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  • - Hey, what's going on guys?

  • So it has come to one of those

  • fairly infrequent points in my life

  • where I start to reevaluate some of the tools

  • that I'm using to get my work done.

  • And this time around my critical eye has fallen

  • on the apps that hold my thoughts and machinations.

  • I like that word, it's a good word, machinations.

  • Anyway, yes, it is time to talk about note taking apps

  • because after about a full week of let's be honest here

  • far more research than I should have done for this topic.

  • I am now ready to present to you

  • my top 10 note-taking apps in 2019.

  • Now before we dive in

  • I do want to talk a little bit about my criteria

  • for this list.

  • First, the apps on this list

  • primarily use text as their input method

  • because I can type a lot faster than I can write

  • and I want to be able to type and get data out

  • at the speed at which I think.

  • So while we're gonna talk about apps

  • like Evernote and OneNote

  • which can support drawing to an extent,

  • we're not gonna focus on apps

  • that primarily use hand writing as their method of input

  • like Noteshelf 2 for the iPad.

  • Plus a lot of those apps

  • have integrations with Evernote anyway.

  • Secondly, every app I'm gonna talk about here

  • has some form of cross platform availability.

  • Not every app on the list is available on every platform

  • but nothing on this list is available on only one OS.

  • And finally criteria number three

  • which I find to be the most important criteria,

  • I don't think an app is the note-taking app

  • unless it combines its note-taking or editor area

  • with its UI for browsing files or notes.

  • I think this is crucial for note-taking app,

  • because I'm constantly referencing different notes,

  • searching for things,

  • and I want to have all that available in one window.

  • So that means apps like Google Docs

  • and Microsoft Word, Dropbox Paper

  • are all not going to make the cut here.

  • Though I do have to admit the Dropbox Paper in particular

  • has probably the best writing experience in writing app

  • that I've ever tried.

  • Though we do have one app on this list

  • that does come very close to that level of greatness.

  • So stay tuned for that app.

  • Before we get to that one though,

  • we do have to go to the other entries on my list.

  • And where better to start than with Evernote.

  • Yes, Evernote.

  • The granddaddy of syncing note-taking apps.

  • I've been using Evernote

  • for darn near nine years at this point

  • and I have to admit that it's a very powerful tool

  • that I basically can't get myself to break away from.

  • Its got a pretty capable rich text editor,

  • the ability to share notebooks with other people.

  • It's got tags, the ability to save searches

  • and a ton of different integrations with other apps.

  • It also features optical character recognition

  • which means that you can scan in images with text

  • and it can make that text searchable

  • and you can also annotate images in the app as well.

  • But for all its strengths, Evernote frustrates me,

  • and that's primarily because

  • you cannot create nested hierarchies of notebooks.

  • You can do notebooks and you can notebook stacks,

  • but that's it.

  • Now some people out there,

  • like the writer Michael Hyatt for example,

  • advocate using a tag based structure

  • to gain that hierarchy instead.

  • But that doesn't really work

  • because on the Evernote mobile apps

  • those tags are not going to show in their hierarchy,

  • they're all alphabetical, so it kind of breaks down.

  • Still, Evernote is incredibly powerful,

  • it's available on basically every platform.

  • And because of those reasons I am continuing to use it

  • at least for certain parts my work flow,

  • even though I have many other options in 2019.

  • Speaking of other options, let's now talk about OneNote.

  • Microsoft OneNote is probably

  • the closest competitor to Evernote in terms of features

  • as you're gonna find similar image support,

  • optical character recognition,

  • the ability to annotate images

  • and honestly the editor area

  • is a lot more flexible and customizable than Evernote is.

  • Additionally, Microsoft OneNote is free, like actually free.

  • The only way you'd ever pay for Microsoft OneNote

  • if you decided to upgrade your OneDrive storage

  • as that's the only way the ever charge you money,

  • they just use OneDrive for their storage.

  • That being said, I personally just can't get into OneNote.

  • I know a lot of people out there love it,

  • it's incredibly powerful which is why it's on my list,

  • but it doesn't work for me

  • because you cannot sort notes within your notebooks

  • by date modified, date created or alphabetically.

  • You can only drag them around

  • like they're actual note cards or pages in a notebook.

  • And that combined with limited tagging capabilities

  • and the same number of organizational levels of hierarchy

  • as you get in Evernote, you don't get more,

  • it makes OneNote kind of a no go for me personally.

  • That brings us over to Bear,

  • which is an absolutely beautiful app

  • that I wish that I could use

  • as a daily driver in my work flow.

  • But Bear is a Mac and iOS exclusive

  • and that's kind of a bummer

  • because I also use Windows on a daily basis

  • alongside my Mac and iPhone.

  • That being said,

  • if you are a Mac and iPhone only kind of person,

  • Bear is definitely worth your consideration.

  • This is primarily because unlike Evernote and OneNote,

  • Bear has a beautiful hybrid markdown editor.

  • And if you're not familiar with markdown,

  • it's a markup language

  • that allows you to format your text as you type

  • by putting different symbols around your text.

  • So for example, you can put two stars around a word

  • to bold that word.

  • Now a lot of markdown editors force you

  • to write in plain text

  • and then you can only preview your formatted text.

  • But Bear doesn't do that,

  • it actually format your text as you write

  • which I really really like.

  • Additionally, Bear also has

  • a pretty interesting organizational system

  • that does let you create

  • as many levels of hierarchy as you like

  • and they use tags to achieve this.

  • By typing hash tags in your document

  • and then using slashes to create additional tags beyond it

  • you can create your own organizational structure.

  • Now some people don't like having tags

  • right in the editor window like that

  • but some people might not mind that.

  • And I also have to give a shout out to their archive feature

  • which lets you archive notes and take them out of search

  • and your organizational hierarchy but not delete them.

  • Of course if you are an Apple exclusive kind of person

  • then we do have to consider Apple's own notes program.

  • Mainly because it's free and unlike Bear,

  • if you happen to not have access

  • to an Apple computer at some point

  • or you're a part-time Windows guy like me,

  • you can at least access your notes at icloud.com.

  • Now though Apple Notes doesn't have

  • the awesome hyper markdown capabilities of Bear

  • or some other apps we're gonna talk about,

  • it does have really nice formatting tools.

  • And to my eyes, the default formatting

  • looks better than it does on Evernote.

  • Additionally, yep, you guessed it,

  • you can indeed create your own

  • nested list of hierarchical folders

  • and I love that feature.

  • Moving on to the next item on our list,

  • we are now at Google Keep

  • which is a pretty nice and simple note-taking app

  • that's available in the browser

  • and also on pretty much all of your devices as well.

  • Now when I was testing Google Keep

  • the number one word

  • that kept coming up to my mind was simplicity,

  • it's a very simple note-taking app.

  • Very simple but effective formatting options

  • and you can even change the background color of your notes

  • to visually distinguish them.

  • The problem for me though

  • is there's only one level of tags that you can create,

  • you cannot create a hierarchical level

  • of basically anything,

  • so there's no hierarchical organization.

  • So I guess if you're gonna use Google Keep

  • as a note-taking app,

  • you're gonna want to rely mostly on their search function.

  • And I guess with it being Google,

  • that search function is probably pretty good.

  • But that being said,

  • since it lacks true organizational hierarchy,

  • I don't see this as a viable alternative

  • to Evernote or OneNote or anything more complex.

  • But if you want a scratch pad for taking notes

  • and setting reminders for later,

  • Google Keep could be a good bet.

  • That brings us over to Notion.

  • And I know a lot of you guys were waiting for me

  • to talk about Notion.

  • It's definitely the app

  • that I get the most questions about these days

  • and for good reason, because notion is stupidly powerful.

  • It's definitely the most flexible tool on this list,

  • allowing you to layout pages however you want,

  • create an infinite hierarchy organization on the sidebar

  • and even interlink between pages easily.

  • It's also got a great hybrid markdown editor

  • that's very similar to the one you're gonna find in Bear,

  • though it does have some quirks

  • that keep me from really loving it,

  • such as the fact that you cannot precisely select text

  • if it goes outside a single block of information.

  • But my gripes about the editor aside,

  • Notion can do things that no other app can do,

  • that's mainly because the combination

  • of a couple of different features.

  • First, their table feature is actually a database feature,

  • so every row in a table actually links to its own page

  • And secondly, they've got a templating feature

  • that allows you to make basically anything into a template.

  • And I have combined these two features to build Notion out

  • into an incredibly powerful video management platform

  • that has made our editing process so much smoother.

  • So in one area of the app

  • I've got a database with all of our videos

  • who's sponsoring them, their publish dates,

  • all kinds of good information like that.

  • But if you click into any video

  • you'll see there's a very well laid out template

  • that allows for us to create

  • a B-Roll database, a script

  • and also has some checklists

  • that are automatically populated

  • every single time you do a video.

  • So for very complicated processes

  • like going through the publishing process,

  • we can just go to that automatically generate a checklist

  • and make sure nothing gets left behind.

  • Now like I said, I get a lot of questions

  • about Notion over on Twitter and on Instagram.

  • So if you guys want to see a more detailed

  • Notion video on this channel,

  • definitely let me know in the comments down below.

  • Right now the verdict is out on

  • if it's a great note-taking app,

  • but it's definitely a great organizational app in general

  • and it's, again, very flexible.

  • All right, let's talk about Standard Notes.

  • Now Standard Notes as far as I can tell, I could be wrong,

  • but I think Standard Notes is the only app on my list

  • that is developed by one single developer.

  • Given that fact, I've got to say that I'm pretty impressed

  • with everything the developer

  • has been able to accomplish with this app.

  • For one it is easily the most security focused app on list

  • as everything you write is encrypted by default

  • and only you can access it.

  • Now you'll immediately notice

  • that the free version of Standard Notes

  • is just a plain text editor.

  • There is a note browsing window

  • but you can't write markdown, there's no rich text editing,

  • it's just plain text.

  • But upgrade to their extended version

  • and you get a whole bunch of extensions

  • that you can optionally turn on or off.

  • There are several different editors to choose from,

  • including multiple markdown editors, a rich text editor

  • and even a code editor.

  • And this is really cool,

  • you can choose which editor you want to use

  • on a note by note basis.

  • You can create custom folders with your tags

  • and these are infinitely nestable

  • and you can even define custom searches

  • based on those tags or even other information

  • and then save those searches within the app.

  • Standard Notes is not perfect though.

  • For one, the image support is kind of lacking right now

  • as you have to host your images elsewhere

  • to have them displayed within the app.

  • And you also cannot drag and drop notes

  • between different folders or tags.

  • Still, I've got to say that I am pretty impressed

  • with what the developer accomplished so far.

  • Now we are on to, me taking a break

  • and playing with this puzzle

  • because, well, there's a lot of items on this list.

  • Alright, enough of that, let's talk about Slite.

  • Slite is by design a very team focused note-taking app

  • that could also work pretty well for a solo note-taker.

  • It's got an absolutely fantastic hybrid markdown editor

  • that I found pretty similar to the one in Dropbox Paper

  • which allows you to format your text on-the-fly

  • and also embed images and videos and even tables.

  • I'm also a big fan of their table of contents view

  • which lets you quickly zoom

  • to different headings within your note.

  • And this is something you'll find

  • in Google Docs and Dropbox Paper

  • and it's something we even built into the articles

  • in the latest version of College Info Geek

  • but it's very rare to find in a note-taking app,

  • so props to Slite for including it.

  • Now Slite also allows you to create

  • a nested hierarchy of notes within the app

  • so you can organize things.

  • Though the way they implement it is kind of weird

  • because one side you've got channels

  • and then within the middle part of the app

  • that's where you can create these collections

  • which are infinitely nestful.

  • The only problem is that you can only sort

  • by a recency on a channel level.

  • So their sorting options are a little less powerful

  • than other apps can offer you.

  • Now much like Notions, Slite is built primarily for teams,

  • so you can collaboratively edit

  • a document with somebody in real time.

  • There's also this great comment section

  • that puts comments in a nice little window

  • to the side of your editor, I really like that.

  • Slite is also available on mobile apps and on the web

  • and basically every platform out there.

  • So at least from a design perspective

  • it seems to be one of the best note-taking apps

  • that I could actually find

  • when doing the research for this video.

  • My main gripe with it right now, at least right now

  • is the experience of using it.

  • Because it can be slow at times

  • and I've also run to some bugs

  • where a text actually isn't formatted

  • after I've put the formatting tags around it.

  • That being said, Slite is a pretty new company

  • and I do have to admit that when I tested a few months ago

  • it was much slower than it is now,

  • so they're making big improvements

  • and I'm gonna be keeping an eye

  • on the team's progress going forward.

  • But that is talk about the future

  • and we are living in the present.

  • And at present, in my opinion the note-taking app

  • with the best organizational structure of them all

  • is our ninth app on the list, Ulysses.

  • Now Ulysses is often billed as an app

  • for serious novelists and writers

  • but I think it can also work really well

  • as a note-taking app.

  • And that's because primarily

  • it has that amazing organizational system

  • that I just alluded to.

  • Not only can you create a nested hierarchy

  • of as many folders as you want,

  • but when you go into a top-level folder

  • you're able to see the notes within subfolders

  • along with notes in that top-level folder as well

  • and I love that.

  • Additionally, you can define sorting options

  • for every single folder in the app.

  • You can create custom searches, you can do tags,

  • there's an archive view, there's an inbox view,

  • there's a favorites view, there's recency views.

  • Ulysses basically has it all and I absolutely love it.

  • The biggest bummer is, just like Bear

  • it's only on Mac and iOS platforms.

  • So I can't use it unless I want to just

  • totally give up my Windows PC as a writing device.

  • So that leads us to this question.

  • What does a guy who uses

  • a Windows computer and a Mac computer on a daily basis

  • and who really wants a great writing experience to do?

  • Well in my case, the answer is to use

  • the last app on our list which is Typora.

  • Typora is a desktop writing app

  • that has the best writing experience I've ever had

  • next to Dropbox Paper.

  • It's got that hybrid markdown writing system

  • that automatically formats your writing as you type,

  • it's much faster than Slite.

  • And unlike Bear, again it's on Windows

  • along with Mac and even Linux.

  • It's also full of features for serious writers

  • like a focus mode that dims the text

  • that you're not currently working on.

  • A table of contents mode

  • for zooming between your outline headings

  • just like in Slite, and themes, lots and lots of themes

  • which you can customize with CSS if you want.

  • However there are some caveats.

  • Like I said, Typora is a desktop writing app.

  • There is no mobile app right now which is kind of a bummer.

  • The other thing is that Typora almost didn't make my list

  • because unlike everything else that I've talked about,

  • it doesn't actually store or sync your notes itself,

  • it's purely a markdown editor.

  • The reason still fits my definition of a note-taking app

  • is because of its file browser.

  • Once you've opened up a folder in the app

  • you can easily drill down into all the subfolders

  • and open up as many documents as you want.

  • But again the biggest downside here

  • is the lack of a good mobile app.

  • Now I don't really care too much about this

  • since I'm really only using Typora for serious writing,

  • for like finishing articles or video scripts.

  • But if you really need to access your Typora documents,

  • remember they are just markdown files

  • within your folder system on your computer.

  • So if you're using Dropbox or Google Drive,

  • then you can get a markdown editor

  • for your iPhone or Android

  • that can access those cloud platforms such as iA Writer.

  • So now it's time to come to a verdict.

  • Which app on this list wins?

  • Honestly, it is pretty hard to come

  • to a definitive conclusion on this

  • because everyone has different features they want,

  • different needs, different devices they use,

  • different budgets.

  • So instead of just recommending one app

  • I'm gonna name some winners in a few different categories

  • and then it's up to you to choose.

  • For the actual writing experience,

  • again, the win goes to Typora.

  • Slite is also pretty good,

  • but I'm waiting for it to get a little less buggy

  • and a little more snappy.

  • So I'm gonna be keeping my eye on that

  • and using Typora in the meantime.

  • For note organization, the win goes to Ulysses.

  • Again with infinite nestable folders

  • and tags and custom searches,

  • really nothing else out there beats it, at least in my eyes.

  • For overall capability and my general recommendation,

  • I still have to give the win to Evernote.

  • Yeah, it doesn't have markdown support

  • which I really really want along those nestable folders,

  • but otherwise it's got a ton of capabilities.

  • Though I do have to say that Notion in particular

  • is really nipping at the heels of Evernote

  • in the capability department.

  • And if you care more about those database

  • and templating features,

  • then you might actually think it's more capable.

  • Now I do want to make one last note here.

  • With all these devices and apps and capabilities we have,

  • it can be really easy to overcomplicate things.

  • Because if you're anything like me,

  • having all these capabilities

  • makes it very tempting to try and do too much.

  • And that's why I am once again

  • listening to Greg McKeown's excellent book

  • Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.

  • This was one of my favorite books from 2017

  • and it's one that, at least for me is worth returning to

  • because it has great advice for figuring out

  • how to narrow down your focuses in life.

  • And honestly this is one of the areas

  • where I tend to struggle the most.

  • Now if you also want to get

  • more focused with your priorities,

  • you wanna start digging into essentialism,

  • then you are in luck,

  • because you can start listening to it

  • for free today on Audible.

  • All you need to do is go over to audible.com/thomas

  • or text Thomas to 500-500 on your phone

  • and you can download that audiobook

  • or any audiobook of your choosing for free

  • and you're also gonna get

  • a free 30-day trial of their service as well.

  • And once you start that trial

  • you are quickly going to find out

  • that Audible is the best place

  • to get audiobooks on the entire internet.

  • They have an unmatched selection of audiobook titles

  • across tons of different genres,

  • including biographies and psychology and sci-fi.

  • And once you download an audiobook

  • it is yours to keep forever

  • regardless of whether or not you cancel,

  • you're always gonna be able to listen to it

  • across all of your devices.

  • So if you want to gain the ability to learn new things

  • wherever you are, whatever you're doing,

  • whether it's going on a long bike ride

  • or cooking or doing chores,

  • then once again go over to audible.com/Thomas

  • or text Thomas to 500-500 on your phone

  • to get that free audiobook download

  • and a free 30-day trial of their service.

  • Big thanks as always to Audible for sponsoring this video

  • and being a supporter of the channel.

  • And as always guys, thank you so much for watching.

  • Hopefully you got a lot of value out of this video.

  • Hopefully you've got something that you can go try out now.

  • And if you enjoyed this video,

  • definitely hit that like button.

  • And subscribe right there as well

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  • You can also click right there to get a free copy of my book

  • on how to earn better grades.

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  • Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next one.

- Hey, what's going on guys?

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2019年最好的10款記事應用。 (The 10 Best Note-Taking Apps in 2019)

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    syslbf 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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