This free note-taking hack retains my ideas targeted

I hope there are extra individuals like me on the market who battle to recollect issues. For some motive, I can bear in mind enormous sports activities moments or minute stats that are not useful in actual time. But, I battle to remember daily tasks that want finishing and what to purchase on the grocery retailer even when my spouse informed me 5 minutes earlier than I left.

I’ve had to determine a workaround to assist fight my reminiscence lapses. It was turning into too irritating for me to try to discover a pencil and paper and preserve one thing in my pocket. It simply bought too irritating looking for a pencil and paper, or remembering to hold one thing in my pocket. Writing issues down on my hand felt a little bit ridiculous — nobody needs to stroll round with scribbles throughout their palm. I sometimes have my telephone on me, so I figured that could possibly be a part of the answer. At first, I used the Notes app on my iPhone. I additionally gave Google Preserve a shot. However I discovered I might typically neglect to really open the app and jot issues down.

I simply wished one thing extra environment friendly. Since I exploit a MacBook for private stuff and a PC for work, sticking with an app tied to a selected OS wasn’t preferrred. So I made a decision to maintain it easy: what’s one factor I verify continually on each my telephone and pc, a number of instances a day? My electronic mail. It turned my saving grace.

I turned a necessity right into a power

I am compelled to take a look at my electronic mail all day

Whether or not I am doing work or I am checking my private electronic mail, I am normally taking a look at my electronic mail 15-20 instances per day. After I’m working, my email inbox is at all times open and it not often will get closed on my laptop computer. I get a ton of emails to each my work and private emails on daily basis, so it solely is smart to have it up.

As I’m going about my day, there’s at all times rather a lot on my thoughts. That is why I began counting on one thing that is at all times with me, whether or not I am working or not. I’ve entry to each my work and private emails on my telephone — Gmail for work, the Mail app for private. I’ve simply began utilizing the drafts on both of them for note-taking, which has confirmed to be a protected place for me to retailer my concepts. Gmail does a very good job of rapidly saving a draft after a couple of seconds of writing.

How I exploit each the cell and net variations

First, I prioritize the place I am saving them

It is important for me to both preserve each of my electronic mail accounts open or at the least know precisely which one a word belongs in. Whether or not I am jotting down new story concepts for work, remembering merchandise I might wish to assessment, or including one thing to my grocery listing, I’ve to verify it goes into the appropriate place — work or private. I have a tendency to write down working lists as notes, so I am going to begin every draft with a headline or class on the primary line, then both bullet-point or listing every part beneath it.

Organizing them with a couple of methods

It is not dishonest if it is throughout all platforms

The rationale I exploit Gmail drafts to maintain my notes is as a result of typically I am with out my telephone. If that is the case, I can open my laptop computer and save drafts the place they have to be. But when I am on the go and haven’t got my laptop computer, I can simply use my telephone and nonetheless entry all these saved drafts with out problem.

With a view to preserve them in an orderly style, I do a couple of issues. Typically, I’ll go right into a word and make a small change simply to deliver it again to the highest of my listing. This helps me set up them higher chronologically, particularly if I need to make adjustments to them or simply see them on the high of my listing in a extra accessible method.

It’s also possible to Star drafts, which you’ll not have recognized. Starring an electronic mail in Gmail is straightforward, as you possibly can simply click on the star on the left aspect for those who’re within the browser model. Should you’re on cell within the Gmail app, the star will probably be on the appropriate. From there, you possibly can go into the subset menu for Starred and lookup your entire emails. Any electronic mail that you simply Star will present up right here, so it does not simply should be drafts. They will have a crimson Draft label on the left earlier than the topic line exhibits up, serving to you differentiate between starred emails in your inbox versus drafts.

I wish to Star an important lists and drafts whereas preserving ones which may not be as often utilized in simply common drafts. It is a easy and efficient method to preserve my ideas contained.