Coruscation

Everything Is a List
The genius of WorkFlowy

As long as I've been using computers, I've been searching for the perfect way to take digital notes. In theory, computers should be a natural place to keep all of the to-dos, reminders, meeting notes, ideas, grocery lists, and other ephemera that come streaming into our lives every day. But notes defy organization. When I get a brilliant idea or need to jot down a phone number very quickly, I often don't know where that data will fit among my other documents. As a result, word-processing software--programs that require that you put stuff in distinct files that are stored on a single computer--isn't very good for notes, because it imposes a level of structure that your notes can't live up to.

Instead, you've probably come up with other methods to take notes on your machine. Your system could be jury-rigged--maybe you write emails to yourself, maybe you keep your notes in a single Word doc or text file that's always opened on your machine--or perhaps you use dedicated note-taking or project-management software. Some people's desktops are covered in Mac Stickies. Others swear by Microsoft OneNote, Evernote, Omnifocus, Trello, ActionMethod, or Basecamp.