love Kindle for helping me navigate the highlighting. I imagine I will also make use of the flashcards.
I watched a YouTube video a while back about a gentleman who mentioned that whenever you watch or read something to stop afterward and take 10 minutes to jot notes about it. It was more about the long-term memory connection. I have not been doing a good job with that, but maybe that’s something I will be encouraged to do more often during this time.
I’m toying with the idea of using Apple Notes for everything because of its latest capabilities to hold notes in folders. And, predominantly because I have my phone with me always so there are many ways to utilize the app.
That being said, I have been looking at other apps, including Obsidian.
I know that note taking will need to become my best friend and I imagine by the end of three years I will be an improved note taker! Yes!
What will everyone else be using for note taking apps? I’m curious. Drop your comments below, even if it’s one word so I can go check it out.
Keep in mind I’m an Apple girl all the way.
About the Author
Nancy Blackman
13 responses to “Confessions of a Sucky Note Taker ISO of Note Taking app”
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Hey Apple Girl! I’m using Obsidian but have no idea what I’m doing so we’re on the journey together.
I like your idea about note taking after hearing a presentation or reading and it has me thinking about building margins into my day to do more thinking and, while thinking, take notes about what I’m thinking.
I’m realizing I have to build and rebuild a whole new rhythm in my week for this program and its various components. How is the research and leadership components impacting your weekly rhythms?
Yes, Ryan! I am hoping to build in more time to also do more thinking. That’s a great way to look at it.
As for building in rhythms for this new season, I will be intentional each day to have at least a hour or two to read and marinate on the reading. Chris and I have already decided that Saturday’s will be devoted to “studying” whether it be at a coffee shop or at home. We recognize the fact that we will only get out of this what we put into it.
Prayers for you as you navigate your rhythm. It’s a bold invitation from God that we enter into this season, and together, I hope we will encourage one another to do well.
Blessings to you!
Nancy,
I have never really seen the need through my life to take many notes. I had never actually learned how to study for a test until I was becoming a paramedic and had to maintain a 90% in the class on everything. It was a high standard but who wants a paramedic showing up that missed 25% of his questions? I have been learning to use Obsidian and though it can be overwhelming and have more buttons to use than I am aware of, I do find it tremendously helpful. As soon as I finish a book, I take 10 minutes and do a write-up on it. I also have begun taking voice recording notes to myself on the Otter app. The app collects my recording, highlights it and summarizes it for me. Then, if relevant, I will take that transcribed audio note and move it to Obsidian as well.
Ohhh, Adam! I think I need to check out this Other app you mentioned. Thank you for the suggestion.
I will. be playing around with Obsidian in the next few days, but I’m still lingering around Apple Notes. I was super impressed when we were in Oxford that I could take directions from Google maps and drop them into my Apple notes and not only did it give me the turn by turns, but it added in images of what to look for as I made each turn. I figure… if it can do that, then what marvelous things can I gather with note taking?
Thanks so much, Adam!
Hey sis! Omgsh I love reading your writing. Earlier this week I went down a bit of a YouTube rabbit hole exploring all these note-taking methods/ tools and “second brain” systems. I ran into something called Readwise which sounds amazing. Basically it can take anything you digitally read and automatically add your highlights into Obsidian…. If you like to talk your notes aloud Otter is great since it keeps the audio as well as transcript. I’m very much a baby in all of this but two tools I had started using for my business were Notion and Airtable. Notion has some great pre-made templates that I like for organizing what I’m reading and habit tracking. Airtable can do some crazy cool things when it comes to organizing your writing in a way that automates many functions. It was a bit too big of a learning curve for me to fully adopt it in my work but might be something to look into.
Awww,,, thanks sis! I think I’ll be gleaning from you all the things you have learned from apps you’ve used. I took a peek, awhile back, at AirTable and found it to be too comprehensive for what I needed at the time, but maybe I need to revisit it. Thanks for all the suggestions, too! I love it! 🙏
Hi Nancy, It sounds like we have a similar experience with books being a solace while growing through childhood. I do like your reflection about using several minutes after reading to write the notes then. It seals them into the memory and helps keep them accessible for later. Thanks for sharing that.
Thanks Diane! When I was going through my Master’s program, one of my cohort-mates mentioned that if you handwrite your notes, it makes a better connection to the brain. I agree with that, but in this journey I’m concerned about the amount of information I will need to ingest and how I can retain it all.
Hi Nancy, it is wonderful to hear about your passion for writing and your commitment to using your gift in meaningful ways. Finding a note-taking system that works for you is a great goal, and it seems like you are open to experimenting with different approaches.
Considering your affinity for skimming and using Kindle for highlighting, I am sure you have explored methods that align with your natural reading and learning style.
Several of my friends are Apple Notes users and they like its capabilities. Similar to some of our peers, I explored digital note-taking apps like Evernote, OneNote, and Notion. I am a OneNote user at work, it offers flexibility and organization features, allowing me to structure my notes in a way that makes sense to me. I have started using Obsidian to take school notes, it is very straightforward.
Cheers Apple Girl!
Thanks Shela!
I have heard good things about OneNote so I might look at that a bit more closely.
Wow Nancy! I love your story about being a speed reader as a kid and being featured in the local newspaper!
I just started Obsidian as well and think it’s going to be a good fit for me. One downside, is that I find hand written notes to be more likely to go into long term memory. I purchased a Mobiscribe a while back and enjoy using it. It’s not quite the same as pen and paper but doe the trick.
Hi Christy!
Mobiscribe? This is something new to me! [she says as she quickly jumps over to Google to check it out ;-)].
Thanks for the suggestion!
Nancy! Come through here Ms. Apple notes! LOL. As a fellow Apple note junkie you know I easily can resonate with your notes perspective. I appreciate you highlighting the personal tension in note taking. It will be critical for us in book reading and lectures. Contrary to what you may perceive, you already have a formula for success which just may require some broadening alongside some new learning. That being said, I am sure many of us will be taking notes from you. (smile)