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Tools & Technology in Preparation - Hacks & Resources / Apps / Evernote /Onenote

Thanks to members here, I managed to get an Apple iPad with Pencil. This is my first tablet and I am loving it . I am also using Evernote ( earlier One Note ) .

I am creating this thread so that we can share what all apps we are using for reading / note making and how to use them. This will help save lot of time for those thinking of Tab based studies.

Neyawn,Patrick_janeand11 otherslike this
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92 comments

Anyone who knows how to download pdf form in onenote !! 
5.3k views
@Agog I also noticed the blue tick. I think it's based on how much one contributes on this platform.


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Congratulations for the ipad


I am only using Evernote,while ago when i was doing secure

I create new notebook according to syllabus keyword and copy paste the important stuff from secure

5.4k views

rashivsaid

Tagging@rashiv 

It took me five minutes just to find your profile , as I was searching for rishav and it wasnt showing any results. At first I thought you blocked me or something!

Haha, I’ll consider it as a win now that you know the exact name 

Just curious, what does the name mean?

6.5k views

Congratulations for the ipad


I am only using Evernote,while ago when i was doing secure

I create new notebook according to syllabus keyword and copy paste the important stuff from secure

Thank you. If there is one advice I will give you, don't do secure! You will burn lot of energy and not end up with anything substantial. I have done it for 2 years! I am not against Insights. I have a few topics from there and they are brilliant. They used to be brilliant in 2016-17 time. Every topper used them. Now its legacy. You will realise only after 1 year of doing secure!

Raillife,
6.4k views
I use Notion & GoodNotes. Notion I feel is better than Evernote ( in my case). The toggle feature is wonderful. Earlier used Evernote.
EiChan,
5.7k views

Good to see this thread!

I use ANKI and SuperMemo 18. They are apps generally used by Medical students and PhDs

It uses active recall and spaced repetition along with interleaved study

Both helped me a lot in clearing IRDAI and NABARD. 

Do check it out!

For ANKI - Just check youtube, plenty of youtube tutorials to get started

https://apps.ankiweb.net/

Super Memo 18 is relatively complex but once you get a hang of it, it'll become your Go to App for note-making and all learning

https://super-memo.com/supermemo18.html


Anki is too costly !!

EiChan,
5.7k views
I use Notion & GoodNotes. Notion I feel is better than Evernote ( in my case). The toggle feature is wonderful. Earlier used Evernote.

Anyone has an idea how to create tags in Notion.

5.7k views

Anduinsaid

@goldberry Why did you switch to Evernote? I started using onenote few days back. Cons of using onenote?

I adopted one note very early , but didnt use it for very long time. Then one day I read Abhishek Surana Sir's blog. he has shared all his notes in evernote, so i went for it and got comfortable.

I am trying to share my notes arrangement but cant share the screenshot, the image is simply not uploading.

I just saw Abhishek Surana's Blog and his Evernote notes. That's gold. Thanks.

Mettle,
5.3k views
@capricornape Anki is free to use on desktop.


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I have an ipad but I do not have an Apple pencil. It is too costly. Any alternatives?
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Ami I the only one who is feeling anxious after seeing so much organised notes from other aspirants? I can't even decide what to eat in breakfast & you people are creating tags after tags?Civil servants are really great & organised planners. 
Oasis,ujjwal1996330and7 otherslike this
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@thistooshallpass Is there any way to sync Anki on the desktop to mobile app?


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Ami I the only one who is feeling anxious after seeing so much organised notes from other aspirants? I can't even decide what to eat in breakfast & you people are creating tags after tags?Civil servants are really great & organised planners. 

Sorry if you feel this way by my post. The purpose was not to make anyone anxious here. The purpose is to learn from other's mistakes and best practices. You have to be organised and systematic in your approach. Otherwise it's very difficult to manage every part of the syllabus, especially for someone like me who has Geography as an optional. 

You can also organise your notes in different folders in physical form. See, ultimately we have to prepare our notes for the last week before exam. If we can't revise just before the exam, it is as good as giving exam without reading anything. I learnt these things from my previous failure. You may have different strategy, and my strategy might not work for you.

P.S.: I can't decide what to eat in breakfast too. Wahi roti-sabji roj ke roj :D

Raillife,LeoMessiand1 otherslike this
7.5k views
I have an ipad but I do not have an Apple pencil. It is too costly. Any alternatives?

iPad keyboard has mic, which can be used for writing just by dictating. It also has swipe function to type, by sliding your fingers.

Patrick_jane,thistooshallpass
7.6k views
@Naadan_Parinda bro don't say sorry.I feel very lucky that in this platform we are sharing our mistakes. What you have said is absolutely true.Also I want to say reading others posts provide a platform for healthy competition. We can learn from each other many things. 😊


Deepak802,Sunflowerr
6.4k views

rashivsaid

Tagging@rashiv 

It took me five minutes just to find your profile , as I was searching for rishav and it wasnt showing any results. At first I thought you blocked me or something!

Haha, I’ll consider it as a win now that you know the exact name 

Just curious, what does the name mean?

It’s a combination of my parents first name

TheNotorious,
6.5k views

Usually I prefer pen and paper to make physical notes but I also use some basic apps to supplement my preparation digitally. Some methods/apps that I use are:-


#Notes(iOS)

I use this to save links of articles that I feel are good or important.

I read physical newspaper(The Hindu). Whenever I find something important like an article or editorial, I visit The Hindu site, copy paste the article’s link and paste it in notes. I do the same for important contents derived from PIB,PRS. Some samples are:-



#Podcast(inbuilt iOS)


This I use to learn things without studying in actual. I use it while travelling or running or working out at gym. There are several channels which can be useful for learning additional things. For example, on every Friday, on the Hindu’s Oped page, there is a section called Parley. The Hindu has a podcast channel too specifically for this Parley thing. Rather than reading it on paper, you can directly listen to it on the podcast. The podcast’s recording is copy-pasted on the Oped Page. 



#Other App Store apps that I use:-



P.S.- After reading several posts on this thread that how many of aspirants are using apps like Evernote/OneNote to make digital notes, I am trying too to get my hands on OneNote. It will take some time for me to get accustom to it though!



Neyawn,Deepak802and3 otherslike this
8k views

Usually I prefer pen and paper to make physical notes but I also use some basic apps to supplement my preparation digitally. Some methods/apps that I use are:-


#Notes(iOS)

I use this to save links of articles that I feel are good or important.

I read physical newspaper(The Hindu). Whenever I find something important like an article or editorial, I visit The Hindu site, copy paste the article’s link and paste it in notes. I do the same for important contents derived from PIB,PRS. Some samples are:-



#Podcast(inbuilt iOS)


This I use to learn things without studying in actual. I use it while travelling or running or working out at gym. There are several channels which can be useful for learning additional things. For example, on every Friday, on the Hindu’s Oped page, there is a section called Parley. The Hindu has a podcast channel too specifically for this Parley thing. Rather than reading it on paper, you can directly listen to it on the podcast. The podcast’s recording is copy-pasted on the Oped Page. 



#Other App Store apps that I use:-



P.S.- After reading several posts on this thread that how many of aspirants are using apps like Evernote/OneNote to make digital notes, I am trying too to get my hands on OneNote. It will take some time for me to get accustom to it though!



From the above I sense that you prefer having the entire newspaper article in your notes (links of good articles + on OneNote). In this light, wanted to ask, what do you perceive as the advantage of this approach as compared to making notes from an editorial article (and not having the entire article in the notes) ?

Others can answer too if they want. 

Sunflowerr,
6.3k views

rashivsaid

Usually I prefer pen and paper to make physical notes but I also use some basic apps to supplement my preparation digitally. Some methods/apps that I use are:-


#Notes(iOS)

I use this to save links of articles that I feel are good or important.

I read physical newspaper(The Hindu). Whenever I find something important like an article or editorial, I visit The Hindu site, copy paste the article’s link and paste it in notes. I do the same for important contents derived from PIB,PRS. Some samples are:-



#Podcast(inbuilt iOS)


This I use to learn things without studying in actual. I use it while travelling or running or working out at gym. There are several channels which can be useful for learning additional things. For example, on every Friday, on the Hindu’s Oped page, there is a section called Parley. The Hindu has a podcast channel too specifically for this Parley thing. Rather than reading it on paper, you can directly listen to it on the podcast. The podcast’s recording is copy-pasted on the Oped Page. 



#Other App Store apps that I use:-



P.S.- After reading several posts on this thread that how many of aspirants are using apps like Evernote/OneNote to make digital notes, I am trying too to get my hands on OneNote. It will take some time for me to get accustom to it though!



From the above I sense that you prefer having the entire newspaper article in your notes (links of good articles + on OneNote). In this light, wanted to ask, what do you perceive as the advantage of this approach as compared to making notes from an editorial article (and not having the entire article in the notes) ?

Others can answer too if they want. 

The markings of different colours on OneNote are the actual points that I would have jotted down in my notepad had I gone for precise notes making. Saving the entire article to read at a later period helps in staying with a flow in which the editorial is actually formatted . I also refer to some articles when I practice answer writing specially for those  questions which are kind of vague in nature.

The editorial which you see on Onenote is a very holistic editorial in my opinion.(The editorial was dated 10/06/2020). This editorial was a complete package, it talked about problems, had data in it, had international angle, and also a way forward, a perfect sample on how to meet the demand of UPSC. So that is why I saved this entire article.

When revising or referring, it is good to have a background of the article too to maintain the flow and have a context in the back of mind.  I have this liberty because my reading speed has increased. I give a casual reading to the unmarked portion/s and a focused reading to the marked portion/s whenever I refer to these saved articles.

p.s- copy-pasting an article from a pdf reader to OneNote is a matter of snapping fingers, in short, too easy. It is just that the marking thing takes time, equivalent to the time spent on penning down the same or maybe a few minutes more.

Neyawn,GaryVeeand3 otherslike this
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