I ditched OneNote for Joplin, and found it is far more than only a note-taking app

Scope creep normally occurs to tasks, not note-taking apps. But after I switched from OneNote to open-source Joplin, it progressively took on extra of my work. I’m not complaining. These days, I take advantage of it to jot down, manage, and maintain all the pieces in sync throughout my gadgets.

Joplin has grow to be a part of my writing course of

Write now, switch later

I’m penning this very article in Joplin, and it is proving to be a cushty place to work. I initially opened it to make analysis notes, however I discovered myself utilizing the app to draft the entire piece. I can construction the article as I’m going, including headings, lists, blockquotes, and code blocks, then swap between Markdown and the rendered view to examine how the completed piece seems.

I may also maintain supporting materials subsequent to my writing, whether or not that is a picture, an connected Word doc, or a freehand drawing. And when a chunk of labor strikes from an concept to an energetic venture, I can flip its notice right into a to-do, set a deadline, and examine it off when it is completed. That means, I can maintain the unique materials and observe the work wanted to finish it in the identical place.

When it got here to transferring my work to the CMS, Joplin’s plugin directory made it straightforward so as to add the performance I wanted. I put in Copy as HTML in only a few clicks, then copied a notice into the CMS to see how properly the formatting transferred. Headings and bulleted lists got here throughout intact, so I did not need to rebuild the construction by hand.

Joplin makes it straightforward to maintain my notes organized

Everything has its place

I began organizing my analysis in an “Article Research” pocket book, with sub-notebooks for Windows, Excel, and Productivity. I can develop this construction as new tasks come alongside with out having to rethink the entire system.

Tags give me one other solution to manage issues. I can right-click a notice to assign an current tag, or kind a brand new one so as to add it to my assortment. That means I can group associated notes with out having to maintain all the pieces in the identical pocket book.

Finding issues once more is simply as easy. A key phrase search brings up related notes, and I can transfer between the outcomes simply, even when a number of have comparable titles. Searching for “Geek,” as an illustration, brings up all the pieces I’m engaged on for How-To Geek, no matter which pocket book it is filed in. I haven’t got to recollect precisely the place I put one thing to trace it down.

I additionally like how straightforward it’s to maintain my notes constant. I can duplicate a notice and use it as a place to begin for an additional, holding the identical headings and format as an alternative of recreating them every time. For my Windows articles, I maintain a template notice with headings for the function itself, Windows 10 and 11 availability, and professionals and cons. Duplicating it means every new piece begins with the construction already in place.

Joplin provides me flexibility with out getting in my means

My notes work anyplace

Setting up synchronization was simple. I selected OneDrive as my sync goal (although Joplin additionally helps choices like Dropbox and Nextcloud), set it up on my desktop, then put in the Joplin iPhone app and repeated the method there. It could not have been simpler. To take a look at it, I checked an merchandise off in a guidelines on my cellphone, synchronized the desktop app, and the change appeared. I might maintain working with the identical notes throughout gadgets with out manually copying updates between them.

Joplin lets me export my notes in a number of codecs, together with HTML, PDF, Markdown, Markdown with entrance matter, and its personal JEX and RAW codecs. Having Markdown as a direct export possibility provides me one other solution to maintain my notes accessible exterior Joplin and use them in different instruments.

I may also tailor the app itself. Beyond Copy as HTML, I added a Kanban plugin referred to as YesYouKan, then pasted the heading construction from an current notice into a brand new Kanban notice. YesYouKan transformed it right into a Kanban board, with every H1 turning into a column (To do, In progress, Done) and every H2 a card.

The keyboard shortcuts are straightforward to customise too. I can alter the app to go well with my workflow with out altering how I manage my notes or including options I will not use.

Switching to Joplin is simply step one

I switched to Joplin to exchange OneNote, however I did not count on to construct a lot of my workflow round it. As an open-source app, it permits you to tailor it to the way in which you’re employed, with plugins, export choices, and shortcuts you possibly can alter as you go. And I’m not going again. Swapping OneNote for Joplin is one small solution to begin transferring away from Microsoft 365, and if you happen to’re able to go additional, there are many free, open-source alternatives to Microsoft 365 price exploring.