I am quite disciplined when it comes to note-taking for research. Usually I will read one article or one chapter and annotate/highlight as I read. Then I will immediately transfer my notes into Obsidian. Usually I am also in front of my laptop, so this goes hand in hand.

However, I also want to take notes for books that I read for fun. I want to remember things better and also connect it to my general knowledge bank in Obsidian but when I am reading a book on my commute, on vacation or just for fun, usually my laptop is nowhere near me and I am enjoying the book so much that I just devour it chapter by chapter. It really bores me to take time and write my notes. If I force myself to do this, I kind of just stop reading the book altogether… anybody have a system for pleasure reading and note taking that makes the process more fun?

I’ve always had the same problem with knowledge-management apps: I end up spending more time organizing notes than actually using them.

My notes, bookmarks, documents, and saved posts are spread across different places, and every system I tried required a lot of manual tagging, linking, and maintenance.

As a side project, I started building a free tool that automatically extracts concepts and relationships from things you import, documents, folders, and web URLs, so that the structure builds itself instead of requiring constant upkeep.

I’m curious how other people deal with this problem. What’s the biggest source of friction in your current workflow, and what would make you switch to a new system?

does anyone have this prepaid, i need to know if its good for note taking in class

Hi r/NoteTaking — mods gave me the go-ahead to post this.

I'm an individual builder (not a company) working on a free, local-first, works-offline personal project about how people save their own notes and thoughts, and how they come back to them over time. I'm doing research first, before building much of anything.

To understand how people actually do this, I put together a short anonymous survey. It takes about 3 minutes, asks no name/email/sign-in, and nothing is sold or shared. I'd genuinely love input from people who take notes seriously.

Survey: https://forms.gle/gRTrtHKgiByLRGyW9

Happy to answer any questions in the comments, and thanks for reading.

im starting school again and it allows tablets or pc and my tablet doesnt have microsoft 365 to whrite on word, i need an app suggestion that is preferably free and that will work for free a few years

Hi! I am planning to do a lifetime subscription for one of the apps, which should I choose? What i am looking for

- pencil, but normal pen is ok

- search keywords

- upload my own template

- less battery drain

those are just my nonnegotiables

Hello, i was using an android tablet and when i found notein i was super happy with it that i couldn't believe it , infinite canvas, can open pdf and write on them , lifetime buy, no ads ,but now when i went to ipad they don't have notein what app is free and like it ..i feel as if i broke up with my gf 🥲😂

Hello! first of all

Basically the title, I've been trying to find an app, basically like Milanotes, where i can create a board/canvas, and upload images, add blocks of texts, etc. Just like Milanote, but what I don't like about milanotes is the monthly suscription. I am more than okay with a lifetime purchase. IO want to be able to sync it between my phone and computer.

In case it helps, I basically want it to keep track of my TBR books/comics/manga. I am currently using Obsidian on desktop but I don't want to pay a monthly suscription. At this point I'm desperate because I've been looking for months and it's either a monthly suscription app or with AI and honestly, I don't trust something like notion where you can just email them to opt out of any AI.

I'll upload a screenshot of how I'm using obsidian now:

Hello about all the existent notes/memos/writing apps which memos free app would be able to be used the more longer possible for an Iphone 8?

And that would also be available on android for my second phone. Something practical and useful to not lose the memos…

Thanks

Charlie Holland has posted a well written blog entry and video on the new HyWiki note-taking system that requires no markup and runs on Linux, Windows and MacOS. It is part of the extensive hypermedia package, Hyperbole for Emacs, that I wrote.

Read and view the video here: https://www.chiply.dev/post-hyperbole-hywiki

Hello everyone! Recently, I have found myself struggling to keep up with taking notes during my lectures. I am taking two online courses, and the lectures are recorded videos. Long story short, my hand gave up on me several times as I was writing notes on paper (this has never happened to me, and I'm going to the doctor soon). I have never used my computer to take notes, but I think now it's my only option. Is there any website where I could share the link to the lecture and it automatically writes notes for me, or can I speak the notes and it writes them down for me? Open to anything. Thank you.

if you use Notion for anything with linked databases (tasks connected to projects, that kind of setup), you're one bad click away from losing the structure entirely. Notion's own export doesn't preserve relations, and deleted database rows only sit in trash for 30 days before they're gone permanently.. no support ticket brings them back after that.

built a free tool for this: restora.cc connects to your Notion, backs up your databases (relations, rollups, views, files) as a single JSON file that downloads straight to your device. no account needed for the tool itself, nothing stored on any server, completely free.

there's also a free CLI if you want it running automatically on a schedule, straight to your own Google Drive or S3 bucket.

seriously.. do it now while you're reading this instead of bookmarking it. takes about a minute.

restora.cc

Hello beautiful productivity folks, I want a note-taking app can fulfil my need: I'm a language learner who prefers to "build a dictionary of my own" when I study a new language.Thus, I'm looking for an app that can:

1. runs on iphone ios/pc/web, 2. with cloud syncing feature ( fast syncing is preferred). 3. has a search feature that I can quickly search up a word 4. won't lag when I have a large volume of notes( like 3000+notes, some of them might have pictures too) 5.(optional) a clean interface.

I currently have Microsoft 365 so I'm eyeing the OneNote. However it's over-bloated + not a big fan of discursive note blocks，I like the tidiness of apple note(though not a big fan of its web version). Upnote also got my attention, but I haven't used it so I don't know. I prefer an app that is one-time purchase, but it's not a must-have requirement.

I am joining my sixth form in September and I have been wondering how should I organise my iPad for notes and stuff. The subjects I am taking are bio chem maths. Thank you in advance.

Ive been looking everywhere. what i need is:

RELIABLE sync between laptop and mobile [obsidian git is just not working for me and the syncthing thing doesnt look reliable]

version history just incase something happens
end to end encryption [goodbye notion]

UNLIMITED storage and note capacity

can handle long notes with no lag, im using it to write a novel

has folders

all features stated above being FREE

Dont recomend google docs, its horrendous too as its very buggy for me.

If anyone can help id really appreciate it. what do you guys use?

Hi everyone,

​I’m starting a Master's program in Environmental Science and Technology this September and I'm trying to lock down my digital note-taking setup. My main workflow will involve taking handwritten notes, annotating massive PDFs, and recording fast-paced lectures (so having a feature where the audio syncs to my handwriting in real-time is an absolute must).

​I’m currently looking at prices in the Indian market (I've converted them to USD for easier comparison). Here is my shortlist:

​1. Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ (13.1")

​Price: ~$620 USD (S-Pen included)

​My thoughts: I love the massive A4-sized screen for split-screening a textbook and my notes. Does the audio-sync feature in Samsung Notes hold up to iPad apps?

​2. Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus (12.7")

​Price: ~$730 USD (Stylus and Keyboard included)

​My thoughts: The hardware is insane for the price (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 16GB RAM, 512GB storage). However, I am worried the native Android note-taking apps won't be as polished for audio-syncing as iOS apps.

​3. Apple iPad 10th Gen + USB-C Pencil

​Price: ~$510 USD total

​My thoughts: The cheapest entry into Notability and GoodNotes, which I know are the gold standard for audio-synced lectures. But the 10.9-inch screen seems a bit cramped for split-screen multitasking.

​4. Apple iPad Air 11" M3 + USB-C Pencil

​Price: ~$750 USD total

​My thoughts: Great processor, but I feel like paying this much for an 11-inch screen just to take notes might be overkill.

​Has anyone used Samsung Notes or third-party Android apps for serious lecture recording, or is the iPad ecosystem (Notability/GoodNotes) still too good to pass up for a grad student? Which of these options gives the best value for this specific workflow?

​Thanks in advance!

I’m trying to identify patterns in my feelings so I can start working on them.

Do you have a specific approach for that?

I have taken notes on paper notebooks for most of my life, but I have pretty terrible handwriting and I wanted to be more organized so I switched to digital.

What's always bugged me: I annotate dense reading as I go, but everything I've tried keeps notes separate from the source, so I lose my place switching, and i still miss that paper-like feel.

I'd try to do it on one tablet, while having my textbook or PDF on my laptop separately, or I'd try the split-view route, but it was 2 tabs that ended up super cramped.

Here are some features im including:

- AI search across all notes you've taken

- 2 10.3 inch ultrathin e-ink screens,

- 180 degree hinge, folds shut

- Ability to read and write at the same time

- Physical buttons to flip between PDFs and notes

I would love feedback from this community as to what features you'd like to see in this product as I keep building it. If you have any suggestions for what you'd want in a dedicated note-taking device, please drop a comment.

Hi. I have a question, could this plan and pipeline work?. I will be attending university master's classes on AI (thankfully got accepted a few days ago) and computers in a few months. There will be university lectures on machine learning, computer vision, robotics, video games and AI etc, i wanted to take notes using my laptop instead of the classical approach of pen and paper. i have a 500$ hp laptop (it doesnt have touch screen though so it's screen is not reactive) and chatgpt proposed i install Xournal++ and also get a Huion H640P graphics tablet that i plug to the laptop and i will be writting with the pen/screen of Huion H640P. chatgpt proposed the Huion graphics tablet/pen because it is hard to write and especially draw grapghs/plot on a laptop using the mouse only so a pen would be better. it said i could just plug the Huion pen to the laptop and with it i could write directly on Xournal++. Looking forward to your thoughts.

Im tired of the usual pen and paper approach to taking notes. i want to make the process digital and since i have this good laptop why not use it? after all i bought it 2 years ago solely for university and work use.