Sunday, October 02, 2011
Top 10 Note Taking Apps for Freelancers
Freelance Switch: A typical freelancer is an idea generating engine. New ideas spring up all the time. Suddenly, you may realize you have a perfect solution to a problem or get inspiration on the go. To record your precious ideas there are handy note taking apps. These tools usually contain features like notes and web clippings. They instantly save content with small text overview. Thus, note making software helps to organize thoughts and boost freelancing productivity.
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9 comments:
We as a society are always trying to find easier and more efficient ways of doing things. I myself have been looking for a better tool to help me take faster and more organized note. All of these applications sound useful but they all have so many similar aspects that it’s hard to determine which one is best for which sorts of situations. Like many other things in life it seems that it is a personal preference thing and something that one needs to try for themselves. It takes a long time for one to find something that works best for them.
My favorite articles are the apps review articles. I always enjoy reading about and judging every app that finds its way into one of these articles, which means that I'm bound to read about the same ones on multiple occasions (evernote, mostly). What I would really like to know, as far as this article goes, is what make these apps so great for freelancers, specifically? The writer makes the obvious connection in the beginning by saying that, of course, freelancers take notes, and they could need to do that at random times/places. This is true, and these apps would be great for freelancers, but what about every other profession that requires note-taking? Why did the article not care for them?
I think it was a publisher's freelancer-focused advertising attempt that I disagree with.
I think it's wonderful that all kinds of "productivity" apps are on the market now. There is actually a "productivity" category in the Apple App Store. However, none of these will work for me...or at least not yet. I don't have my computer enough to really organize my life with it (I often think of random things I need to do and write down quickly) and when I do, it's often not a good situation for pulling my computer out, waiting for it to connect to the network, opening up the program, and FINALLY writing down whatever it is. Smartphones would be great for this (Not sure if the apps support them yet) but I don't have one. I think we have a really mixed population in that aspect right now, with people who use their phones/computers for EVERYTHING, and people like me, who still use only a notepad and pen to take notes. I guess everyone needs to find out what works best for them! And maybe test out an app or two.
You can't use one piece of software to do everything exactly the way you want it. That's what I've figured out recently. Everyone creates their own workflow with their own set of software that most efficiently communicates with them. I think people "repurpose" software more often than the developers realize. It's true that there are certainly "better" ways of doing some of the things that I do, but I have a system that works for me. Every once and awhile I change my system, I retrain myself to use new software, or use existing software in a new one. I am not sure we need an article like this on note-taking software. Everyone already has a system that works for them. If one person's system is a piece of paper and a pen, that's cool too. I use that, in conjunction with a corkboard above my desk, and sometimes that's fine that it isn't on the cloud.
I think the world of apps has reached the point where there are too many options that do almost identical things. At this point, I think almost everyone has note taking software of some kind they are sold on, and most are not going to change until something really significantly better comes along. What I would really like to see when it comes to these app reviews is how well it utilizes cloud networking, and if the cloud networking actually works across platforms that have drastically different OS. Too many times I have had an issue where my laptop and an Apple device talk well, but the moment my Windows or Android OS get added to the equation the connectivity goes to hell.
Sometimes I wonder if we as a society simply use technology because we can, and not because it is necessarily the best application at the time. As Rachael said, it is so much easier and faster to just pull out a pen and paper and write something down when you need to as apposed to pulling out your computer, booting it up, etc, etc. I can completely understand using your computer as a way of archiving notes and keeping track of some things, but I think we rely on technology entirely too much sometimes. I myself am guilty of being attached to my phone, and sometimes I wish I didn't have it. This summer I could almost never have my phone or computer on me while I was working, and it actually was a very freeing experience to not be attached to technology at all times.
Note taking has always been a challenge for me, personally a bit of a computer geek and love trying to find new and useful apps especially realistic ones that can actually help with class and note work. Currently have not found many good ones because even most of the apps this article suggest are too fanciful when it comes to note taking. if anyone is considering resorting to computer note taking, i strongly suggest pen and paper (no not an app called that i mean actual pen and paper) the notes stick better. if you are organizationally handicapped like me then consider this when your looking at note taking apps. keep it simple you don't want to get distracted while trying to concentrate in class.
I am currently trying to re-work my note taking system as I have found that juggling multiple projects that happen in the same location with the same basic groups of people can prove challenging at times.
The most important part of notes are that they are useful for you to retain the information contained. It also must be part of a system that ensures that actions are taken based upon those notes.
Also, it must be convenient enough to do it all the time, yet thorough and organized enough for it to be useful. Not one pre-made system will work for this.
Argh! I hate to be that girl...but...Paper and Pen!! I understand we are in a digital age, and we always want the "coolest" and "most efficient" app to do all of the things that we need to do. But instead of having to whip out an iPad or an iPhone, what if we carried a small note pad? I understand that people work in many different ways, and if that way is technically based, then great. But we often overlook how we could lay out a paper format for note-taking because we are so wrapped up in the coolest gadget put out by the newest internet sensation.
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