I’m writing this post while stealing periodic glances at a stack of post-it notes I have to digitize before the end of today. There are about 50 of them and I have to type every word written on them into Google Docs. This process will take me at least an hour. One hour I could use to watch the latest episodes of Big Bang theory.
It got me thinking; how could this be avoided? What digital alternatives are there to post-it notes?
Disclaimer: all the options here (especially Typeform and its application) are listed with the assumption that there is connectivity, power and access to a smartphone.
1: Typeform:
Very odd. I know. But I’m starting here because the only work-around to this batch of post-it notes I’m about to digitize is using typeform. These post-it notes were used to collect answers from multiple people simultaneously at an event. How does typeform work here? The questions are designed as a survey on typeform. What next? Organizers share the links (one way is to convert the link into QR code) and people can send in their responses. Responses which are arranged sensibly in the typeform back-end. Boom.
2: Evernote:
This is really the most prominent advocate for the death of post-it notes. I like to think it was created for this purpose solely.
Post-it notes are bookmarks for our physical lives. To mark a place in a book we are reading. A recipe on the refrigerator door. A place to keep the one quote that resonates with us. Evernote does all of these and more. Of course, Evernote has grown glitchy over these past years, but these basic services are still well done.
3: Sticky Notes:
Often, we use post-it notes to create a to-do list we stick to our PC wrist rest. This digital rehash of post-it notes removes the need for that. Users can even choose multiple colours if they like. Caveat: this could get messy with a gale of sticky notes covering your desktop. A Mac alternative is Stickies.
4: Google Keep:
Google Keep is not an Evernote. It’s really just an app to keep your to-do lists, but it does more; it syncs your lists across all your Google devices and they are easy to search through as well.
Clearly, there are more alternatives to post-it notes; Tomboy, Laverna, Google Doc, the list is endless, but these are my top picks. Then again, we’ll probably always have post-it notes around, if only for how cool they look on a desk. And how they make us look super busy and important. Ahem!
Photo Credit: wyliepoon via Compfight cc
