This is how I acquired my messy Google Preserve notes underneath management

Google Preserve has been my go-to note-taking app for years, however I not too long ago seen that my disorganized notes had been turning into overwhelming, making it tougher to seek out what I used to be on the lookout for. I had beforehand tried color-coding notes and pinning essential ones, nevertheless these fixes had been not sufficient.

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lastly get management over my notes through the use of options I’d usually ignored, together with labels and deleting outdated notes I not wanted.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

My notes in Google Preserve fall into three primary classes: private notes like purchasing and medicine lists, notes for articles I’m writing, and notes about {hardware} I’m reviewing. The labels characteristic permits you to categorize notes, however the label itself shouldn’t be sufficient to maintain these notes organized.

Fairly, the flexibility to filter your notes to view a single label is what helped me get my Google Preserve 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.

Once you view a particular class in Google Preserve, it additionally remembers your pinned notes preferences. This implies you possibly can nonetheless see your highest-priority notes with a particular label on the high of your display.

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

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 There have been outdated notes for articles I had printed years in the past, random screenshots that I had no context for, and hyperlinks to outdated purchasing carts.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

So I lastly determined to do an intensive overview of my notes, deleting ones that I not wanted. I’m a little bit of a digital hoarder, however even I can see how I not want my duplicate purchasing lists and outdated 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 view.

That is arguably some of the essential steps for getting Google Preserve underneath management, particularly in case you’re a prolific note-taker. Delete what you not want, archive unimportant notes that you could be need to preserve simply in case, and ensure your property display consists of your most essential and up to date notes.

I like Google Preserve 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 Preserve’s sticky-note format not cuts it.

I seen this primary with my treatment notes. As I modified between completely different remedies for my fibromyalgia and power migraines, it turned tougher to trace the dosages, why I ended taking sure medicines, and the complete historical past of various remedies.

In consequence, I created a Notion template that retains monitor of my present and previous medicines in a extra nuanced method. This allowed for extra detailed notes and easy methods to mark whether or not I nonetheless take the treatment or complement. I additionally added a column to my template that notes the effectiveness of the therapy, together with any unwanted side effects.

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

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

Google Preserve’s easy strategy to note-taking implies that I’ll nonetheless use it as my major app for fast notes. It’s additionally one of the best place to maintain my article concepts, since I can rapidly 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 consists of deleting and archiving outdated notes, simplifying my view with labels, and realizing when a notice requires extra superior options than what Preserve gives.