Exploring Apple Notes: My Journey to Enhanced Productivity
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Chapter 1: Introduction to My Second Brain Journey
A few weeks back, I shared my enthusiasm for Tiago Forte’s concept of a Second Brain. His book has profoundly influenced my method of note-taking and managing personal knowledge, which is quite remarkable since I’m only halfway through it (busy life, holidays, you name it).
Finding the right tool for effective note-taking has proven to be one of the more challenging aspects of adopting this second brain framework. After some contemplation, I opted for Apple Notes, and it has generally served me well—though I've encountered a few challenges in these initial stages of constructing my second brain.
If you’re thinking about using Apple Notes for your own second brain, here are my insights.
Section 1.1: Why Apple Notes?
My decision-making process for a note-taking app came down to two finalists: Notion and Apple Notes (I've long moved on from Evernote).
Notion was a strong contender, as I rely on it to manage the entire production side of my business. It efficiently organizes my videos, blog entries, sponsorships, review items, and even my annual objectives.
However, Notion felt somewhat cumbersome for capturing notes efficiently. Forte emphasizes that swiftly capturing ideas, thoughts, and inspiration is crucial for success. In this regard, Apple Notes outperforms Notion—it's simply faster and more straightforward for jotting down notes.
This simplicity is the primary reason Apple Notes won in my assessment. While it lacks the advanced features and integrations of Notion, it excels in allowing me to quickly add notes, regardless of how I choose to input them.
Section 1.2: Advantages of Apple Notes
Simplicity is essential for an effective second brain. Any complexity in your notes organization can hinder productivity and project completion.
The most significant advantage of using Apple Notes is its extraordinary simplicity. While some may find it too basic, it suits those who prefer to avoid distractions from endless features, user interface options, and integrations.
Being fully integrated into the Apple ecosystem is another benefit. I can access Apple Notes on all my devices (except for the Apple Watch, which can still be used for input through Siri), and the synchronization across these devices is unparalleled.
Section 1.3: Drawbacks of Apple Notes
While Apple Notes is not without its shortcomings, I recognize it may not be ideal for power users. Throughout my experience of constructing my second brain, I’ve faced several frustrations:
- Lack of Highlighting Tool: Highlighting is a key technique that Forte uses to make notes more digestible at a glance. Apple Notes offers only bold and underline options, which aren't sufficient.
- Unorganized Notes: The ease of adding notes can quickly lead to a disorganized collection. Although this is a common issue with many note-taking apps, Apple Notes makes it all too easy to accumulate a large volume of notes that need to be organized.
- Sharing Limitations: One of the more puzzling absences in Apple Notes is the lack of a public URL option for sharing notes. While privacy is a concern, other apps manage to offer this feature securely.
- No Interlinking of Notes: Unlike Notion, which allows linking notes together in various ways, Apple Notes treats each note as an isolated entity, which can be frustrating as I continue to build my second brain.
Despite these drawbacks, I plan to stick with Apple Notes. The advantages far outweigh the minor issues, and I am confident that Apple will continue to enhance the app's functionality in future updates.
Final Thoughts
Choosing a note-taking application is a highly personal decision. What works for me might not suit your needs, and Apple Notes may be too simplistic for some.
If that’s the case, there are numerous alternatives available. However, if you’re like me and prefer a straightforward approach while building your second brain, Apple Notes is an excellent choice—especially for Apple users.
You can read more about how I built my second brain in this original article:
How One Book Transformed My Relationship With Apple Notes
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