The true purpose of a note-taking app is to facilitate deep learning through three interconnected processes—externalizing ideas, internalizing them into new insights, and resurfacing them over time—and good design should minimize accidental friction while preserving the productive friction that enables genuine understanding.
Why do we take notes?
I recently saw a fellow note taker ponder if, in a world with LLMs, it’s still worth taking notes. My answer is a definite yes but let me explain why.
Note-ifying all the things (with Boris Mann)
Conversation about note-taking, the overwhelm of tools, and future possibilities. (shortlink:…
Reflect
A beautifully minimalist note-taking app designed to mirror the way you think. Now with a native AI integration.
Double processing information for notes : Garden of Learning by Juhis
As I read discussions about note-taking and learning, I often run into complaints about how much time and effort it takes to make and maintain notes and how people wish they could end ...
The Linear Oppression of Note-taking Apps
What we lose when our digital notes remove the freedom to move
Smart Note Taking
Why is this important? Because without the smart, you’ll add more clutter to your system, leading to minor organization and more stress.
What have note-taking PKMs accomplished, really?
As somebody who writes a lot, I've always been interested in personal knowledge management systems and note-taking apps. But what do these frameworks and m…
“Better note-taking” misses the point; what matters is “better thinking”
Lots of people write about solutions to the problem that Note-writing practices are generally ineffective .NoteLink.Active { background-color: rgba(10, 132, 255, 0.15); } . The vast majority of that writing fixates on a myopic, “lifehacking”-type frame, focused on answering questions like: “how should I organize my notes?”, “what kind of journal should I use?”, “how can I make it easy to capture snippets of things I read?”, etc.
Agenda - Notes meets Calendar
Organize your days with Agenda, the Apple Design Award winning note taking app. Download for free and start getting things done today!
NotePlan – Notes, Tasks and Calendar in One Daily Note
NotePlan brings your project notes and tasks together with Apple Calendar and Reminders. Plan today without losing track of everything else you’re running.
Vox on Twitter / X
stop just hoarding notes.you save more every week and find less every month. a thousand notes, none of them talking to each other. a better notes app won't fix that. nobody maintains the brain you built.Karpathy's 𝗟𝗟𝗠 𝗪𝗶𝗸𝗶 fixes that: don't have AI search your notes,…— Vox (@Voxyz_ai) June 29, 2026
Best Notes App - Write and Organize with UpNote
UpNote is a clean and beautiful app for writing and organizing notes. It’s easy to use with rich features and delightful experience. Available on Mac, iOS, Android, Windows and Linux.
Note taking apps
Notes, Outliners, Markdown Editors, PKMs, Memexs, Second Brains, Commonplace books, and more
OmniCanvas - Free Infinite Canvas Notes App
Best Notes App - Write and Organize with UpNote
Antinote — a $5 scratchpad for macOS
NotePlan – Notes, Tasks and Calendar in One Daily Note
Let your thoughts sink in — Gravity
Knowledgebase Apps (by Boris) — Semble