To-do lists and methods like Pomodoro motivated millions of users to be more productive, and the evolution of these apps eventually led to versatile tools like Notion or the upcoming Microsoft Loop. These are not presented as simple to-do lists, but as a center from which to manage all our professional and personal life.
The reason I say this is the flexibility of Notion elements, which can be converted into lists, arrays or even a database if needed. And of course, everything can be done in collaboration between several people if they work. Does Apple have something like Notion or Microsoft Loop? No… although we can make a repair.
Notes can be (almost) anything you want
I emphasize that Notion is a great tool (and free to use!), but I’m writing this precisely to cover one of its shortcomings: its performance could be better on mobile devices
That’s why I thought of Notes as a place where try to replicate Notion’s functions, even if they do not share the same concept. No, I can’t have the same page flexibility as Notion in Notes, but it’s an app on all my devices, doesn’t require a subscription for free use, and offers as much cloud space as iCloud allows . And his timing, by the way, is also excellent.
How can I get closer to using Notion with Notes? As follows :
Notes can host a directory tree complex enough for anyone to use as a repository of tasks and ideas. If we use emojis in names, folders can be more easily identified.
- A Notes folder can act as a projectoo a set of Notion projects. Depending on how we use it, even a note can be a project.
- These folders can also be used as project binders or notes depending on whether your tasks need to be completed sooner or later.
- In each note we can place to-do lists, images, tables, links, freehand drawings and outlines, and rich text. It is, as I have said on other occasions, practically a Pages or Word document. Oh, and we can also attach videos and any other type of file in a note.
- Each note can have tags, which we can use as status indicators (#urgent, #pending, #delegated, #waiting…etc) or category items (#project1, #project2, #project3…etc). We can even mix the two or more types of labels we can think of. All labels appear in a sidebar so you can quickly access all the notes that contain them, but beware: this feature is only available on iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey.
- For added security, we can protect notes with Touch ID or Face ID, or at least a password.
Which Notion features can’t be replicated in Notes?
- The idea that you can link notes to notes recursively, or that you can link a note from other apps like Reminders or Calendar. It only seems like a detail, but it’s the Magic I do Notion and it works.
- Complex tables that can function as databases or in which complex items can be placed.
All this makes Notas something like an attempt at Notion, but without being its equivalent. It may be, for example, one step before using this tool to see if we can adapt to it by pointing out ideas and tasks with all these possibilities. Or, as I said before, a possible substitute if the performance of Notion in the networks does not convince you as it happened to me.
Imagen | Glenn Carstens-Peters
