Speaking of Notes

I learned note taking in college. In class I would write copious notes, and then transfer them to my computer as an outline that I could reference later. At the time there were not many tools that could easily input handwriting into the computer, and also make it useful. There were some tools that could scan pages, but they were cumbersome to use.

Fast forward many years to now, and I am still searching for the perfect note taking device. I tend to bounce back and forth between a notebook, and some note type app on the computer. Both have advantages and disadvantages inherent in the media.

A paper notebook is the optimal note taking device. I can easily make lists highlight items, and draw lines connecting ideas. I can also quickly draw diagrams or quick app designs. The problem is that unless I’m writing notes, I’m on my computer. Referencing my handwritten notes is a pain, much less easily sharing them. The most serious problem I run into is finding a note from last week or last month.

It’s usually around the point when searching for a hand written note that I get frustrated, and vow to only take notes on the computer. After bouncing between many apps, the latest version of the Apple Notes.app is what I have settled on. Picking a note app is its own post, so I don’t want to get too far into that here. The general benefits of a notes app are the same. They are searchable, sync through the cloud, and are easy share with others. The big drawback is that they are not really the best way for me to take notes.

Enter the 11” iPad Pro + Apple Pencil

Writing on an iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil has a very nice feel. The Apple Pencil has a little less drag than a typical #2 pencil, and more drag than a smooth ballpoint pen. There is little screen lag that I can notice when writing or drawing.

In the Notes.app, the written notes are OCRed in the background and made searchable. Even my sometimes questionable handwriting is deciphered fairly well. The notes are also synced across all devices.

I do have some initial complaints:

  • Mixing typed and hand written notes is more cumbersome than it should be. When a hand written note is synced to the computer it can be awkward to start a typed section above.
  • Sharing from the Notes.app to something like Slack does not work. It processes like it is going to work, but then nothing shows up in Slack. For diagrams I have been using Linea Sketch. It is simple enough for a non-artist like me to get diagrams done. It also shares perfectly.
  • I do not like the noise the Apple Pencil makes when it first hits the screen to start writing or drawing. It might just be me, but I have started training myself to bring the pencil down more lightly when writing.

Even with the shortcomings above, taking notes on the iPad Pro is a huge step forward for my note taking. Now that I have the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, I plan to take another pass through note taking apps. I’ll update here if anything changes.