My Favourite Note-Taking Apps

Here are three note-taking apps I frequently use when taking down notes, whether it be making quick brainstorms, planning blog post ideas or writing minutes for meetings. 

1. Evernote

I quite like Evernote for its simplicity and functionality. The layout is easy to navigate and the features are quite helpful. I find the pre-made templates to be extremely helpful because I don't have to create something from scratch and can select something that has already been created. Evernote has templates for things such as weekly to-do lists, project trackers and meeting minutes. 

The features available when writing each note are also diverse and easy to use. Like BULB, all the features are contained in a bar at the top of your page. Evernote also includes options to add attachments, tables and sketches. 

Even when writing notes, the interface is quite clean. It's easy to transition between different notes with the rows that pop out showing all different notes you have created.

Created by Eyesakov (2022)

I think Evernote's biggest advantage is that it has excellent functionality even with the free version. I find that Evernote is sufficient for pretty much everything I do when it comes to personal note-taking and that it functions quite well as an online journal. 

The only thing I'd add is that I don't particularly like Evernote for team collaboration. A significant limitation is that Evernote does not allow for real-time collaboration on the same note. Obviously this is quite problematic when everyone in your team is trying to take notes or contribute their thoughts at the same time. 

Regardless, for anyone looking for a private note-taking app that is clean, simple and quick to learn how to use, I think Evernote is your best bet! 

2. Notion

I find that Notion is excellent to use when collaborating with team members. The real-time collaboration is extremely helpful, as is the ability to assign tasks and the myriad of tables and templates to draw from.

Notion is also excellent to use to create 'to do pages' or to upload business manuals. It's very easy to navigate and the contents of business manuals can easily be organised into different chapters. 

Like Evernote, the user interface for Notion is also extremely clean. I'd say it's far more minimalistic than Evernote but that I like this for business and work cases where I don't want to be distracted by as much colour.

Perhaps my favourite feature about Notion is the summary that is generated at the top of each note. The summary includes useful information such as participants who have been given access to the note, when the note was created and who the creator was. This is awesome for your quick reference. 

Created by Eyesakov (2022)

The only caveat I'd mention about Notion is that functionality is significantly constrained on a free trial. While the Enterprise plan affords the real-time collaboration, to my knowledge the free trial does not allow you to give other users access to your notes. If you're looking for something to use for free, Notion really isn't the best option for you. 

In saying this, I think it is worth investing in a paid plan if you're using Notion in your business. 

3. OneNote

If you're a huge Microsoft fan you're probably quite relieved that I've mentioned OneNote. I particularly like OneNote as a place to organise my research for some of my academic writing. I frequently use the checkboxes to list down academic articles and websites that I want to explore in detail. 

Perhaps my absolute favourite feature about OneNote is the drawing function. I've used it to handwrite notes for lectures and to mind map ideas I have for my academic writing. The drawing feature looks quite clean and almost as if you were writing in a book (if you choose to import lined paper of course!!). I also find that the drawing feature can easily be used to annotate PDFs because you can simply drag and drop a PDF in to mark up. 

Created by Eyesakov (2022)

However, I must say that I have found myself leaning towards using Evernote a lot more than OneNote over the past month or so. Personally I like all the templates that Evernote offers. I also think that Evernote's green colour scheme is much better than OneNote's distinct purple colour scheme. 

Final Thoughts

If you're looking for a note-taking app for your private work, I'd suggest using Evernote. You can also use OneNote if you're old-fashioned like me (from time to time) and like handwriting your notes. However, I do think that Notion is the superior option for collaboration. The functionality is much more 'business like' and real-time collaboration is excellent. 

Let me know in the comments below if you have any other suggestions for note-taking apps!!