Having a good idea is almost as hard as remembering one.
So, when you have a flash of inspiration, write it down!
Have you ever heard of Google Keep? That is what I use, and I love it. I use it every day to keep my thoughts organized, and primed for further exploration.
Keep reading if you would like to learn more.
Bottom Line: Why I like (and use) Google Keep
- Use your phone or computer alike to record thoughts and review ideas
- Synchronizes notes across multiple devices
- Organize ideas with labels
- Export to Google Docs for further refinement
- Pin Important notes to the top
That’s It! – In this case, less is more
Google did a great job making an easy to use app that does its job very well.
The game-changer, and why I use Keep instead of another app or even pen and paper, is workflow.
I almost exclusively use Google Docs for word processing and Keep is integrated into the program.
Workflow
Google Keep really flexes its muscle when it comes to workflow. As a writer and YouTube contributor, I am always in one of three phases of operations; planning, preparing or executing.
It takes a certain amount of thought and preparation to post daily on a website and provide new videos on YouTube weekly, and Keep helps throughout the entire process.
It works like this
When I am struck by inspiration, I pull out my phone and immediately record my thoughts making sure to organize the note with a label. For example, I often label my ideas Blog or YouTube as those are my lines of effort.
Later when I have time for computer work, I open Keep on my laptop/desktop. All of your saved notes are organized on the right two-thirds of the screen and the topmost portion is reserved for pinned notes.
The column on the left houses all of your labels. This is where the magic happens. Click on the category with which you want to work and Keep will only display those notes on the right.
This is important for me and fosters an environment of creativity because I can see all of the ideas that I had in the past few days or weeks. When I find a note (an idea) that I would like to further refine into a blog post or YouTube video, I click the More button (an icon with three dots arranged vertically) and then Copy to Google Docs.
A message then displays on the bottom left of the screen with an Open Doc link. Click the link and the new document will open in your browser.
Once, I have completed my work and no longer need the note in Keep, I click the icon of a box and an arrow pointing down and archive the note.
An Introduction
So there you go. A quick Google Keep introduction and why I use it.
There are certainly other ways in which you can use Google Keep from displaying character cards while writing fiction to setting reminders. You can even collaborate with friends.
But for me, I like the simple workflow of quickly saving ideas and developing them later. I use it because it is simple (I’m don’t waste time trying to figure out how to use it) and it integrates seamlessly into my workflow.
Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash
