Trying Apple Notes for 30 Days
Initial Setup
I've setup my Apple Notes structure with Projects, Areas, Resources and Archive following the recommendations from Tiago Forte's Building a Second Brain (BASB).
Projects
Active Projects get their own folder for storing useful information. I follow this same setup in iCloud Drive in case there are relevant documents in the cloud that will be helpful in completing the project.
Areas
Projects are driving areas of focus forward. Areas are longer term and do not have an end date. These for me are things like, Finances, Home, Health, etc. Ongoing areas that I'd like to store information in for reference that continue to evolve over time.
Resources
Resources contains helpful items for things that may become relevant in the future or interests/hobies that fall outside of Areas. For me this is things like Book Notes, Skateboarding, and Templates, of which I have automated via Shortcuts, since Apple Notes does not directly support Templates.
Archives
Archives stores inactive items, such as completed projects or notes I had created before beginning this second brain knowledge management process.
Cleanup of old crap
Cleanup was easy, I had random notes everywhere and a tagging system that was not useful, everything quickly found its rightful place and it is really easy to drag and drop to the right folder or move notes on iPhone and iPad. I find this to be slightly more cumbersome on Mac.
Quick note on all devices
I setup quick notes on all devices and have apple notes on my share sheet for all devices as well. This allows me to quickly jot down and capture information that is useful and can be processed at a daily or weekly review.
I have this setup in the lower left hand and lower right hand corners for macOS. This allows me to easily use the left side of the screen if my MacBook is docked and use either side if I am using the MacBook as a laptop.
Siri input while on Apple CarPlay
I often listen to audio books in the car and like to virtually jot down ideas based on the topic of the book. It is super easy to tell Siri to either remind me of something(which will get processed through my reminders inbox, into Things 3) or to tell Siri to take a note for me via voice input.
Tagging & Search
Search has become much improved in my opinion over the years of Apple Notes. Tags can give things that extra layer of discoverability and I have tags but find that search is so good that I don't need tags to make my notes discoverable.
Bonus features and tips
Some of my most used formatting Keyboard shortcuts
- Cmd + shift + H heading
- Cmd + shift + J subheading
- Cmd + shift + B body
Input types is where Apple notes shines for both basic users and power users alike. So long as you are in the Apple ecosystem the integration between Mail, Calendar, Reminders and Notes is tremendous. Things get a little troubling once you venture outside of the Apple ecosystem or if you'd like to export Apple Notes to a different platform. Platform lock-in is real.
Scanning book pages while reading is an extremely helpful tool that I use for physical books often. Of course highlights from Kindle get synced to Readwise which unfortunately doesn't easily connect in a meaningful way to Apple Notes.
Of course Apple Pencil support is also top notch, with the ability to copy handwriting as text and the handwriting itself is searchable within Apple Notes.
Wrapping up
My 30 days with Apple Notes inadvertently turned into 60 days. I tend to get the bug to switch to a new program a few times a year. I have toyed around with Notion and am strongly looking into Obsidian, as I have picked up a few other habits that can integrate and be more easily automated through a program that is outside of Apple's walled garden. I would recommend Apple Notes though to someone who likes folder structure driven notes. I imagine if my notes journey in Apple Notes turned into 6 years that I might want a few more features and may find it difficult to keep the important notes resurfacing to the top when I most need them.
