Jul 04, 2020 The best Mac apps for 2020 By Mark Coppock July 4, 2020 If you’ve heard the phrase, “Once you go Mac, you never go back,” you know it holds true. Macs are premium devices that offer amazing. 3 Mac apps to get and stay organized. Take note, Mac multitaskers. Matt Elliott. ($1,350 at Best Buy) can start to feel a bit cramped as I attempt to juggle too many open windows.
For the past few months I have been researching some research apps…
On our sister site, The Focus Course, I recently wrote an article detailing my process for how I build my own, alternate index of notes and ideas when reading a book.
You can get much more detail in the link above, but in a nut, an alternate index is no more than something you list out in the back of the book you’re reading that you create and update as you read through the book. It’s a list you create in real time that is comprised of the book’s themes and topics that most resonate with you, as well as the pages that have the best quotes and ideas around those topics.
Within that article, I dropped in a brief aside about my desire to begin organizing the notes, highlights, and takeaways from the books I read into a digital database of sorts. As such, I’ve been looking at different research apps to find just the right one.
I’ve been writing for a living since 2011, and despite my greatest fears, I’ve never had a shortage of ideas. For nearly a decade all of my ideas and notes have been kept in Simplenote, but for the past year or so I’ve been wanting a system that is just a little bit more complex than what I’m currently using.
In short, what I’m looking for is something to store all of the ideas, bits of inspiration, notes, quotes, takeaways from the books I read, and more. (Something akin to Ryan Holliday’s notecard system — but digital.)
Since I’m already creating an alternate index of ideas in the back of each book I read, what I’d like to do is create a digital and universally-searchable version of that index: a single repository to organize, sort, and search all my highlights and notes.
As you can imagine, there are a LOT of notes and research apps out there that do this. The issue wasn’t finding an app that was capable — it was finding an app that works for me and my workflows.
I want to do more than simply jot down my ideas and notes. I also want to have them compiled and structured (rather than a giant list sorted only by modification date), but not wholly cut off from one another.
And I also want some pretty fancy search capabilities. For instance, I’d love the ability to bring up all the highlights related to “focus” from all books I’ve read. Or, perhaps, to view my notes and highlights related to “time management,” but only from those books that are about entrepreneurship, and then compare those same notes and highlights against books that are only about creativity.
That said, here are a few of my initial thoughts on some of the different notes and research apps out there today.
Simplenote: This is the app I’ve been using for idea capture and other miscellaneous note taking since it shipped nearly a decade ago. I love how easy it is to use, how — ahem — simple it is, and how reliable the sync is. But for my current use-case, I’m looking for something that can handle images and has a more robust folder structure beyond just tags.
Bear: If you haven’t tried out Bear, you really should (Mac / iOS). It’s spectacular (and may even replace Simplenote for me). You can insert photos into notes in Bear, but otherwise it’s still pretty simple. That’s not a knock against the app — it is simple by design. But that means that, for my needs in this case, it’s too simple to be my go-to research app.
Day One: This app is one of my all-time favorites, but, as with the aforementioned apps, Day One is not built for what I need in this scenario.
Apple’s Notes App: There is a lot to love about the Notes app (and even more once iOS 11 ships). You can drop all sorts of cool things into a note, and even draw and sketch, and more. But the search and sort functionality within Notes is not quite what I’m looking for.
Evernote: I love the power of Evernote and its strong emphasis on making idea capture as easy as possible, but I don’t love the way it ruins the formatting of my text and the way all my content is a silo inside the app. There are many, many smart folks who use Evernote, but so far, for me, it still just doesn’t feel right.
Together: An alternative to Evernote, Together is a pretty classy app. But, at least so far in my experience, the process of getting information into the app is far too tedious, as is the process for properly tagging that information. I may just need to spend more time learning the app, but if something isn’t easy to use then I know from experience that I won’t use it.
Other Apps: There is also Microsoft OneNote, Scrivener, plain text files with nvALT, DEVONthink, Papers, and probably a few others. Some of these simply don’t appeal to me, and some of them I haven’t yet tried out.
Ulysses (My Pick)
I’ve been using Ulysses for quite a long time, but only as a writing app — not for collecting notes and other tidbits related to research.
Ulysses is a fantastic app, and it does a great job at simplifying it’s vast complexity. However, I didn’t initially consider it for my researching needs because I didn’t think it had a robust search engine. But, turns out, I was wrong.
Thanks to a new project we’re working on here at The Sweet Setup, I just discovered the Smart Filters in Ulysses, and whoa. These filters are basically smart folders. You can create all sorts of variables for how you want sheets to be filtered, and you can even move the filters around within different groups so as to bring up different results based on the group.
For example, here’s a filter I set up to search within all my book quotes for any notes that contain the keywords “business” and “creativity.”
And here’s a filter I set up that shows me any and all notes I’ve created or worked on within the past 48 hours.
Input and Organization Within Research Apps
The two things that matter most to in my use of notes and research apps are: (1) ease of input and (2) powerful search and categorization. It seems that many apps excel at one or the other, but not both.
It’s also critical that these research apps be full-featured on both Mac and iOS.
That’s why Ulysses smart filters are so exciting to me. You can get more complex than what I’ve shown above. You can include parameters that search the entire text of a note (not just the keywords/tags), and you can also include “negative” search parameters that exclude notes with certain words. And, these smart filters also sync between Mac and iOS versions.
My biggest quibble with Ulysses right now as a note-taking, researching tool is the way it handles inline images. If the image is inline with a note, you see an IMG markdown tag. Or, an image can be attached to a note, but otherwise not shown inline. It’d be great to be able to have images displayed inline.
Though, I do like how you can attach images to a note (if you want an image / screenshot nearby as reference material, but perhaps not as something you want to be in-line with your actual text).
So, all that said, I’m obviously now using Ulysses (Mac / iOS) as my writing and researching app of choice, and I’ve already begun transcribing all my book notes and highlights into the app.
And, as I mentioned, we’ve got something brand new related to Ulysses in the works. Click here to find out more.
Stop losing your ideas and notes to multiple apps…
An online course to help you save time, organize your notes, and master the best writing app for Mac and iOS: Ulysses.
“I have to be at work by 9, then leave for the dentist at 11. After I get back, I’ll grab a quick bite before the meeting at 1. I have a project that’s due before 5. When I get home, I’ll get dinner ready, and then read the mail, including all my personal e-mail and my apps. Then I’ll clean the house before going to bed. Oh, wait! Forgot about feeding the pets!
Is this you? Almost everyone has trouble organizing these days. We’re expected to do more and more.
Need advice? Keep reading. We’ll discuss some organizing apps that could help you a lot.
Reminder and Time Management Organizing Apps
These apps help you plan work and personal events. They have the ability to both sort and aggregate categories.
1. Google Calendar
If you’re old-fashioned enough to want a good, reliable online calendar, this one is for you. If you’re used to checking your calendar multiple times throughout the day, and you would like to give others access to at least one version of it, get this one.
Actually, you probably have Google Calendar already. Do you know all it can do, though? Check out this site!
2. Plan
Plan is a task list-building app that interfaces with Google Calendar and Google Drive. It creates weekly agendas just for tasks (which also appear on your calendar). And it’s pretty simple to use.
For Google Calendar fans, Plan can help solve a lot of logistical problems.
3. Remember the Milk
Are you someone who has a list for absolutely everything? Do you sometimes lose a list or forget to take the right one with you when grocery shopping?
Remember the Milk is good for people with lots to remember both at work and at home and has separate categories for each. It also allows you to delegate tasks to other people–again, both at work and at home.
Organizing Apps That Organize Other Apps
These are the best! We sometimes stop using all our apps because, in the aggregate, their functions are overwhelming, not to mention daunting.
4. IFTTT
IFITT stands for “If this, then that.” This app provides a way to get all your digital apps and devices “talking to one another.”
For example, it allows your smart home to switch on the porch light for the pizza delivery you just ordered from a smartphone app. Cool, huh?
5. Unroll.Me
This app helps clean up your e-mail inbox by getting rid of subscriptions you no longer want (or never asked for in the first place). It really works! It also has an undo option that’s part of a larger record of all your unsubscribe requests.
Best Photo Organiser Apps For Mac
6. Dashlane
Dashlane is an award-winning free desktop and mobile app that stores and manages your passwords. It protects sensitive information with patented security architecture and real-time alerts. It saves tedious typing. We like that!
Business Productivity Apps
Larger businesses have employees assigned to the various categories of work (accounting, copywriting, sales, etc.). But smaller businesses, as well as freelancers, need every minute just to do the work itself.
Fortunately, there are various apps and software packages designed to help manage the supporting functions.
7. Type-Specific Small Business Software Packages
If you need software to organize a small business, there are some great products out there that will not only organize routine business activities (such as bookings and credit card processing) but also reputation management.
If your business is tattooing, for example, check out We Think Ink!If your business is pet care, take a look at 123 Pet. Software packages such as these are designed to fit different business sizes and budgets.
8. Clockify
One category of work that could use some excellent time management is freelance work. Those who are new to freelancing especially are prone to distractions while working at home, in cafes, and so on.
Occasionally, freelancers need to record time spent on task for their clients as well since those clients want their money to be spent wisely.
Clockify has gotten strong reviews all around. It is a free app that, in addition to having time-tracking features, can produce reports and structure team activities.
Organizing Apps that Organize Spaces
9. Centriq
Centriq gathers appliance instruction guides and warranties with just a snapshot of the product nameplate while managing service providers and sending you reminders for product upkeep.
You start by taking smartphone photos of eight specific household appliances and submit them. All other necessary product information is added for you. You can add more household items at any time after the first eight have been processed.
10. Shoeboxed
“Shoebox scans and manages receipts on-the-go.” It turns your receipts into data, organizes them, and prepares expense reports. Since it’s a smartphone app, you can use it in the car before those receipts disappear under the seat!
Apps to Make the Most of Your Free Time
Your free time is a critical part of your time. Period. End of story. You need to manage it just the same as all your other time–if you want to keep any of it, that is.
11. TripIt
TripIt can organize all your travel bookings for your–flights, hotels, restaurants, and more. It has a free version with lots of features and a paid version as well ($49 per year) with lots more features.
Both versions will create master itineraries for you, add plans directly from your inbox, and locate places that are near your hotel.
12. Pocket
Pocket is a godsend for people who want to read magazine articles but never seem to be able to find the time.
With Pocket, you can “save articles, videos, and stories from any publication, page, or app. Curate your own space filled with everything you can’t wait to learn.”
Best Organizing Apps For Mac Computer
13. Allrecipes Dinner Spinner
Best Organizing Apps For Mac
AllReciped.com has crowdsources thousands and thousands of recipes, which can be searched on the web. This app is for smartphones, though. So you can have it in the supermarket if some food item is on sale–or just grabs your interest.
There Are a Lot More Out There!
We have barely scratched the surface of all the organizing apps out there that could help organize your personal life, your work life, or both. There are lists and lists of them, with even more that can be located through keyword searches.
We’ve given you some ideas here, based on those we find helpful. But if you want to know how to organize your life, you really need to find the apps that best suit yourparticular needs.
Best Organisation Apps For Mac
Whatever your software needs, it’s quite likely that someone has developed an app or other software for that. Go ahead–do a search and see what comes up!
Best Organizing Apps For Mac Free
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