How I Am Structuring My Apple Notes

[@davestagner]

I mostly follow the PARA system from Tiago Forte’s “Building a Second Brain”, but like you, I add another folder. In my case, I call it “Incubator”, and it’s for ideas that aren’t yet projects or tasks. The Incubator idea is from David Allen’s classic “Getting Things Done” (which in turn inspired “Building a Second Brain”). A nice thing about all this is that it’s about principles, not technology. You can follow basically the same system in Notes, Evernote, Notion, OneNote, Obsidian, or any other software you choose. (But don’t constantly switch software, it’s a waste of time!)

[@Carl_Pullein]

Completely agree with you there, Dave.

[@DemetriPanici]

Apple Notes has really done a great job of becoming a viable note taking application for everyone!

[@Carl_Pullein]

Well, it's still lacking in some areas, but overall it's its a very good notes app.

[@toranshaw4029]

Yeah, I'm thinking of using it for my intiail (rough) notes... though I mostly use Logseq and or Obsidian for most of my note-taking.

[@Carl_Pullein]

@@toranshaw4029 Wouldn't that mean you would be using 3 notes apps then?

[@DanielHarrisCodes]

@@Carl_Pullein Apple Notes is amazing for quick access on an iPad - You can turn on "tap pencil to create a note" which lets you tap on the "off" screen and start a note. I set it to create a new note each day, so each time I tap the pencil I get back to my notes for that day. Brilliant for "rough" notes like @Toran suggests that could later be processed into more structured notes, or something like OneNote - So really for me Apple Notes works best as a quick capture notepad, it's as close as you can get in terms of speed compared to pulling a paper notebook out. Nothing else really compares for speed from thought to pencil "on paper" - Abolsutely it can be used a full note taking app, but I work across Windows, Mac, iPad, Android and web access to Apple Notes is "OK" but not ideal

[@Carl_Pullein]

@@DanielHarrisCodes I've heard a lot of people are using Apple Notes in that way, Daniel. It's a great trick.

[@DanielHarrisCodes]

I love how clean some Apple apps look on Mac, Notes is simple but just feels nice

[@Carl_Pullein]

Have to agree with you there, Daniel.

[@stacychampion6739]

Great video! I thoroughly enjoy your content!

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thank you, Stacy. Glad you like these videos.

[@Geemeel1]

Thank you SO much, very helpful , going to try this set up !! Love and Light from Holland ✨

[@Carl_Pullein]

You're so welcome!

[@senseibas8199]

Really curious about this one. I also struggled a bit with PARA. Gonna try this one

[@Carl_Pullein]

The biggest difference is there is a dedicated place for goals, which for me, are the driving force of my day.

[@gustavoalegria8199]

Great video like all the others !!! thanks for you help !!!!!!!!!🙂

[@Carl_Pullein]

You're very welcome, Gustavo.

[@churchilldike4408]

Inspiring video! Thanks for doing this. It has triggered some good ideas for me on how to write journals using Apple Notes.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Glad to have been able to help, Churchill.

[@noone6953]

Thank you for this video ❤️

[@Carl_Pullein]

You're very welcome.

[@michaelwilhelm7215]

PARA is good, but GAPRA is better, because goals help us decide every day what is important and not just urgent, what we should do and what we should not do. That's why it makes more sense to put goals at the beginning.

[@Carl_Pullein]

You're right there, Michael. Goals drive you and keep you moving in the right directions.

[@skirwan78]

great system and video. Could you maybe do a video dedicated to "How to come up with good tags". I always have an issue using and creating tags, as, like you said, they often mirror folders. I'm having a hard time thinking abstractly about the proper way to use tags on notes or folders or documents, etc.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Tags are very personal. The best advice I can give is don't have a tag that has the same name as a folder. Tags are ways to break things down a little further. For example, if I have a folder called "suppliers" and tags for "t-shirts", "electronics" and "jeans". You could create tags such as winter or summer too.

[@rorilee9791]

Yorkshire tea tag: "survival" ;)

[@Carl_Pullein]

Absolutely!

[@TechGuyEli]

Nice setup. Can you please describe the current way you set up your goals in your Goals folder? Do you create one note for each goal? And if so, how would that note look like? Thanks!

[@taka9466]

Yes that is a super interesting point!

[@Carl_Pullein]

That's correct, Yann. Goals. for me, are about change and I only need one note for that.

[@mazz777]

I’m also a Evernote user along with a Google Drive user. I want to start using exclusively the Apple ecosystem iCloud versus Google Drive and Apple Notes versus Evernote. The one big thing I use Evernote for Is the text search. If I scan a receipt in I could do a quick search for anything that’s on that receipt going back years and years and it will pick it up versus Google drive and iCloud which I believe does not do that.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Jason, I believe since iOS15, that feature has been available in Apple Notes although I have not tested it yet.

[@muhdsafiuddinshariff3905]

Dear carl, I would like to see a in depth video on how you write your areas of focus and linking it to your projects.

[@Carl_Pullein]

You can download a FREE workbook on how to create Areas of Focus here: www.carlpullein.com/downloads

[@rorilee9791]

HOLY MOLY! I didn't realize you could do a search that easily. Ruh roh...this makes AN way more of a competitor (for me) for EN. Hmm...

[@Carl_Pullein]

Glad to help, Rori.

[@remihuber]

What about a AGPRA hierarchy, knowing that goals all come from areas of focus ?

[@Carl_Pullein]

That could work too.

[@mathiasvervaecke]

Hi, great vid! The reason you couldn’t lock your note in the vid is because it has a tag. Apple doesn’t allow yet to lock notes with tags.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thanks for the info, Mathias

[@max-ob7gi]

Great video, thank you!

[@Carl_Pullein]

You're very welcome, Max.

[@soniasussmann6480]

I love this Car! Can you post some more apple ecosystem related videos? I just got a mac and I'm trying to make it work for me, but i'm a bit lost

[@Carl_Pullein]

Yes, of course. More coming soon.

[@Johnsoncrna]

This is fantastic, thank you! How is a goal different than a project? Is the project a step-by-step roadmap to achieve the goal?

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Andrea, A project has a deadline and a series of steps that will get you to the deadline. A goal is about changing something personal. (Losing 10 lbs might be a project, but the goal is to keep the 10 lbs off) Goals and projects are very similar, but ultimately a goal will make you a better person because in order to achieve something, you have to change.

[@Johnsoncrna]

@@Carl_Pullein awesome, thank you 🙏

[@jdengelkirk]

I have my Apple notes set up in a similar way. I have used Evernote, but with their price increase, I'm thinking of moving my notes from Evernote over to Apple Notes. How do you do that easily???

[@Carl_Pullein]

Apple Notes will import Evernote files. You can export your Evernote notes as enex files and import them into your Notes. You will have quite a lot of organising to do as tags and notebooks don't import very easily. I would suggest exporting on an individual notebook basis.

[@oli8735]

Interesting take on PARA Carl. A Q regarding Projects v Areas. I’m in sales & business development. I keep my client notes in “Areas” as I’m responsible” to a degree for them. However these clients also generate projects - you can see where this is going can’t you?! Do the notes go into “Projects” under “Client A Project 1” or do they go into “Areas” under “Client A”?

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Oli, if an area generates a project (as all good projects will come from) you create a project in the projects area of your notes. Once the project has been completed you archive it. The area stays the same. And that's the difference between an area and a project. An area is likely to be relatively permanent. A project is always temporary.

[@Kevkin]

Would you recommend using tags to separate work and personal notes? Also, will you be releasing your new Apple Productivity on your Skillshare channel?

[@Carl_Pullein]

I personally wouldn't separate notes by work or personal. The search feature allows me to find what I need when I need it. Sadly, my courses no longer "meet with Skillshare's rules" (I don't know why, but they shut my courses down about 2 weeks ago)

[@Kevkin]

Thanks Carl, I’ll combine personal and work notes and use search. That’s a shame about Skillshare.

[@CapitanArctic]

First, I read "Say Hello to GRANDPA".

[@ditchcomfort]

Like so many other things I have adopted from you, I will try this system. For some reason I just don’t take a lot of notes anymore. But maybe I have to go back to taking notes. Also I am so much more focused these days on ‘real’ work like creativity, photography, and post-processing. I had a couple of months where I was diving deeeeep into the note-taking world, but I didn’t get ‘work’ done 😜 so I try to avoid that. Btw, do you use exactly the same structure on your machine, iCloud, external drives?

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Aleksander, no I don't My filing has unique needs that do not relate to the type of notes I take. For instance, I don't need a folder for goals on my computer. All my goals are contained in my notes app.

[@younglife99]

This is great. I took your time sector course about a year ago. After reading your Jan 26 newsletter "Too many tasks is killing your productivity" I'm now reviewing and revamping my work organization. I was laughing my way through that newsletter because it was spot on for me so thanks for that. Anyway, I have a quick question...where do you store inactive or archived projects in your notes app? Thanks again.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hello, I'm very happy to hear you enjoyed the newsletter. For completed projects (and anything else I want to keep) I store in an Archive folder. It's a parent folder so I an drop individual notes and project folders into it.

[@JeffMathe]

Very helpful. Subscribed ! Thanks. But I have a question. How do I transfer my notes to another apple account? I can’t copy all thousands and thousands of notes. Is there a simple way to import to another account?

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hmmm that's a good question. I doubt Apple ever considered that as an option. The only thing I can think of is to share your notes to your new account. You can share the folders, so you do not have to share individual notes

[@JeffMathe]

@@Carl_Pullein Thanks for this quick reply. I will try this. Hopefully there is an option to unlink the share option later on? We'll see. This initial question results from the impossibility to change apple region once you move out of one, as an account is tied up to specific region. Strange.

[@peterwillemen8726]

I am also an EN user and have about 15000 notes. But I am not a big fan anymore since the new EN. It has become to slow and I do not like the dashboard. I loved the simplicity from the past. At this moment I started to bring over my EN to Apple notes, by importing Enex-files to Apple Notes. However after that I have imported the enex file, I found out that my Apple notes are not syncing anymore. Ps: My Icould storage is still sufficient. Any idea what the reason can be ? I still have one concern : the search function in EN is very stronge, especially because of the searching capabilities in the attachments. I believe that at this moment this is not possible in Apple notes, I guess?

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Peter, sometimes it takes a while for iCloud to catch up. Another thing you could try is on the device where the sync is not happening, log out of iCloud, turn off the device. Then restart and turn iCloud back on. That usually removes any glitches that might have prevented the sync.

[@ivan-vuckovic]

If you would start now fresh, which one would you choose? EN or Apple notes?

[@rogerbravo3783]

Well  notes because of its simplicity, have spot on features and capabilities. Sure if you are into  ecosystem then you will have a rich and robust experience systemwide.

[@Carl_Pullein]

It would be Apple Notes. While it's not as feature rich as Evernote, I love it's simplicity.

[@rflquim]

What do you write in Areas of focus, why some folders are two or more notes? 5:12

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Rafael, this is a demo account so I haven't filled all the folders with notes. I usually add thoughts, ideas and resources inside these folders.

[@AndresIbanezVasquez]

Hey Carl, was just wondering if you are also using GAPRA inside Evernote, or is it only an Apple Notes thing. Also noticed this is a year old, are you still using Evernote or have you moved over to Apple Notes entirely?

[@Carl_Pullein]

I do. And yes, I am using Evernote - currently.

[@yaaqoubeliyyahu5783]

Have you looked into Obsidian? If so, your thoughts? Thank you

[@Carl_Pullein]

Another notes app? Apple Notes does everything I need a notes app to do.

[@alertbox]

​@@Carl_Pulleinfrom what I gather Obsidian is more about linking notes. More useful for creativity than productivity. A glorious rabbit hole which I haven't had the time (or brains 😊) to figure out.

[@peterc2248]

I'm a trying to move my extensive family history notes to Apple notes. It would be incredibly useful to be able to drop a hyperlink in from one note to another. Surely this must be possible - any thoughts?

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Peter, you can > kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIrLqZ6OaKhnotU

[@vijay133k]

Can Apple Notes replace a diary. How to convert a note into a pdf or word without worrying about formatting.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Do you mean a journal? If so, yes it can. You can export your notes as PDFs and that will not alter the formatting. It might be possible to export to MS Word, but being a Microsoft product I'm doubtful it will retain the formatting.

[@vijay133k]

@Carl Pullein thanks a lot for your reply.

[@devarni]

Basically your system is PARA, except you call "Areas" "Areas of Focus" and have "Goals" in addition? But I don't really see the separation between business and private here. For example, where do you have Business invoices (stuff for tax) and Personal invoices?

[@Carl_Pullein]

Invoices and receipts would never go into my notes app. I have a separate file folder for those that are shared with my accountant through Google Drive (my accountant doesn't use Apple) And you are correct. However, GAPRA doesn't filter into my tasks or my file folders as PARA does .GAPRA is ONLY used to manage my notes.

[@smbate]

Sometimes when I list a date in Apple notes I get the rectangular text box around the date and a down arrow to the right that allows a share to the Calendar, but sometimes it's not there. Is there a secret to a correct way to enter the date so that it's always there? Thanks

[@Carl_Pullein]

There is no specific trick here, Steve. It depends how the date is written, if it is spelt correctly and if the spaces are accurate.

[@smbate]

@@Carl_Pullein I see now that if I type a date in the past, it doesn't work, but any date in the future it will. Thanks for your answer, though.

[@anonymousjd1807]

Do you know by any chance if it's possible to filter by tags within a specific folder? I've been trying to organize apple notes using tags and folders but pressing tags just shows me everything with that tag, so it's not really helpful.

[@Carl_Pullein]

At this moment, no you cannot.

[@swacsd]

Quick question… Have you moved away from the GAPRA framework? I’ve not noticed you speak much about it lately.

[@Carl_Pullein]

No, I still use it. This is one area that would rarely changes as once it's set up it does what it's supposed to do with little interference.

[@swacsd]

@@Carl_Pullein Happy to hear that. I’m in the process of setting up GAPRA. I’ve done a lot of research and decided I prefer it over TF’s PARA. Now the hard part is deciding on a notes app. 🙄

[@Carl_Pullein]

@@swacsd Haha, good look with your search, Steven. (that's a hard choice to make)

[@RameshKumar-ng3nf]

Hello Sir, new to your channel and subscribed. Please help me in understanding "meeting" notes, which folder it is supposed to be ? . Is it in AREAS or PROJECTS ? I am working on a particular PROJECT eg: Building a software , which is in my PROJECT folder. And i have regular weekly team meetings on it , so i keep my "meeting notes" inside the PROJECT folder. But "meetings" is a on-going thing as well which is supposed to be in AREAS folder. I am very confused on this. Do i need to duplicate meeting notes in both PROJECT and AREAS ? Please share your thoughts Sir . Thanks !

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Ramesh, I would keep meeting notes inside their respective project folders. You want everything kept together. You can create a sub-folder inside the project folder (on more notes apps) and you can keep them all together there.

[@RameshKumar-ng3nf]

@@Carl_Pullein Hello Carl, many thanks for your response. Noted. I loved your explanation from your youtube channel . Was going through your website and interested to purchase few courses eg below. Is there any coupon codes or discounts for these courses ? ,was planning to purchase . Thanks ! The File Management Course The Productivity Myth

[@Carl_Pullein]

@@RameshKumar-ng3nf You can email me at [e-mail], and I will let you know what coupons I have available.

[@RameshKumar-ng3nf]

@@Carl_Pullein Thanks so much Carl 🙏, I will email you now 😊

[@Bkkriversidelifestyle]

How to export these MAC Notes? Its a nightmare!! Not 1 by 1. All of them in PDF form. Thx

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Luis, it's unlikely any company will make it easy for you to export your notes to a competitor. When there was much talk of Evernote dying, a few third-party apps came out to help the process. Now, Evernote is growing again, and those third-party apps disappeared.

[@justit2015]

Reason you couldn’t lock that note is because you had a #tag in there. Sharing to get a usable link is also not allowed for locked notes.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thank you for the heads up.

[@sergiorodrigues6694]

Using Google Notes and Evernote simultaneously doesn't mean working in duplicity? With reference to Google Notes, could Google Keep, that I am currently using, serve the same purpose?

[@Carl_Pullein]

At the moment, I am using Apple Notes because I've been updating my Apple Productivity course. This means Evernote's been on hold for a couple of months. You are right, if I were using both, there would be duplication.

[@tredteniou7353]

@@Carl_Pullein do you see yourself going back to Evernote when you are done with the apple course? After watching other content of yours, I just switched to Evernote paid account and am liking it (more aesthetically pleasing than apple notes at the moment in my opinion). But love your organization and curious if you’re still an Evernote fan.

[@Carl_Pullein]

@@tredteniou7353 Yes. Evernote is a big part of my workflow.

[@marcosalano7769]

I was wondering what exactly you put inside "Goals". You didn't explain very well. I understand every action of you should be guided by goals, but I think projects reunite the actionable actions do go forward, so I can't imagine what items you would like to put in "Goals" folder

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hi Marcos, Inside goals, I have things like my fitness goals (complete a marathon in under four hours), my company's growth goal and my personal growth goals--what courses I want to complete this year, for example. Plus, I also have outlines for my longer ten to fifty-year goals, as these provide the path on which I can set my annual goals.

[@marcosalano7769]

@@Carl_Pullein Thank you for the answer. Understood. I'm trying to integrate a PKM system with GTD methodology, so I'm struggling a little to know what to keep as a task and what to put in the PKM system. My idea (maybe I'm wrong) is to use GTD to deal with tasks and use the PKM system as a more live and complete reference system, which David Allen talks about in GTD method.

[@chenrvn]

@@Carl_Pulleinbut why not put it in my todoiest app? It’s more an actionable other than notes No?

[@SteveDunn]

Do you think you’ll move away from EN then, Carl?

[@markhwarner]

FWIW, if they came up with a reasonably good alternative to Evernote's Web Clipper, I personally would consider switching. Apple Notes has gotten very good in recent times. I'm really curious what Carl thinks.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Unlikely, Evernote is my information centre. There's twelve years of research, articles and other stuff of interest. But it may move towards the background as its handwriting support is very poor. That's something I use a lot in Apple Notes and compared to getting notes into the system, it's not as quick as Apple Notes.

[@Carl_Pullein]

@@markhwarner I've got used to using the share sheet in Safari on my desktop. But you're right, it's not as intuitive as Evernote's web clipper.

[@mchisolm0]

You may have already been told this, but you apparently can’t lock notes that have attachments in them.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thanks, Matt. I discovered that recently.

[@AndyCorn]

Also learned that tags also prevent a note from locking.

[@Carl_Pullein]

@@AndyCorn YEah, I have no idea why Apple allowed that one to get through.

[@PattyGardner170]

I had no idea apple notes could do all this.

[@Carl_Pullein]

It does have quite a lot of very useful features now.