| I have been using OneNote over text files for a while now. Herr are my reasons. 1. Better organization. One note organizes my files into notebooks and pages. This is really important to me to prepare study notes, as I find arranging the notes just like the technical books' table of content I'm reading. 2. To easily apply Cornell(two columns of hint and description) note taking method. 3. To search easily. Once I studied a book and took my notes well, there is no better way to search and recall. 4. Sketch with my notes. This helps me represent ideas I study into my own mental model. Also great for representing my startup ideas. 5. Record myself into the note reciting the material.voice memo. 6. Doing all of the above on my computer and phone and finding everything in place. Again, there might be work around for doing all this. But once you get into Evernote and OneNote you find it really hard to go back into text files. |
-rich formatting. It’s easier to scroll through your notes if the headings and sub-headings stand out. Also, automatic bullet lists with multiple indentation (I do a lot of these)
- ability to add pictures / screenshots. Comes in handy if you’re taking notes in class and you have the slides or pdf at hand. You can add a tricky diagram right into the notes, and draw over it if necessary.
- small timesavers, like the ability to mark a line as a to-do item (Ctrl+1 for One Note on Windows); you can then filter according to the to-do tag. This effectively gives you a centralized to-do list which you add to from whatever you’re currently working on without switching context. Or if you write an operation (e.g. “1+5-2”) and add “=“ One Note will compute that for you. Saves you the hassle of switching to another app. Or hitting tab to create a (rudimentary) table.
I also use mind mapping tools when trying to organize a large topic and I’m more interested in the overall picture than the details. I find that a mind-map/tree-like outline + notes or specific documents for the leaves or subtrees works well for me.