Pat Drummond :: life & technology

www.patdrummond.org

September 27, 2017

Google Keep is all I need for quick notes and photos

I use a Windows PC and an Android phone. Obviously, the first thing I did was set up my calendar and email.  After that, Keep was an obvious choice for a note-taking tool because it's timple to use and synchronized to my Google account and available on any device using the Keep app or https://keep.google.com.   (To all you Evernote fans, I really just need a simple tool like Keep.) 

First, you choose how you want to create the note: type, type a list, draw, dictate, or take a photo.

1. Note
Tap or swipe your text, then tap the back arrow (or back key) to save the note. To differentiate notes, I like to colour them using the palette icon: important notes are yellow, lists green, phone numbers blue, unimportant notes gray. This helps if you have lots of notes! It's also easy to add a label - create your own labels of course.  I use: health, map, shop, todo, travel. Tap the hamburger icon ☰ and select todo to see all the notes (including archives) about things you forgot to do!  I actually type most "notes" on my PC but try the Swiftkey or Kii keyboard app on your phone to swipe rather than tap - gesture typing is faster once you get used to it.

2. List
Need a grocery list?  Easy. Type it at home on your PC and check off items on your phone as you buy them.

3. Draw
Want to 'write' your note instead of typing? Easy. Or draw a diagram - or erase parts of it.

4. Camera
Need to take a quick photo of something in a store? Easy. I take most photo notes on my phone with a price or comment. I might give it a tag "shop" or archive it if it's just for reference, rather than cluttering up my list of notes.

5. Voice
Last, but not least, you can dictate your note.  Very easy!  Well, it's easy on Android anyway, since you've probably already customized your voice dictation.

That's it. Make your life simpler with great tools.