Something i have added to my phone is a "appened note" shortcut. Its on my home row and it allows me to type the idea or thing first then send it to my notes, work tasks reminder list or my ideas list. It asks follow up questions depending on where I put it but it has completely changed the way I orgianze my idea and keep track of tasks. Adding something like that could fit in perfectly with your notes.
I did the same thing this year! I switched fully to Mac after 10+ years of professional career with Windows (3D, Motion Graphics, Film Editing, etc). I'm very happy. Blender, Davinci Resolve and all other programs I use run perfectly fine on Mac! Love it.
btw I just recently made my own first short film with a very low budget. It's on my channel - called Rose! If anyone wants to check it out, I would love to hear your feedbacks/critiques. 🤓
I wish I can do that, but as an architect I use softwares like 3dsmax and Lumion aren’t compatible with macOS. I tried using blender it’s really an amazing software but when it comes to arch. Viz nothing beats 3dsmax “yet”.
I love how the tech community spent years and years convincing everyone they needed ever more complex note taking apps to organize the same stuff we organized on a literal sheet of paper. Only to come full circle and start to tell people to just use a simple note taking app like Apple notes and keep it simple…I feel like 90% of people only went to the complex apps is because of the tech content creators
Well and because a lot of our jobs went that way too. We were forced to use more and more tools that we were kinda forced to figure out if one more app would bring it all together
Well, Apple Notes isn't so simple any more. That's part of it. I came to Apple Notes from Evernote, and until recently, it could not have substituted well.
I ran into this after finishing school and winded down the side-hustles that I used to try to make soooome money during that time. I went from big Notion setups for each course, notes (including scanned pdfs of everything handwritten, code snippets, LaTex), labs, assignments, to-dos, external resources all meticulously organized, separate databases for photography work, tracking Uber stuff (I drove for Uber as well), fancy calendar apps to keep track of the dozen+ calendars I used for everything, "getting things done" apps, mail apps to juggle too many e-mail accounts... then I graduated, got a normal job, and... I realized Notion and all the other infrastructure served me well before, but, I really didn't need any of it anymore. Work-related stuff lives in work systems (Jira and stuff), and personal stuff is pretty much just all just stock Apple stuff (notes, calendar, reminders). Done.
I've struggled mightily with Notion as well. Spent a few hundred dollars on templates that looked awesome but were more confusing than my brain could handle. I've always used Apple Notes as a quick dumping ground for ideas and written there a lot. Only recently have I started to try to organize it in a PARA structure to be more organized. Thanks for the great ideas!
Man this made me feel so much better, I have tried to use Notion so much for like 4 years, always setting it up and never using it. Frustrating! And I am ALWAYS using apple notes (although without any folders...) so now I'm gonna just organise my Apple Notes and create folders and be happy. Also the emotion you showed when talking about finally having space in your drives...I felt you on that one haha
I’ve been a deep Notion user but I always lose my notes or forget about them. I have so much in my Notion but it never really gets used to begin with in the way I’d want it. Notion gives the temptation that you could make it better when it doesn’t work. I think Notion works better for publishing and sharing content to others easily.
That slack sound triggered me 😂 I love this video! I’ve recently started to use Notion for my hobby game dev project, I am trying to keep it simple so I actually use it. I only use it for documents and todo lists. And those todo lists are very simple: A page for collection of tasks, and tasks are just simple todo items with checkboxes. I am using a kanban board to divide backlog, in progress, doing and done. And those are divided by priority, highest ones are on top. For my life, I am using the Apple Reminders app. It is so powerful and simple with groups, tags, smart lists etc. I can also add tasks easily with Siri. I can’t wait for AI so I can say stuff like “remind me to get cat food today. no actually add that to groceries list and remind me tomorrow afternoon”. I am not a native English speaker and this will help me tremendously.
I used to be a hard-core Evernote user but switched over to Apple Notes in January 2023 and haven’t looked back. And in May of this year I photographed and produced a massive production that we shot over four days in Texas that required 10 talent, multiple locations/productions/catering/travel for crew, etc., and my producer in Los Angeles and myself on the East Coast used Apple Notes to work together and it was perfect. Loved how we could see updates in real time when someone was in it as well as color-coded on who was working/updating the documents. I’m all in on Apple Notes.
I actually really liked that you talked about the private part of your life that made you change the Note App. I think that in this way you managed yo explain and give a suggestion to someone in similar situation! It's not just a basic review of both apps listing the features, but rather talking about using these in real life! loved it!
There is something so right about the family vibes that you have going on with your channel. Not knocking the non-children types. It just feels...like that the world needs more of.
I love your videos, they're always super helpful, high quality and inspiring. I've been following your channel and your journey for a loooong time now and I've learned so much about content creation and just life stuff from you. You're actually the reason why I realized I have ADHD. Thank you so much for sharing your life and tips like this
I started with notes years ago and never tried anything else. It worked and that’s what matters. Having personal and professional in one place is handy.
Sarah you should definitely make more videos about being a creative and a parent at the same time!!! It is such a valuable subject that I don't think is talk about enough 😅
This felt like a self-reflection! I find myself shifting my practice every couple of years, mostly because of the overflow of information and the impact on efficiency. Currently I am using Apple Notes, but I am moving towards separating both work and personal goals. I find myself struggling to keep up and sometimes confused because I can’t find something.
After 13 years and 8 GB of using notes i've just switched to notion, and love it lol. I couldn't even find yesterdays work in my notes anymore, but you seem well organized enough to handle it.
that’s actually one of the best videos about productivity that doesn’t compromise on personal life that I’ve seen for a loooooooong time, on a channel that’s not about that at all 😊 great video 😊
I love making notes of ideas that I see, hear or that fall into my mind in Apple Notes, there is no better place. Notion on the other hand is not very good at that but it helps me to have a template so I don't forget anything while I'm already developing the complete idea, so I don't forget the structure, or mention this or that. I think you've done a great job that you've already evolved to not needing those reminders, it's great, a complete system!
was about to start learning notion... and this saved me hours and hours, cuz it made me realise that - for what I wanna do, notion is not required. Apple notes are sufficient! Thanks
Before Notion I was a lot more effective using Apple Notes as my second brain ngl. You've planted a seed in my head with this video. Maybe is time to go back to simple
I was looking into notion, and love that this video popped up. I've been an Apple Notes and recently a Reminders girlie. I think I'm going to stick with those and keep it simple.
So proud of you for slowing down and reorganizing your life in more ways than one! Tbh I didn’t know you could make your Apple notes into folders lol my notes are about to be way more organized!! 😅
I love your videos, they’re so personable, and conversational. Something I’m trying to naturally portray on my recently new channel. Learning a lot. You’re so engaging. Super great and totally agree with simplifying life! STOP - GO SLOW - & FIGURE THINGS OUT! Love it ❤
This was super helpful, as I've been trying to eliminate my creation/organizational pain points. Simplicity is key. I fully live in the ADHD OS category. It's nice to know I'm not alone. Thanks for this!
I've used Notes for everything for the last few years. It does almost everything I need and keeps getting better every year. I do wish they'd up the utility of the Tables to make them more like Numbers Lite. I use their tables all the time, but want them to be more like a mini spreadsheet. The real time linking between the iPhone, iPad, Mac is what really helps. Also need them to bring it to the Apple Watch.
Great video! Funny enough, I feel my problem is the opposite. As a passionate creative, but a procrastinating admin guy, when I can't find a piece of admin information easily, it's almost guaranteed I will never send off an email to someone who needs the info until I find 1-2 hours of free time. I procastinate because I have to deep dive into all my emails, notes, call logs. I understand you're putting all of that in one note, but as a music producer, a database is really the best way to organize things so I can easily find all the music I can give to Doja Cat or all the Rnb Songs, or all the publishing info to give to the label. Thanks for helping me rethink my system. I'm even more confident in it now. Cheers!
I think this works for you now bc you have done it for years. Yes, a notion table or a template might seem complicated but it helps to help think of everything. Really happy for you to go the easier route and simplifying stuff!
I absolutely loved this!! I have been on and off with Notion. I really love how feature rich it is and just like you mentioned for us ADHD OS folks (lol) the learning, and getting into it is like so exciting but then going along and keeping up with it is where things start to and eventually get overwhelming. Definitely still love Notion for team projects and keeping things organized/accessbile to all team members but day to day I can see it being not that beneficial. I have found some use in using Todoist app, like I capture my thoughts and organize it over there with timings and schedules etc. but overall yeah since I can't use Apple Notes as universally (Android/Windows) I have to have an alternative and I feel Todoist helps with that. Also, just really loved seeing the whole family together (especially baby) I swear my eyes swelled up so much lol
Hi sara😊, I really appreciate your reviews on note-taking apps and your deep insights into what makes a great app. I’m working on a new note-taking application and would love to get your thoughts on a few key aspects. If you have a moment, could you share your perspective on these? 1. What are the biggest complaints users have with existing note-taking apps (latency, performance, features, or usability)? 2. What features do users actually want but don’t get in most note-taking apps? 3. Would users pay for a better note-taking app? If yes, what features would make them subscribe? 4. How do current top-performing note-taking apps optimize performance and responsiveness? 5. What’s the biggest challenge in launching a new note-taking app today? If you're available, I’d love to discuss this in more detail. Your insights would be incredibly valuable in shaping something truly useful for users. Thanks in advance for your time! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
The speed and the ability to use it without the internet, and also the automatic synchronization after reconnecting to the internet, are great. I love the simple way Apple Notes works.
Never knew how much I resonated with this until watching this all the way through and realizing how much time I spent setting up a tool rather than using it.
Totally agree with you vision, sometime "less is better" even more when we talk about productivity. I think that Notion and Obsidian where highly pushed by youtuber and other "productivity guru" into the main stream as the final solution to all the problems when in reality they are just database, that said they're not bad software, but the core idea that people usually don't get immeditaly is that: Your tool will not make you better or more productive. Sometimes it's just better to jot down thoughts on paper or in a simple Apple Note and just do the work. Maybe what usually lacks is just "doing the work" and not tryng to look pretty or superorganized. Less is more.
This sounds great. As a Pro that you are you covered a lot of info very quickly. This seems really simple but for beginner types it is a lot of bullet points that seem a little overwhelming. If you did and all day video showing actual use of Notes and Things 3? It would be easier to understand the decision process. This could be a real useful tools for people with PTSD who need a simple way to organize there shattered lives thank you Sara Glad to hear you are doing much better and congratulations on your new child.
Thank you for this video. Firstly I felt guilty of falling out of love with Notion. I feel less guilty in choosing the simpler route than you for that Sara. I was thinking about moving back to Apple Notes for a long time and you just hit the nail on the head for me about making the decision to move back to Apple Notes because of its simplicity and good features. I don't need a complicated system to survive or function.
yeah been through so many notes apps and complex systems. lately i've been using bear but thinking of going back to apple notes. with the apple pencil and the ipad it's great. love the new features this year especially colored text.
Hey peachy, I love Apple ecosystem and you forgot about Reminders?! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! Give it a try! I also used to use Notion and I still am sometimes because I have a lot of stuff on there to be honest with you... but I also weasel my way into notes, reminders, and Apple calendar!!! I love the Reminders because me and my wife has a shopping list that we share and it's sync between us, and I have a must do list in reminders too. and all of them are new features in you haven't checked them out in a while. Love your work. hugs from NYC
As someone who has a baby on the way, this was an extremely useful video and refreshing take on using tech while managing a busy life. Thank you and all the best to you and your family!
Commenting this at the start of the video - I had a sick Notion doc going for the last year of my gaming documentation. There was a bunch of toggle lists, check box lists, a huge table of the games/studios/genres/hours played/misc other details and notes hyperlinks while I was playing something about every game I played and eventually it just so overwhelming to maintain that it felt like it look away from gaming enjoyment so I recently stopped that and just have a super simple notes page on my phone.
I liked the video; but I loved you showing your family. Sometimes content consumers forget that creators have other obligations and these are the driving force behind their content. Gorgeous little girl by the way❣
I might go the same route... I gave Notion the old college try, but it's overly complex for what I need it to be. I downloaded a free "PARA" template, which was fine, but it just all felt too messy, too many clicks to get to simply things done; or to find them again later. Maybe I will try and do Reminders (for Tasks) and Notes for long form content. I think it also helps that I went to an iPhone after MANY years in the Android ecosystem, so now I can embrace what Apple has to offer.
i feel the exact same way! everything is so unnecessarily complicated for what it is, i hate to use notion. maybe it get's better with time when you eventually get used to it but quite frankly i don't want to "waste" my time getting used to it. and that comes from a programmer who doesn't mind complicated things and does enjoy using linux (also a notoriously complicated topic😅)
Great video! I love that you are mostly using Apple Notes these days as that is what I'm doing as well in my personal life. Unfortunately being an educator I work in a district that is NOT apple oriented so I'm still using OneNote and Google to organize my work stuff. I've simplified and streamlined my freelance writing and projects outside of work within Apple Notes and Apple ecosystem but still struggling to do that in windows with work...that's one of my big goals for the new year is to get my work stuff better organized.
This video is so good. I've been subbed and known of you for years, and just so happened to be trying to organize simplify my digital life. So crazy how much I related to what you were talking about lol great vid
It works well on video ideas and changing the sponsorships of each brand and hiring new employees so that way you will share the hardware and creating a video project
Fascinating. I also bounce between a single/simple place to put everything (and HOPE my memory and keyword search is good) and over organised notes where capture and recall is complex. It needs to be in the middle
Another power tip. You use Apple Reminders as a Kanban board and then link your Apple Note from the card. That way you can script/plan a video and have the link in Apple Reminders to track where in the recording stage it's up to.
This is something I have been working on for a while - a digital de-clutter. It will take time but its difficult to sometimes just let go of an app right away which then moving onto something else leads to duplication! I use Things 3, I only use iOS and Windows so not ideal. Oh the inbox shouldnt be for things you do someday- thats what Someday is for :)
I use both Notion and Notes, and I feel notes is just Notion but without the database features and other complex features. I use Notes for fast "I need to write this down", where notion is for project organization. Also I love Tiago Forte's PARA method. Organizing notes has never been easier for me.
OMG, this was the video that I needed! Not about using Apple Notes part, but more about reasons why to not use Notion. For about a year after I started my current job as a SOC Engineer, I’ve been using Microsoft To Do and OneNote, so I can keep my ADHD head organized for the most part (but, unfortunately, social anxiety and other mental issues are still keeping me away from actually developing some sort of interest in something). And it has so far been pretty good. Yep, that makes me more tied to the Microsoft ecosystem (cause I use Windows on my computers, both work and personal), but it is probably one of the alternatives if you want cross compatibility between different platforms and devices and don’t want the complexity of an app such as Notion.
4:24 Absolutely. This is why I also recently started simplifying my life. I’m not a total minimalist (which I don’t care to be) but I’m really understanding the value of less is more. I don’t think it’s wrong to have a very detailed routine with your work and life but I just realized at one point that adding unnecessary steps to very simple tasks is not efficient lol. I also think it’s because we compare ourselves to how “better” someone else is at being organized and we want to instantly imitate that type of behavior. However, this is wrong because we all have our own unique way of being productive. Everything isn’t for everybody. I’ve learned to be honest with myself and realized that I do get easily overwhelmed so making a very detailed routine for work and life is NOT a good idea.
Thanks my Peach! Love from Costa Rica. You will be a great mother!! Aiming at mental health is the best to do! This helped me a lot. I wanted to enter the Notion rabbit hole and I won’t!!
Wish I could keep up with you but I like the rhythm anyway. At 70 and still working, I take notes on a couple of e-ink devices, Element Note or directly in Apple Notes but then combine them all in Apple Notes. Todos, reminders etc go into the Calendar App, which links back to Google calendar. And I still forget stuff. Hopeless but making the best of it.
First of all , congrats for this clip and the enthusiasm you transmit, I totally agree that Apple Notes is powerful immediate and easy to use …and it is wonderful if used with the new iPad Pro M4
I figured it out! Settings > Appearance > togle the switch next to "Allow Wallpaper Tinting in Windows" The only problem with this is that the dominant color of the wallpaper you use has to be the color that you want the tinting to be.
@@maloreally thanks for sharing. I had a funny suspicion that might be the game. I will have to check this out when I’m back on my laptop. However, what about the yellow folder colors and hover bar? That’s a result of the background as well?
I have been loving the concept of Apple Notes as it is a way to solidify my ideas. Notion makes me feel like I'm outsourcing things too much to the point where I end up losing control of what I need to do.
Apple notes are just a copy of OneNote there havbbe been existing for 20 years ... same look same functions ,.... anyway she is a content creator and might get more money to change directions ... now when she already have a fully setup in Notion. then not much more she can do there lolz
I do use notion, but I literally just have a folder called to-do, and its just one long checklist, I write shit in there and just organize it based on priority to the top - when done, I push them into a separate folder called "archive", and thats it. I have another tab next to it, which is just "long term" and that one is just for stuff that I like to remind myself of often. It's super easy, exactly because I found the same frustration - if I can't open it and jot it down, it sucks and I don't use it. That said, I stay in notion because I love how tactile it is, and how easy it feels to move stuff around.
I don't know how I got here xD but I agree with simplifying the digital tools. As a Google Suite user, I love Google Keep for my notes. Some people don't like the interface, but it works for me. The tags, the search tool, the post-it like interface, that I can start writing my notes from any browser or my phone (Android user). I switched to a Chromebook for work about a year ago and love the Google ecosystem. It works for me, and I don't waste time learning and setting up complex tools.
girl, that way that you and me are the same! lol i tried everything and now im just sticking with regular apple notes, or just real physical notebook notes, they are simoly the best and most effective way to study, document ideas and to work
Hahaha the outro 😂 the passing of the torture, new era Sara was like “naw we post when we post”. I love apple notes and being able to have everything linked through iCloud is clutch
great video that hit home with all the shiny object syndrome! I gotta try that simplifying technique as well. And congrats on becoming mama!!! A heck of a ride! :)
As a notion cultist, how dare you. As an ADHD person, I totally get it. and i think you nailed it with the solo/colab use cases. notion is not awesome for free form use cases. its the best solution builder, its the best platform to systematize something and build it out from there.
randomly got recommended this video, which ended up being a great advertisement for your channel great timing too since I'm thinking of getting a Sony camera soon and you have a guide on it, thank you!
I'm in the same camp of switching back to native notes (also having switched to Mac primarily since a year). Then again I just discovered Obsidian and damn, it looks like a nice notes app 🤣
Thanks for this Sara. Question: You were speaking so fast in talking about the new To Do app you are using. I couldn't make it out. Is it called Think?
Excellent Video!!! I always preferred the simpler option focusing on digital minimalism coz if you make a complex system you tend to forget or have a reduction in terms of transferring what's in the mind as we'll be spending time in finding the folder in which it needs to be. Many often then not my ideas used to be kinda grey as it would be overlapping multiple folders. So i stopped doing it and started using apple notes and reminders and make things simpler. It is working wonders for me. But only hiccup which i have is to have a single system to have both work and life in the same place. With my work the only thing which can do that is One Note. Do you have any tips / tricks for it to be used in both iPhone and Windows laptop?
Thank you for sharing your ideas on Notion and sorting them out faster than using Notion. I have ADHD, too, and I'd like your workflow idea in this video. The only thing Notion is suitable for right now is an AI bookmark database system that helps offload unusual bookmarks of interest from my web browse and Snipo for documenting great videos on TH-cam, Vimeo, or Coursera in Notion.
Awesome video Sara. I'm in the same spot with simplifying Live stream setups. I had way TOO much GEAR...My last video was all about just using 3 pieces of gear to do a show by the beach.
I feel somewhat in the same boat. My life is also frantic as I’m halfway through my engineering honours degree now and the joy of stripping back to just using Apple Notes too, and a good old notebook to jot down ideas and to do lists😂
Something i have added to my phone is a "appened note" shortcut. Its on my home row and it allows me to type the idea or thing first then send it to my notes, work tasks reminder list or my ideas list. It asks follow up questions depending on where I put it but it has completely changed the way I orgianze my idea and keep track of tasks. Adding something like that could fit in perfectly with your notes.
Love that!!!
Shortcuts is something I think I am underrating (or intimidated by) that I need to look into. Great idea.
Oh yeah Shortcuts are awesome! I use them for a bunch of things. Thanks for the reminder!
Power move! Stealing it. Thanks Ryan!
This sounds so useful! Do you have a pointer how to set that shortcut up?
Every time Sara says something like "sorry if that was longwinded" or "no one care about this" I'm like NO this is exactly the content I want!
Same
Same. Breathes soul into the videos.
literally
REAL
I agree with the above
I did the same thing this year! I switched fully to Mac after 10+ years of professional career with Windows (3D, Motion Graphics, Film Editing, etc). I'm very happy. Blender, Davinci Resolve and all other programs I use run perfectly fine on Mac! Love it.
btw I just recently made my own first short film with a very low budget. It's on my channel - called Rose! If anyone wants to check it out, I would love to hear your feedbacks/critiques. 🤓
I wish I can do that, but as an architect I use softwares like 3dsmax and Lumion aren’t compatible with macOS. I tried using blender it’s really an amazing software but when it comes to arch. Viz nothing beats 3dsmax “yet”.
i feel like im growing with you. thank you for continuing to make videos & being so vulnerable, it helps me feel human
I love how the tech community spent years and years convincing everyone they needed ever more complex note taking apps to organize the same stuff we organized on a literal sheet of paper. Only to come full circle and start to tell people to just use a simple note taking app like Apple notes and keep it simple…I feel like 90% of people only went to the complex apps is because of the tech content creators
Well and because a lot of our jobs went that way too. We were forced to use more and more tools that we were kinda forced to figure out if one more app would bring it all together
Happens in the fitness industry as well 😂
Well, Apple Notes isn't so simple any more. That's part of it. I came to Apple Notes from Evernote, and until recently, it could not have substituted well.
I ran into this after finishing school and winded down the side-hustles that I used to try to make soooome money during that time. I went from big Notion setups for each course, notes (including scanned pdfs of everything handwritten, code snippets, LaTex), labs, assignments, to-dos, external resources all meticulously organized, separate databases for photography work, tracking Uber stuff (I drove for Uber as well), fancy calendar apps to keep track of the dozen+ calendars I used for everything, "getting things done" apps, mail apps to juggle too many e-mail accounts... then I graduated, got a normal job, and... I realized Notion and all the other infrastructure served me well before, but, I really didn't need any of it anymore. Work-related stuff lives in work systems (Jira and stuff), and personal stuff is pretty much just all just stock Apple stuff (notes, calendar, reminders). Done.
Finally, someone said it! People spend more time setting up their Notion home screen than actually using it to organise their workflow.
Yesssss. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID
so true
if you need less time to organize after you created the system you did a good job
Facts, never liked notion
@@petergg9096 So true.
I've struggled mightily with Notion as well. Spent a few hundred dollars on templates that looked awesome but were more confusing than my brain could handle. I've always used Apple Notes as a quick dumping ground for ideas and written there a lot. Only recently have I started to try to organize it in a PARA structure to be more organized. Thanks for the great ideas!
I also use PARA method. :)
Man this made me feel so much better, I have tried to use Notion so much for like 4 years, always setting it up and never using it. Frustrating!
And I am ALWAYS using apple notes (although without any folders...) so now I'm gonna just organise my Apple Notes and create folders and be happy.
Also the emotion you showed when talking about finally having space in your drives...I felt you on that one haha
As someone who struggles with ADHD and was overwhelmed from Notion, this video comes for a perfect time. Thanks Sara :)
"as someone"
I’ve been a deep Notion user but I always lose my notes or forget about them. I have so much in my Notion but it never really gets used to begin with in the way I’d want it.
Notion gives the temptation that you could make it better when it doesn’t work. I think Notion works better for publishing and sharing content to others easily.
That slack sound triggered me 😂 I love this video! I’ve recently started to use Notion for my hobby game dev project, I am trying to keep it simple so I actually use it. I only use it for documents and todo lists. And those todo lists are very simple: A page for collection of tasks, and tasks are just simple todo items with checkboxes. I am using a kanban board to divide backlog, in progress, doing and done. And those are divided by priority, highest ones are on top.
For my life, I am using the Apple Reminders app. It is so powerful and simple with groups, tags, smart lists etc. I can also add tasks easily with Siri. I can’t wait for AI so I can say stuff like “remind me to get cat food today. no actually add that to groceries list and remind me tomorrow afternoon”. I am not a native English speaker and this will help me tremendously.
I used to be a hard-core Evernote user but switched over to Apple Notes in January 2023 and haven’t looked back. And in May of this year I photographed and produced a massive production that we shot over four days in Texas that required 10 talent, multiple locations/productions/catering/travel for crew, etc., and my producer in Los Angeles and myself on the East Coast used Apple Notes to work together and it was perfect. Loved how we could see updates in real time when someone was in it as well as color-coded on who was working/updating the documents. I’m all in on Apple Notes.
I actually really liked that you talked about the private part of your life that made you change the Note App. I think that in this way you managed yo explain and give a suggestion to someone in similar situation! It's not just a basic review of both apps listing the features, but rather talking about using these in real life! loved it!
Agreed. I enjoy hearing context and *why* someone does/did something, so her explaining what led to this change was lovely for me!
Productivity Dietschy content on a Monday is always welcome!!🔥
There is something so right about the family vibes that you have going on with your channel. Not knocking the non-children types. It just feels...like that the world needs more of.
Awesome video Sara! I’ve been thinking about this stuff a lot lately. My ADHD is killing me and I need to simplify my workflow.
I love your videos, they're always super helpful, high quality and inspiring. I've been following your channel and your journey for a loooong time now and I've learned so much about content creation and just life stuff from you. You're actually the reason why I realized I have ADHD. Thank you so much for sharing your life and tips like this
I started with notes years ago and never tried anything else. It worked and that’s what matters. Having personal and professional in one place is handy.
Wow, I can’t believe how much this resonates with me!
Sarah you should definitely make more videos about being a creative and a parent at the same time!!! It is such a valuable subject that I don't think is talk about enough 😅
This felt like a self-reflection! I find myself shifting my practice every couple of years, mostly because of the overflow of information and the impact on efficiency. Currently I am using Apple Notes, but I am moving towards separating both work and personal goals. I find myself struggling to keep up and sometimes confused because I can’t find something.
After 13 years and 8 GB of using notes i've just switched to notion, and love it lol. I couldn't even find yesterdays work in my notes anymore, but you seem well organized enough to handle it.
Who else wants to see Sara take us through the video training, editing training, and video SOP notes?
that’s actually one of the best videos about productivity that doesn’t compromise on personal life that I’ve seen for a loooooooong time, on a channel that’s not about that at all 😊 great video 😊
I love making notes of ideas that I see, hear or that fall into my mind in Apple Notes, there is no better place. Notion on the other hand is not very good at that but it helps me to have a template so I don't forget anything while I'm already developing the complete idea, so I don't forget the structure, or mention this or that. I think you've done a great job that you've already evolved to not needing those reminders, it's great, a complete system!
was about to start learning notion... and this saved me hours and hours, cuz it made me realise that - for what I wanna do, notion is not required. Apple notes are sufficient! Thanks
Before Notion I was a lot more effective using Apple Notes as my second brain ngl. You've planted a seed in my head with this video. Maybe is time to go back to simple
I honestly don’t think notion is the best for being a “second brain”. I think where it shines is professional collaboration and team wikis 🔑
Simple is always better
I was looking into notion, and love that this video popped up. I've been an Apple Notes and recently a Reminders girlie. I think I'm going to stick with those and keep it simple.
So proud of you for slowing down and reorganizing your life in more ways than one! Tbh I didn’t know you could make your Apple notes into folders lol my notes are about to be way more organized!! 😅
Certified Notion Consultant here 👋🏼 I 10000% agree with this video.
I love your videos, they’re so personable, and conversational. Something I’m trying to naturally portray on my recently new channel. Learning a lot. You’re so engaging. Super great and totally agree with simplifying life! STOP - GO SLOW - & FIGURE THINGS OUT! Love it ❤
This was super helpful, as I've been trying to eliminate my creation/organizational pain points. Simplicity is key. I fully live in the ADHD OS category. It's nice to know I'm not alone. Thanks for this!
The pull the hoodie strings when you said about stress had me 😂
I've used Notes for everything for the last few years. It does almost everything I need and keeps getting better every year.
I do wish they'd up the utility of the Tables to make them more like Numbers Lite. I use their tables all the time, but want them to be more like a mini spreadsheet.
The real time linking between the iPhone, iPad, Mac is what really helps. Also need them to bring it to the Apple Watch.
Great video! Funny enough, I feel my problem is the opposite. As a passionate creative, but a procrastinating admin guy, when I can't find a piece of admin information easily, it's almost guaranteed I will never send off an email to someone who needs the info until I find 1-2 hours of free time. I procastinate because I have to deep dive into all my emails, notes, call logs. I understand you're putting all of that in one note, but as a music producer, a database is really the best way to organize things so I can easily find all the music I can give to Doja Cat or all the Rnb Songs, or all the publishing info to give to the label. Thanks for helping me rethink my system. I'm even more confident in it now. Cheers!
I think this works for you now bc you have done it for years. Yes, a notion table or a template might seem complicated but it helps to help think of everything. Really happy for you to go the easier route and simplifying stuff!
Mama Dietschy is a different woman! It’s the first video I seen of yours in awhile! Congrats on the baby! 🥳🥳🥳Been a fan for years
I absolutely loved this!! I have been on and off with Notion. I really love how feature rich it is and just like you mentioned for us ADHD OS folks (lol) the learning, and getting into it is like so exciting but then going along and keeping up with it is where things start to and eventually get overwhelming. Definitely still love Notion for team projects and keeping things organized/accessbile to all team members but day to day I can see it being not that beneficial.
I have found some use in using Todoist app, like I capture my thoughts and organize it over there with timings and schedules etc. but overall yeah since I can't use Apple Notes as universally (Android/Windows) I have to have an alternative and I feel Todoist helps with that.
Also, just really loved seeing the whole family together (especially baby) I swear my eyes swelled up so much lol
Hi sara😊,
I really appreciate your reviews on note-taking apps and your deep insights into what makes a great app. I’m working on a new note-taking application and would love to get your thoughts on a few key aspects. If you have a moment, could you share your perspective on these?
1. What are the biggest complaints users have with existing note-taking apps (latency, performance, features, or usability)?
2. What features do users actually want but don’t get in most note-taking apps?
3. Would users pay for a better note-taking app? If yes, what features would make them subscribe?
4. How do current top-performing note-taking apps optimize performance and responsiveness?
5. What’s the biggest challenge in launching a new note-taking app today?
If you're available, I’d love to discuss this in more detail. Your insights would be incredibly valuable in shaping something truly useful for users.
Thanks in advance for your time! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
The speed and the ability to use it without the internet, and also the automatic synchronization after reconnecting to the internet, are great. I love the simple way Apple Notes works.
Yep we use Apple Notes for everything and have shared notes across the team members that need them. So easy
Still my favorite era of this channel. I love the real takes and going slower to go further in life AND creative work. Bravo.
Never knew how much I resonated with this until watching this all the way through and realizing how much time I spent setting up a tool rather than using it.
That mom life is really hittin and I’m here for it 12:07
Totally agree with you vision, sometime "less is better" even more when we talk about productivity. I think that Notion and Obsidian where highly pushed by youtuber and other "productivity guru" into the main stream as the final solution to all the problems when in reality they are just database, that said they're not bad software, but the core idea that people usually don't get immeditaly is that: Your tool will not make you better or more productive. Sometimes it's just better to jot down thoughts on paper or in a simple Apple Note and just do the work.
Maybe what usually lacks is just "doing the work" and not tryng to look pretty or superorganized. Less is more.
This sounds great. As a Pro that you are you covered a lot of info very quickly. This seems really simple but for beginner types it is a lot of bullet points that seem a little overwhelming. If you did and all day video showing actual use of Notes and Things 3? It would be easier to understand the decision process. This could be a real useful tools for people with PTSD who need a simple way to organize there shattered lives thank you Sara
Glad to hear you are doing much better and congratulations on your new child.
Thank you for this video. Firstly I felt guilty of falling out of love with Notion. I feel less guilty in choosing the simpler route than you for that Sara. I was thinking about moving back to Apple Notes for a long time and you just hit the nail on the head for me about making the decision to move back to Apple Notes because of its simplicity and good features. I don't need a complicated system to survive or function.
yeah been through so many notes apps and complex systems. lately i've been using bear but thinking of going back to apple notes. with the apple pencil and the ipad it's great. love the new features this year especially colored text.
I think you just helped me decide to just keep using apple notes instead of spending 6 months planning to get something done with notion.
This is perfect. I was starting to get overwhelmed setting up notion and didn’t want to do it.
Love it : adhd’s short video is 20min !!! Thanks for your energyy
Hey peachy, I love Apple ecosystem and you forgot about Reminders?! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! Give it a try! I also used to use Notion and I still am sometimes because I have a lot of stuff on there to be honest with you... but I also weasel my way into notes, reminders, and Apple calendar!!! I love the Reminders because me and my wife has a shopping list that we share and it's sync between us, and I have a must do list in reminders too. and all of them are new features in you haven't checked them out in a while. Love your work. hugs from NYC
As someone who has a baby on the way, this was an extremely useful video and refreshing take on using tech while managing a busy life. Thank you and all the best to you and your family!
Commenting this at the start of the video - I had a sick Notion doc going for the last year of my gaming documentation. There was a bunch of toggle lists, check box lists, a huge table of the games/studios/genres/hours played/misc other details and notes hyperlinks while I was playing something about every game I played and eventually it just so overwhelming to maintain that it felt like it look away from gaming enjoyment so I recently stopped that and just have a super simple notes page on my phone.
I liked the video; but I loved you showing your family. Sometimes content consumers forget that creators have other obligations and these are the driving force behind their content.
Gorgeous little girl by the way❣
You opened and unlocked my mind. Thank you Sara.
I might go the same route... I gave Notion the old college try, but it's overly complex for what I need it to be. I downloaded a free "PARA" template, which was fine, but it just all felt too messy, too many clicks to get to simply things done; or to find them again later. Maybe I will try and do Reminders (for Tasks) and Notes for long form content. I think it also helps that I went to an iPhone after MANY years in the Android ecosystem, so now I can embrace what Apple has to offer.
i feel the exact same way! everything is so unnecessarily complicated for what it is, i hate to use notion. maybe it get's better with time when you eventually get used to it but quite frankly i don't want to "waste" my time getting used to it. and that comes from a programmer who doesn't mind complicated things and does enjoy using linux (also a notoriously complicated topic😅)
Great video! I love that you are mostly using Apple Notes these days as that is what I'm doing as well in my personal life. Unfortunately being an educator I work in a district that is NOT apple oriented so I'm still using OneNote and Google to organize my work stuff. I've simplified and streamlined my freelance writing and projects outside of work within Apple Notes and Apple ecosystem but still struggling to do that in windows with work...that's one of my big goals for the new year is to get my work stuff better organized.
This video is so good. I've been subbed and known of you for years, and just so happened to be trying to organize simplify my digital life. So crazy how much I related to what you were talking about lol great vid
It works well on video ideas and changing the sponsorships of each brand and hiring new employees so that way you will share the hardware and creating a video project
Fascinating. I also bounce between a single/simple place to put everything (and HOPE my memory and keyword search is good) and over organised notes where capture and recall is complex. It needs to be in the middle
Another power tip. You use Apple Reminders as a Kanban board and then link your Apple Note from the card. That way you can script/plan a video and have the link in Apple Reminders to track where in the recording stage it's up to.
16:40 Why not use Reminders which does what Things does and is native to your devices?
I was wondering this myself!
@@heyitstayj ditto
Things does some work just a little bit better and some, esp. on the Mac a lot better. To be fair reminders did catch up a little bit with iOS 18.
This is something I have been working on for a while - a digital de-clutter. It will take time but its difficult to sometimes just let go of an app right away which then moving onto something else leads to duplication! I use Things 3, I only use iOS and Windows so not ideal.
Oh the inbox shouldnt be for things you do someday- thats what Someday is for :)
I use both Notion and Notes, and I feel notes is just Notion but without the database features and other complex features. I use Notes for fast "I need to write this down", where notion is for project organization. Also I love Tiago Forte's PARA method. Organizing notes has never been easier for me.
Love all of this advice. Thanks ❤
OMG, this was the video that I needed! Not about using Apple Notes part, but more about reasons why to not use Notion. For about a year after I started my current job as a SOC Engineer, I’ve been using Microsoft To Do and OneNote, so I can keep my ADHD head organized for the most part (but, unfortunately, social anxiety and other mental issues are still keeping me away from actually developing some sort of interest in something). And it has so far been pretty good. Yep, that makes me more tied to the Microsoft ecosystem (cause I use Windows on my computers, both work and personal), but it is probably one of the alternatives if you want cross compatibility between different platforms and devices and don’t want the complexity of an app such as Notion.
4:24 Absolutely. This is why I also recently started simplifying my life. I’m not a total minimalist (which I don’t care to be) but I’m really understanding the value of less is more. I don’t think it’s wrong to have a very detailed routine with your work and life but I just realized at one point that adding unnecessary steps to very simple tasks is not efficient lol. I also think it’s because we compare ourselves to how “better” someone else is at being organized and we want to instantly imitate that type of behavior. However, this is wrong because we all have our own unique way of being productive. Everything isn’t for everybody. I’ve learned to be honest with myself and realized that I do get easily overwhelmed so making a very detailed routine for work and life is NOT a good idea.
this is the best productivity app video i've ever watched
Thanks my Peach! Love from Costa Rica. You will be a great mother!! Aiming at mental health is the best to do! This helped me a lot. I wanted to enter the Notion rabbit hole and I won’t!!
“Millennial parents juggling baby and work” I want this video please! 🙏
Wish I could keep up with you but I like the rhythm anyway. At 70 and still working, I take notes on a couple of e-ink devices, Element Note or directly in Apple Notes but then combine them all in Apple Notes. Todos, reminders etc go into the Calendar App, which links back to Google calendar. And I still forget stuff. Hopeless but making the best of it.
First of all , congrats for this clip and the enthusiasm you transmit, I totally agree that Apple Notes is powerful immediate and easy to use …and it is wonderful if used with the new iPad Pro M4
You should make a video on the Raspberry Pi! It would fit in with your trying out series so well and I think you might have some fun with it.
How did you change the background colour of the sidebar as well as the hover and folder colours? Is there a setting that now allows us to change that?
I have been trying to figure this out as well. If anyone knows, I would love to have an asnwer to this! 🙏
I figured it out! Settings > Appearance > togle the switch next to "Allow Wallpaper Tinting in Windows" The only problem with this is that the dominant color of the wallpaper you use has to be the color that you want the tinting to be.
@@maloreally thanks for sharing. I had a funny suspicion that might be the game. I will have to check this out when I’m back on my laptop. However, what about the yellow folder colors and hover bar? That’s a result of the background as well?
@@Simply_GenX That is set with accent color and highlight color: System Settings > Appearance > Accent Color/Highlight Color
Thanks for the great explanation of Notes! But how did you get the background of your notebooks purple?
I have been loving the concept of Apple Notes as it is a way to solidify my ideas. Notion makes me feel like I'm outsourcing things too much to the point where I end up losing control of what I need to do.
Apple notes are just a copy of OneNote there havbbe been existing for 20 years ... same look same functions ,.... anyway she is a content creator and might get more money to change directions ... now when she already have a fully setup in Notion. then not much more she can do there lolz
I do the same thing, but I use Bear notes. It's very simple to use, but slightly more powerful than Apple notes. Highly recommend it.
I do use notion, but I literally just have a folder called to-do, and its just one long checklist, I write shit in there and just organize it based on priority to the top - when done, I push them into a separate folder called "archive", and thats it. I have another tab next to it, which is just "long term" and that one is just for stuff that I like to remind myself of often. It's super easy, exactly because I found the same frustration - if I can't open it and jot it down, it sucks and I don't use it. That said, I stay in notion because I love how tactile it is, and how easy it feels to move stuff around.
I don't know how I got here xD but I agree with simplifying the digital tools. As a Google Suite user, I love Google Keep for my notes. Some people don't like the interface, but it works for me. The tags, the search tool, the post-it like interface, that I can start writing my notes from any browser or my phone (Android user). I switched to a Chromebook for work about a year ago and love the Google ecosystem. It works for me, and I don't waste time learning and setting up complex tools.
girl, that way that you and me are the same! lol
i tried everything and now im just sticking with regular apple notes, or just real physical notebook notes, they are simoly the best and most effective way to study, document ideas and to work
Hahaha the outro 😂 the passing of the torture, new era Sara was like “naw we post when we post”. I love apple notes and being able to have everything linked through iCloud is clutch
Cool video Sarah have you made anything else cool with the 3-D printer?
I made a cable shortener for the pendant light in one of our rooms 🤓
great video that hit home with all the shiny object syndrome! I gotta try that simplifying technique as well. And congrats on becoming mama!!! A heck of a ride! :)
As a notion cultist, how dare you. As an ADHD person, I totally get it.
and i think you nailed it with the solo/colab use cases. notion is not awesome for free form use cases. its the best solution builder, its the best platform to systematize something and build it out from there.
100%
yup notion is not really for quick to dos. but everything else, i use it a lot. for to-dos i just use apple notes and simplenote
randomly got recommended this video, which ended up being a great advertisement for your channel
great timing too since I'm thinking of getting a Sony camera soon and you have a guide on it, thank you!
I love the ORANGE lighting.❤❤❤❤
I'm in the same camp of switching back to native notes (also having switched to Mac primarily since a year). Then again I just discovered Obsidian and damn, it looks like a nice notes app 🤣
Thanks for this Sara. Question: You were speaking so fast in talking about the new To Do app you are using. I couldn't make it out. Is it called Think?
Excellent Video!!! I always preferred the simpler option focusing on digital minimalism coz if you make a complex system you tend to forget or have a reduction in terms of transferring what's in the mind as we'll be spending time in finding the folder in which it needs to be. Many often then not my ideas used to be kinda grey as it would be overlapping multiple folders. So i stopped doing it and started using apple notes and reminders and make things simpler. It is working wonders for me. But only hiccup which i have is to have a single system to have both work and life in the same place. With my work the only thing which can do that is One Note. Do you have any tips / tricks for it to be used in both iPhone and Windows laptop?
that’s exactly how i felt about notion. it felt like the perfect tool, but it became so overwhelming, and even more of a distraction.
This is exactly why I moved from Notion to Obsidian years ago. Apple notes is very similar!
Obsidian is my thing, platform independent, I can sync it with all my devices on through my own NAS. Works with markdown... Just amazing.
Love this advice! TY. How come you don't use Apple Reminders for To-dos instead of Things App?
Apple notes is great for Todo’s! No need to over complicate it. Notion for long term planning and documentation.
Literally just built a PARA second brain in Notion and I get this video recommended 😂
Thank you for sharing your ideas on Notion and sorting them out faster than using Notion. I have ADHD, too, and I'd like your workflow idea in this video. The only thing Notion is suitable for right now is an AI bookmark database system that helps offload unusual bookmarks of interest from my web browse and Snipo for documenting great videos on TH-cam, Vimeo, or Coursera in Notion.
Awesome video Sara. I'm in the same spot with simplifying Live stream setups. I had way TOO much GEAR...My last video was all about just using 3 pieces of gear to do a show by the beach.
I feel somewhat in the same boat. My life is also frantic as I’m halfway through my engineering honours degree now and the joy of stripping back to just using Apple Notes too, and a good old notebook to jot down ideas and to do lists😂