Subscribe to ForumIAS

What tool do you use to make / collect digital notes ?

So this is going to be a tough contest. One note VS Evernote !

jack_Sparrow,DMand5 otherslike this
57.8k views

103 comments

» show previous quotes

Adding to it, if I do not write something or create notes, I feel I haven't done any work. Maybe an old habit. 

Absolutely! Nothing on a screen looks as satisfying as a 60 page file feels in my hand :D

I’m somewhere in between, making notes using OneNote felt liberating. Made all of them section wise like the person above has done. But re-reading and revising them? God! Maut aati thi :P

Had to print them eventually. Now feels nice to highlight them or scribble on them, revision has also been easier. Old habits die hard. 

Aurora,AJ_and4 otherslike this
5.1k views
» show previous quotes

I’m somewhere in between, making notes using OneNote felt liberating. Made all of them section wise like the person above has done. But re-reading and revising them? God! Maut aati thi :P

Had to print them eventually. Now feels nice to highlight them or scribble on them, revision has also been easier. Old habits die hard. 

For all my handwritten pride I'm making them online for interview now :p

Nothing i can make with my sketchpens will ever look as good as those tabs!

Printing out feels like a nice deal though - almost the best of both.

Villanelle,venkataharishand1 otherslike this
3k views

Does recording voice for taking notes counts in other? :( 

Aurora,Villanelleand7 otherslike this
5.2k views

Does recording voice for taking notes counts in other? :( 

I can’t listen to my own voice without cringing 😂

Does it work for you? 

Aurora,discoFighterand4 otherslike this
5k views
» show previous quotes

For all my handwritten pride I'm making them online for interview now :p

Nothing i can make with my sketchpens will ever look as good as those tabs!

Printing out feels like a nice deal though - almost the best of both.

I narrowed it down either buying an iPad to enhance online reading experience or printing the notes. First one was never an option as I realised later :P so had to print them.

Vaise bhi standing in front of the printer pushing pages has been a prominent theme of this prep period for me. 

EiChan,discoFighterand3 otherslike this
2.9k views

Does recording voice for taking notes counts in other? :( 

I did this once... turns out my own voice will put me to sleep when all the asmr people on youtube cannot :p

But I really like the idea. Reading things out is a common revision method anyway, why not put it to work more.

Aurora,EiChanand2 otherslike this
3k views
» show previous quotes

For all my handwritten pride I'm making them online for interview now :p

Nothing i can make with my sketchpens will ever look as good as those tabs!

Printing out feels like a nice deal though - almost the best of both.

I narrowed it down either buying an iPad to enhance online reading experience or printing the notes. First one was never an option as I realised later :P so had to print them.

Vaise bhi standing in front of the printer pushing pages has been a prominent theme of this prep period for me. 

My plan B is getting a job in a stationery shop :p

dalpha,Auroraand14 otherslike this
5.1k views
» show previous quotes

Adding to it, if I do not write something or create notes, I feel I haven't done any work. Maybe an old habit. 

Absolutely! Nothing on a screen looks as satisfying as a 60 page file feels in my hand :D

I’m somewhere in between, making notes using OneNote felt liberating. Made all of them section wise like the person above has done. But re-reading and revising them? God! Maut aati thi :P

Had to print them eventually. Now feels nice to highlight them or scribble on them, revision has also been easier. Old habits die hard. 

I've kinda faced the same issue. My online notes look good and organised. But I'll any day prefer studying from printouts. Unfortunately, Notion printouts lose their functionality. So trying to adapt my study habits now

EiChan,Villanelle
3.1k views

Does recording voice for taking notes counts in other? :( 

How do you revise them? I used to make voice recordings for current affairs. But to study something specific, I had to listen to the whole thing again. 
Or are you using this differently?

mehuifs,
3.1k views
» show previous quotes

How do you revise them? I used to make voice recordings for current affairs. But to study something specific, I had to listen to the whole thing again. 
Or are you using this differently?

Lol, I just asked that but haven't tried, now I am thinking it would be fun to do that. But the only downside is that I am preparing from home and if my parents catches me doing something like that I fear they are going to demand a refund from me.


Aurora,EiChanand8 otherslike this
5.1k views

Does recording voice for taking notes counts in other? :( 

I can’t listen to my own voice without cringing 😂

Does it work for you? 

Haha. Sometimes I like to force myself to suffer.

Aurora,Villanelleand4 otherslike this
5.1k views
Handwittten people out there, can you suggest how to organise offline notes? A4 loose sheets or notebook? and how to systematise static notes which is one time work + current which is daily add on?, Should we leave blank pages for that? ( Organisation a difficult task, but I don't want to opt for online mode) Any suggestions to optimise it?

Handwritten person here :) I never made notes for current affairs so I have no idea how to organise dynamic notes, but for static notes I used loose A4 sheets and plenty of files. Loose sheets are more flexible than notebooks. I would suggest leave a bit of a margin on the side to add points later if you come across any or to help summarize for revision. Get some highlighters or sketch pens in bulk, and use them to mark different types of things and for different rounds of revision. Occasionally you can try to read the source material and give yourself a time limit to note down points from memory - the skill required for mains. 

How do you manage wear and tear of sheets from punching holes? 




Yeah, personal satisfaction in making handwritten notes is immense. That's why took a middle path. Onenote for prelims stuff and A4 sheets for my mains notes. 

EiChan,venkataharish
2.7k views
» show previous quotes

For all my handwritten pride I'm making them online for interview now :p

Nothing i can make with my sketchpens will ever look as good as those tabs!

Printing out feels like a nice deal though - almost the best of both.

I narrowed it down either buying an iPad to enhance online reading experience or printing the notes. First one was never an option as I realised later :P so had to print them.

Vaise bhi standing in front of the printer pushing pages has been a prominent theme of this prep period for me. 

My plan B is getting a job in a stationery shop :p

Well your plan B forced me to reconsider my back up choices and I have decided it for to be the Chai Ki Tapri :J .

whatonly,THE_MECHANICand1 otherslike this
2.9k views
Handwittten people out there, can you suggest how to organise offline notes? A4 loose sheets or notebook? and how to systematise static notes which is one time work + current which is daily add on?, Should we leave blank pages for that? ( Organisation a difficult task, but I don't want to opt for online mode) Any suggestions to optimise it?

Handwritten person here :) I never made notes for current affairs so I have no idea how to organise dynamic notes, but for static notes I used loose A4 sheets and plenty of files. Loose sheets are more flexible than notebooks. I would suggest leave a bit of a margin on the side to add points later if you come across any or to help summarize for revision. Get some highlighters or sketch pens in bulk, and use them to mark different types of things and for different rounds of revision. Occasionally you can try to read the source material and give yourself a time limit to note down points from memory - the skill required for mains. 

How do you manage wear and tear of sheets from punching holes? 




Yeah, personal satisfaction in making handwritten notes is immense. That's why took a middle path. Onenote for prelims stuff and A4 sheets for my mains notes. 

I use files, folder, whatever can be used to store papers! And tried to keep the punching holes to a minimum. 

It feels so strange giving such a micro level tip but also so good :D Try to keep the distance between the hole and the edge of the paper as much as possible! 

EiChan,BurtMacklin_FBIand3 otherslike this
2.8k views
@nerdfighter probably you are using the anki plugin. In case you want to reduce the friction a bit more, try remnote. It has FC process smoothly integrated within itself & if it wasn’t enough, you can build your custom SR or use Anki’s.


2.9k views
Handwittten people out there, can you suggest how to organise offline notes? A4 loose sheets or notebook? and how to systematise static notes which is one time work + current which is daily add on?, Should we leave blank pages for that? ( Organisation a difficult task, but I don't want to opt for online mode) Any suggestions to optimise it?

Handwritten person here :) I never made notes for current affairs so I have no idea how to organise dynamic notes, but for static notes I used loose A4 sheets and plenty of files. Loose sheets are more flexible than notebooks. I would suggest leave a bit of a margin on the side to add points later if you come across any or to help summarize for revision. Get some highlighters or sketch pens in bulk, and use them to mark different types of things and for different rounds of revision. Occasionally you can try to read the source material and give yourself a time limit to note down points from memory - the skill required for mains. 

How do you manage wear and tear of sheets from punching holes? 




Yeah, personal satisfaction in making handwritten notes is immense. That's why took a middle path. Onenote for prelims stuff and A4 sheets for my mains notes. 

I use files, folder, whatever can be used to store papers! And tried to keep the punching holes to a minimum. 

It feels so strange giving such a micro level tip but also so good :D Try to keep the distance between the hole and the edge of the paper as much as possible! 

Oh, it's quite opposite for me. Without being punched, my pages gets quite messy. It's easy to navigate through punched pages in files suitable to it. 





I've kept maximum distance, whatever I could get out of punching machine. Came up with temporary hack as of now. Since, it's only the top most page which gets all the wear tear. Tried putting cellotape from both above and below it, then just punch them again. 





This is still a temporary solution, I think someone with experience in dealing with paper files might know better. Maybe law students 🤷🏻‍♂️

2.6k views

Anduinsaid

Which ipad would you guys suggest? Air 2020 or Pro 2021 (11" or 12.9")? 

Elaborate on your usage like would you be using iPad just for study purpose or for other things as well  like gaming, drawing or any other form of content creation?

2.7k views
» show previous quotes

How do you revise them? I used to make voice recordings for current affairs. But to study something specific, I had to listen to the whole thing again. 
Or are you using this differently?

Lol, I just asked that but haven't tried, now I am thinking it would be fun to do that. But the only downside is that I am preparing from home and if my parents catches me doing something like that I fear they are going to demand a refund from me.


Audio notes are so underrated. I often use this technique for super quick revision. In order to exctract maximum from this activity, record your voice as if you are explaining it to someone. And, speak in the language you are extremely extremely comfortable. For example, suppose I intend to revise Polity ka parliament wala chapter. Now, I will open Telegram. Put the heading. And will record the most confusing part of that chapter in Hindlish (my comfort language- 60 % English, and 40 % HIndi to be precise). Telegram also helps you in four ways. Pehla-You can index your chapters and subjects in a single chat.For this use the hash tag feature. This will ensure that you can cross record chapters frm different subjects in a single chat. Doosra- While listening your ausio notes,you can increase the speed.This helps in reducing cringe quotent of your voice@Villanelle ) and will keep you awake@whatonly ). Teesra- Suppose there are 20 audio notes from a chapter,Telegram will autoplay all the noteswithout your manual intervention. And this saves a lot of time. Chautha- TG will cloud based, thus you can listen to this kahi bhi, across the platform. 

@mehuifs Once I was recording the First chapter of art and culture- wo jo painting wala jo chapter hai NCERT mai. I was harmlessly alone in my room. And suddenly my mom entered. And I was literally at that time saying this- "warli painting jungle ke log banate they. iss painting mei, sab log ek doosrey ka haath pakad ke naach rahey hai". To this my mom said- "akele akele kya badbada raha hai"

Aurora,Monkey D. Luffyand7 otherslike this
5k views

Anduinsaid

Which ipad would you guys suggest? Air 2020 or Pro 2021 (11" or 12.9")? 

Go with the Pro with the M1 chip if budget is not a constraint. It's crazy fast! 

“It’s crazy fast!” ??

Now that’s insulting to me.

It is THE fastest yo!!!!! :P

2.7k views
Handwittten people out there, can you suggest how to organise offline notes? A4 loose sheets or notebook? and how to systematise static notes which is one time work + current which is daily add on?, Should we leave blank pages for that? ( Organisation a difficult task, but I don't want to opt for online mode) Any suggestions to optimise it?

Handwritten person here :) I never made notes for current affairs so I have no idea how to organise dynamic notes, but for static notes I used loose A4 sheets and plenty of files. Loose sheets are more flexible than notebooks. I would suggest leave a bit of a margin on the side to add points later if you come across any or to help summarize for revision. Get some highlighters or sketch pens in bulk, and use them to mark different types of things and for different rounds of revision. Occasionally you can try to read the source material and give yourself a time limit to note down points from memory - the skill required for mains. 

How do you manage wear and tear of sheets from punching holes? 




Yeah, personal satisfaction in making handwritten notes is immense. That's why took a middle path. Onenote for prelims stuff and A4 sheets for my mains notes. 

What I do is draw margins on the left side of the paper(The right side when you draw margins on the backside). I staple in that margin. Further, I do not clutch up more than 10 sheets in one staple, topic wise and chapter wise.


EiChan,BDand1 otherslike this
2.6k views
Write your comment…