Quiet writing on how people actually take notes, which notebook apps get out of the way, and a few honest comparisons we wish someone had handed us first.
Six methods that have held up. Cornell, outline, sentence, mind-map, charting, Zettelkasten. When each one helps. And the two rules that matter more than which method you pick.
Your free tier shrank, the prices went up. Here's how to leave cleanly. Four free notebooks compared, plus a 30-minute export-and-import that won't lose anything.
Three tools made for three different lives. A plain-English breakdown of who each one is for and how to pick in three short questions.
Honest verdicts on StackEdit, Dillinger, HackMD, Typora, and the rest. Plus what a notebook on the web should feel like in 2026.
Obsidian is powerful. It's also a 200 MB install, a plugin trail, and a folder to manage. Here's what to open when you want none of that.
Some days you just want a blank page, right now. Here's the quiet way to skip the form and get to writing.
We tried eight. Most are fine. Two are lovely. One is for people who write more than they organise. Here's how each one feels.