I was recommended Notion a couple of times recently, but not Evernote. Never Evernote. Is Notion just the “go-to” for a lot of people? Should I use it instead?

  • @BlinkerFluid@lemmy.mlEnglish
    6•11 months ago

    I write markdown in Nextcloud notes. Does me fine, but most of my notes are mundane reminders, dates and things, not full on projects.

  • @Lemmy_Mouse@lemmygrad.ml
    5•11 months ago

    Personally I would use Libre Office, simply type an entry list of points. It makes it easier to add subjects at any time if your notes expand past your initial planning, and if you need to turn these notes into a presentation later all information is already imported.

      • @redtea@lemmygrad.ml
        3•11 months ago

        In that case, personally, I prefer pen and paper or a straightforward document. I’ve tried using ‘note taking’ software and got nowhere with it. If it helps, my process is roughly as follows…

        On paper, a note book is fine when writing to get to grips with a new topic. I’ll write a page or so about a section/chapter/book/article/etc, as a way of keeping ‘notes’. The final thing could be the first draft of a review of that text.

        Loose sheets (plain or lined) are sometimes better if I’m in the drafting stages of a project, as the sheets can be rearranged or replaced. I get cheap paper for this because I don’t try to fill every sheet. One idea, one sheet. And I use wide margins so that I can annotate, etc, before needing to replace the sheet with a significantly improved draft of that sheet l. When the whole thing is in the right shape, it’s time to type it out in the desired format (paper, essay, audio or video script, etc).

        If I’m using extensive quotes, I’ll go digital unless I only have a physical copy of the book. It’s a lot easier to copy and paste the quotes into a document. I’ll put quotes in smaller font with the left margin indented (sometimes in a different font) to ensure I remember what’s a quote and what’s mine. Then I’ll add my analysis/critique in a short paragraph.

        With texts that I really need to get into, I’ll copy the whole thing into a word document and analyse/critique each paragraph in the same format – but this time, I start with the whole text rather than the odd extract.

        Digitally, I might also create a folder for a project. Inside are two folders, one contains drafts of my notes. One contains all the relevant sources.

        I know there are apps that streamline this process, but (a) I’ve been stung by them before and (b) I find them a bit of a faff.

          • @redtea@lemmygrad.ml
            2•11 months ago

            Hopefully it’s helpful, but I don’t want to give the wrong impression. I don’t do this with everything.

            I usually just read.

            I only go through the above when I want to work something out. That could be because:

            • a particular book is difficult or complex;
            • I want to improve my understanding of the text;
            • I want to do some analysis, criticism, evaluation, or synthesis with the text; or
            • I want to remember part of a text.

            If I really need to understand a text, I’ll have to read the challenging parts at least twice, probably three times, and occasionally more. I find that when I make notes after just one (casual) read, I will later realise (i.e. when I read the text again) that my early notes are terrible and full of misunderstandings. This is why I have a ‘process’ for note-taking.

            I understand that some people make notes about almost everything they read. Maybe that’s the circumstance in which using an app helps? For me, if my notes are descriptive or essentially highlighting key points in the text, I’d rather highlight the text and annotate it in the margins. I might read a section and then go back to the start and summarise it in three to five words. I don’t mind writing in books, though. Pencil only – I’m not a monster.

  • @acabjones@lemmygrad.ml
    4•11 months ago

    I use Markor on android. It just creates plaintext markdown files. I use syncthing to automatically synchronize them to other devices.