Leg spasms to brag docs — how I stay organised with Apple Notes
When people glance over my shoulder at my Apple Notes, they gasp with astonishment. So I thought I’d share a few examples.
Below is a screenshot of Apple Notes on desktop showing my well-organised folders. On the right is my to-do list, which I keep pinned for easy access. I try and have a simple to-do list every day for personal things.
Handily, Apple Notes sync with any Apple device I’m logged into with my Apple ID. From now on, it’s screenshots from my iPhone.
Keeping me and my wife organised
Below left — the shared shopping list for me and my wife, which is the second most-used note after my to do list. And below right — a checklist from my wife while she was away, telling me how not to accidentally kill our cats. We use shared notes a lot.
Storing work-related knowledge
I use my Knowledge section to jot down ideas, examples and inspiration for work. If I’m listening to a podcast while out running and hear something brilliant, I’ll stop and jot down a note so I don’t forget — I’m finding Erika Hall and Lenny’s Podcast particularly full of wisdom at the moment.
I’ll also use Notes for book summaries…
I can’t say I always go back to things I jot down. But I’ve referred to my notes often enough to know it’s helpful.
Conversations, brags and feedback
I use Notes excessively at work to record conversations and details about projects and colleagues. I also keep a ‘brag doc’, which I use to record my feedback and wins. It’s so easy to forget the good stuff — re-reading my brag doc brings me joy and a little confidence boost, particularly helpful in low moments.
I also keep brag / feedback notes for my reports and close colleagues, which is very useful during review cycles. I won’t embarrass them by sharing screenshots.
Life’s little details
Curtain dimensions, NHS number, the correct size of bin liners, what to do in a car crash, my collar size, self-diagnoses of medical conditions… there is no detail too small for me to record in Apple Notes.
The most precious notes of all
When I’m with my parents, I’ll sometimes jot down things they mention about their lives. Otherwise, I’m likely to forget the details. These notes mean a lot to me.
And below are memories (left) and quotes (right) from our daughter, Lottie.
Dear Apple, a feature request…
Search is rudimentary. If I have a note called ‘Christmas gifts’, it won’t come up if I search for ‘Christmas presents’, so I have to jam pack notes with key words.
And often, even if I get the search terms spot on, the note I want appears a few items down the results. I just searched for ‘Content Design book’ and my note called ‘Content Design (Sarah Richards) book summary’ was the 25th result. Better search for Notes please Apple!!
Oh, and custom folder icons, so I can replace the default folder icon with an emoji. Aaaand the ability to delete completed items in a checklist. Thank you.
The iOS 17 update will include linking to other notes, which is a nice addition (and that’s right, I do check to see what Notes updates are coming with the latest iOS — what a nerd).
But Apple, don’t listen to me
Sometimes I wish Notes could do more, like custom fonts and sizes, more pleasing layout and spacing, AI (who doesn’t want AI with everything), and ways to share a note publicly, etc etc. But like every user ever, I don’t actually know what I want. Truth is, I love Apple Notes because it’s lo-fi, super fast, convenient and hasn’t succumbed to feature bloat.
Except, I definitely know I want better search. Definitely that.
My second brain
I have soooo many other notes I’ve not shared here. Notes is my second brain. From checking the dimensions of plant pots to recording the history of my parents, I well and truly rely on it. I could do the same thing with another app, but Notes is delightfully low-fi.
PS. I wrote this blog post in 2 hours
I overthink blog posts, so I challenged myself to write and publish this in 2 hours, which I successfully did.
