We’re overwhelmed by information. How do we track all of this information?

In our jobs, at school, in the news, on Facebook, LinkedIn, when talking to friends. More and more I find myself receiving cool tidbits of info that I want to save & remember, or save and lookup later.

I recently stumbled upon the second brain movement online. Essentially, people spend time organizing everything in their life via apps like Notion, and other things that have surprising names like Obsidian.

I haven’t tried any of these. Spending 10 minutes learning about this concept of the “second brain”, I realized I already do this to a degree, however, I don’t spend any more time than is necessary to maintain it. The information in my notes serves me and helps me to be more productive. The information is there for me to use, search, and access whenever I need it.

So I choose to go the simple route. The app serves me, has just enough features, and I’ve never had to migrate or spend time mindlessly organizing stuff for the sake of moving bits around.

Which is the best app for keeping notes?

Simplenote!

But seriously – have you ever used the Notepad on your phone? The yellow icon, kind of boring, doesn’t seem to do much at first.

It starts with list making, and quickly expands to ideas, thoughts, quotes, lists, to-do items, goals, plans, etc. You keep track of artists you’d like to hear, and one full of your favorite quotes. Before you know it you have to scroll two or three times to reach the bottom of each note in your app – and that’s a lot of data… data that is personal to you, and that you wouldn’t be thrilled to lose.

Need a great alternative to that but aren’t quite ready for Evernote? My recommendation is to download Simplenote, which can be found on the app store or online at https://app.simplenote.com/signin.

Created by Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress, Simplenote, in the name itself, is an advertisement of truth. It actually is so simple, making for ease of use and speed when writing or creating.

Possessing a resemblance to like the yellow notepad app that comes standard on the iPhone, additional features of Simplenote include syncing across all of your devices. Stored in the cloud, and you can access your work from any browser on any computer or device.

I commonly check the notes I take on my phone, on my computer. Its great. When I’m on the go, I have a place to write down great information so that I don’t forget it. Once I’m at work or at my computer, I can easily view and edit those notes at my keyboard – whether that means turning them into a blog post, or checking off items on my to do list.

I’m excited to see if the app ever incorporates plug-ins.