Here is how I bought my messy Google Maintain notes beneath management

Google Maintain has been my go-to note-taking app for years, however I not too long ago observed that my disorganized notes had been turning into overwhelming, making it tougher to search out what I used to be in search of. I had beforehand tried color-coding notes and pinning essential ones, nevertheless these fixes had been now not sufficient.

I made a decision to lastly get management over my notes through the use of options I’d typically ignored, together with labels and deleting previous notes I now not wanted. However I additionally moved a few of my notes to a different app with extra superior options.

My notes in Google Maintain fall into three important classes: private notes like purchasing and drugs lists, notes for articles I’m writing, and notes about {hardware} I’m reviewing. The labels characteristic enables you to categorize notes, however the label itself is just not sufficient to maintain these notes organized.

Slightly, the flexibility to filter your notes to view a single label is what helped me get my Google Maintain organized. As a substitute of being met with all my pinned notes and a sequence of disorganized notes spanning years, I can faucet on a particular label to solely view notes from a single class.

Whenever you view a particular class in Google Maintain, it additionally remembers your pinned notes preferences. This implies you’ll be able to nonetheless see your highest-priority notes with a particular label on the high of your display screen.

I do want, although, that Google made it a bit simpler to arrange notes on your property display screen. Folders can be a very helpful addition, permitting you to drag-and-drop your notes somewhat than assign them particular labels. It could additionally imply that while you open the app, your default display screen offers you an organized overview, somewhat than requiring you to make use of labels as a filter.

When methods to arrange my Google Maintain notes, I spotted that I used to be hoarding a bunch of ineffective notes and knowledge that I now not wanted. There have been previous notes for articles I had printed years in the past, random screenshots that I had no context for, and hyperlinks to previous purchasing carts. There was even a textual content observe that was only a sequence of 8’s taking on a number of strains, possible created throughout one of many many instances my cat has stepped on my keyboard.

So I lastly determined to do a radical overview of my notes, deleting ones that I now not wanted. I’m a little bit of a digital hoarder, however even I can see how I now not want my duplicate purchasing lists and previous article notes. For the issues that I nonetheless wished to maintain round, I used the archive characteristic as a substitute to take away them from my house display screen view.

That is arguably one of the essential steps for getting Google Maintain beneath management, particularly for those who’re a prolific note-taker. Delete what you now not want, archive unimportant notes that you could be need to maintain simply in case, and ensure your property display screen contains your most essential and up to date notes.

I like Google Maintain for its simplicity, particularly since I discover many productiveness apps overwhelming with their studying curves and abundance of options. However even I must admit when Google Maintain’s sticky-note format now not cuts it.

I observed this primary with my remedy notes. As I modified between completely different therapies for my fibromyalgia and continual migraines, it turned tougher to trace the dosages, why I ended taking sure drugs, and the complete historical past of various therapies.

Consequently, I created a Notion template that retains observe of my present and previous drugs in a extra nuanced approach. This allowed for extra detailed notes and easy methods to mark whether or not I nonetheless take the remedy or complement. I additionally added a column to my template that notes the effectiveness of the remedy, together with any unwanted side effects.

I’m additionally doing this with my notes associated to my cats’ vet visits. I normally use Maintain to record some questions I’ve for the vet, together with any notable issues my cats are experiencing. However these have additionally turn into scattered and disorganized, so I plan to create a dashboard in Notion that I can use to consolidate my notes. This can let me make way more detailed notes and simply set up them in line with the date and which cat they apply to.

Technically I may’ve used textual content formatting in Google Maintain to make extra detailed notes, however they nonetheless wouldn’t have the extra superior advantages of Notion databases and templates.

Google Maintain’s easy method to note-taking signifies that I’ll nonetheless use it as my main app for fast notes. It’s additionally one of the best place to maintain my article concepts, since I can shortly jot them down whether or not I’m on the transfer, working, or mendacity in mattress.

However I’ve additionally needed to begin utilizing the app extra thoughtfully to cease it from being a disorganized mess. This contains deleting and archiving previous notes, simplifying my view with labels, and realizing when a observe requires extra superior options than what Maintain affords.