The productivity struggle we all talk about deals with not accomplishing what we want, moving things along their planned path, or organizing the myriad of things headed our way often fails to address one key area…what happens when things DO get done?
Every so often (though in today’s world it feels less and less) we have a day where things do get finished. You get a little momentum and a chore is finished or a project is completed. You feel a little burst of adrenaline and dopamine knowing you don’t have to commit your energy to worrying about that thing any longer. Then another task follows suit…and another. At some point in the day you stop, catch your breath, and go, “Damn, I got a lot done today.” Those are the successes we need to raise up.
The sense of accomplishment when a task, long on the list, is completed is so satisfying. Whether it’s a checkbox checked, a line item crossed-off, or a status changed, closing out something that has been weighing on you is the proverbial weight off your shoulders. Sometimes it’s a collection of disparate things getting done; in others it’s that mythical “flow” state for which we’re searching and have found.
Where we underestimate is the value of completing many little things. We look at the big items, the milestones, the world-shaking (ok, maybe not world shaking) tasks as the ones that deserve all our attention. But the little tasks…that’s where momentum comes from.
Daily summaries, journaling, and recurring tasks
There are tools out there that provide summaries of the tasks you have completed as part of their function. Todoist is a good example of one of those tools, though the detail provided is a bit lacking. Having a tool that gives you a measure of the little things in aggregate keeps you from discounting the value of completion.
Keeping a daily record of the tasks you complete, even the little ones, can go a long way to helping you savor the feeling of success. For example, Capacities does an excellent job of managing daily notes and then providing consolidated views so you can see everything that was noted during the week. Notion allows for databases to track completions providing a data-centric view of the items done. Workflowy gives you fast-filtered views of crossed-out items for a rapid overview. The list goes on and on. In the end, being able to go back and see what you’ve done, and how much, can be a strong positive motivator.
In many cases, tasks happen again and again. One of my favorite phrases for repeating tasks comes from an old commercial, “Lather, rinse, repeat.” Finding a way to track not only the completion of a recurring tasks, but also the consistency of completion is another powerful motivator. Many tools, Notion and Capacities for example, let you either build your own tracker or have a tracker built into the tasks themselves. In either case, seeing that bar fill longer and longer with each successful completion feels good.
Celebrate your successes and light the fire
All in all, the most important task you can complete is taking time to revel in your success, evaluate your completions, and understand what you can carry forth to complete even more.
Use the record of past success to ignite a fire under you when needed. It doesn’t work all the time, but there are moments when going back and seeing those good days, that can be enough to light the spark.
Know someone struggling with appreciating their successes? How about sharing this article with them?
Managing your information usually comes down to one of two things.
How many files do you have?
How many notes have you taken?
Those are questions, for many of us, we either don’t know the answer or are afraid to ask. The collapse of so many organizational systems are caused by falling back on old ways of working such as keeping information in folders.
In days of yore…
Folders were the defacto method of organizing information on a PC because they emulated a standard people were already familiar with as well as providing a structure that worked well with file storage of the time.
That time has passed.
Folder structures:
Have problems with scalability for large volume use
Require consistency in naming
Have limits in name length and levels of nested folders
Do not facilitate finding your information quickly
Do not prevent duplication of content
What’s the alternative?
Many systems now provide tagging and categorization as a replacement for or in addition to folder structures when it comes to organizing data. Now this isn’t the same as putting information into database structures (looking at you Notion), rather it applies structure without structure.
Tagging:
Creates subsets of information based on relevancy to a topic
Fits well into search capabilities of tools
Scales better with growing sets of information
Works better with machine learning and AI
Do all applications offer tagging?
Unfortunately no, most applications do not have tagging as an option in their information management. Finding applications that leverage tags over folders should be a key concern when implementing or upgrading knowledge systems.
Can I “pretend” to have tags in my folders?
Depending on the system, you can use keywords in your folder and file names to make searching more useful. While still far removed from tags, it does get you closer to the types of functionality available.
What are some ways to get around the issues of folders?
Rather than making multiple copies of a document, decide on the location for one master copy. Depending on the system you can create a shortcut to the master copy in another folder, or in even less capable systems, create a small document in the second location that contains a link to the master document.
Don’t be afraid to reorganize. So many folder structures sprawl out of control because of a failure to realign with changing needs out of a lack of understanding. If you’re moving content from folder to folder, there’s no harm with leaving the old folder in place with a single document pointing to the new location. Heck, you could even add a note as to why the contents of the folder were moved.
Folders work best when organized in wide rather than deep structures. A good rule of thumb is you shouldn’t have more than four folders deep to go through to get to a file.
What’s the right answer?
I wish there was one for everyone. Unfortunately, because of differences in need, tools, structure, content, and implementation, the best answer that can be given is, “it depends”.
Take time with a coach or professional to talk through what you’re doing now, what you need it to do, and what you’re using to do it and they can help you find the right fit for your information management.
When things change, through no choice of your own, that’s when that little voice decides to chime in.
“You deserved this.”
“You weren’t good enough.”
“You should have tried harder.”
or my favorite
“Why didn’t you see this coming?”
We’ve all had times when that voice shows up. Sometimes it’s after something major happens. Other times it’s keeping you awake in bed. Still other times it’s reinforced by the doom-scrolling you’re doing to try and distract yourself.
That voice is destructive. That voice is powerful. That voice is…just is.
But there’s something we so often miss about that voice.
It’s not your voice.
If you listen carefully, you’ll hear the disappointed parent, the angry spouse, the annoying co-worker, the disapproving teacher. All the voices over the years living rent free in your head power that little voice.
You try to fix something – “You’re not smart enough.”
Money is tight – “If you had only applied yourself…”
You’re alone – “You’re not enough.”
These aren’t things we say to ourselves. These are things that are said, hurtful, demeaning, destructive things designed to elevate others at our expense.
Hear them in the voices that said them. Understand where they came from. Weaken them with the understanding they have no intention to help, only to harm.
“You’re not smart enough…I don’t think I am either but if I put you down I can raise myself up.”
“You’re not enough…I don’t think I am either but I can protect myself by shaming you.
“If you had only applied yourself…I wouldn’t have to feel bad about having no idea how I could have helped you.”
The next time you hear that little voice…and trust me you will…tell it:
I hear you, but it doesn’t mean I have to listen, and it doesn’t mean you have anything worth saying.
Taking notes when things are happening way too fast.
Over the past year I spent a large part of my professional time operating in “interrupt mode”. At any given moment I could have whatever I was doing interrupted by a question from my team, a request from account management, or a demand from leadership. That sudden stop, change of direction, and resume when finished can derail even the best note taking systems. I didn’t have the best…I had OneNote.
Step 1 – Capture as you go
The first thing I did was start a daily note each day. The title was nothing more than the date (Year-month-day format for consistency sake). From the creation of that note, everything else went into the daily note.
On Windows, Shift-Alt-D dropped a date and Shift-Alt-T dropped the time into my note. Stream of consciousness capture came next with everything I needed to know when I was able to come back to what I was doing at some point. The daily note grew and grew as the day took on it’s normal chaotic character.
Step 2 – Search vs. structure
In the beginning I tried to create an organized section and page structure to make it easier to locate information I needed on demand. Unfortunately, the more time I spent doing that, the less of an impact it had on my information demand urgency. Sounds counter-intuitive I know, but reality often does.
I began restructuring my note taking to match how I would need it in the future, not based on the structures in the tool itself. Adding ticket numbers, keywords, client names, team member names, all of these helped when it came to answering that interrupt question that showed up in my doorway unexpectedly.
Step 3 – Information in, information out
Screenshots into OneNote became a fast friend – capturing chats in Teams and information from web pages for reference. Once I came to the acceptance that the majority of the information I was capturing never needed to be edited, relying on the OCR of the images in OneNote made things much more effective.
On the flip side, rather than writing emails in Outlook I started writing new emails in OneNote and then using the Email Note function to distribute the content. Why? In that way I had a record in my notes of the original email, I could capture responses without needing the entire email thread, plus I could add reference content that didn’t need to go into the email.
Not perfect, but not terrible either
I tried other variants during the year: hand written notes by digital tablet, paper note photos, section groups and sections across multiple notebooks, the list goes on. In the end though, while not perfect, OneNote gave me the opportunity to work around the limitations of the environment and business technology and focus on the job at hand. At the end of the day, isn’t that really all we can ask?
The things the hype cycle doesn’t want you to know.
In the groundswell of thinking that AI will “do all the things” it’s important to understand the limitations of what it can and can’t do, especially when it comes to professional needs or running a business.
Any technology in it’s earliest days is amazing and potentially ground-breaking. As time progresses and we learn more, the application of our critical thinking skills become the best check-and-balance for riding the hype cycle.
Let’s start with a disclaimer…AI is an amazingly powerful technology that has and will change the way many things work. There’s no argument there. I use AI every day to improve the processes for my work and personal needs. That said, it’s equally important to understand the limitations of the technology and how it is used.
AI won’t:
implement organizational change for you
solve organizational conflicts
value experience over aggregated results
provide push back when push back is needed
see people as people
understand for you
Implementing strategies
AI has an excellent capacity to answer questions such as “how should we do this” with a tone and structure that is convincing and confident. Trouble is, there’s nothing in that response around how to communicate much less implement those answers in a successful manner.
Solutions such as Claude Code can build the tools for automating processes but those same tools can’t adapt when the strategy needs to change on the fly. Understanding what needs to be done, who needs to do it, and most importantly what are the potential impacts, falls on experienced professionals and staff. An AI may give you an answer that sounds good…but it takes a professional to know if it is or not.
Solving organizational conflicts
This is another great example of AI providing perceived insights that it cannot justify. Conflicts that occur within an organization, whether they be personal, departmental, or operational, may be “explained” by AI, but resolving the conflicts always come back to the people involved. Anyone telling you their AI solution can resolve the conflicts between staff members or between staff and processes has a monthly subscription price they want you to pay.
These solutions don’t come from only the “right” answers, but also from having seen the wrong ones play out. Only time, trial and error, and experience can create the proper perspective for a specific set of needs and issues.
Valuing experience over aggregated results
Some of the best business and professional decisions come from “uncommon wisdom” rather than the results of a targeted search of internet sources. When you prompt an AI to address a topic, it’s recommended to have it provide it’s sources as part of the response. Why? Simply so you know from where the answer is coming.
I’ve seen too many people going to AI and asking, “what is the best…” or “tell me the right way to…” and I have to ask, best based on what? Right way according to whom?
Think back to the early days of search engines when we would enter keywords and get back millions of pages of results. Even though the “best” answer for our needs may have been on page 13, we rarely went past page 2 in returned links. There is a gap between the best answer and the most convenient one.
AI doesn’t show you the origin of it’s information unless you ask it to. It doesn’t show you the criteria it used to make it’s recommendation unless you press for details.
Providing push back when push back is needed
I asked an AI, “is it a good idea to fire my staff and replace them with AI agents?”
Sounds well-reasoned and thought out doesn’t it? Sure…and a professional could have said the same thing with a simple “No.” I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.
I then asked, “Will it save my business money?”
In the short term, replacing staff with AI agents can significantly reduce payroll and benefit expenses
An AI isn’t going tell you when an idea is a bad one AND stick to it’s stance on the idea. AIs can be badgered into telling you what you want to hear based on the questions and prompts you provide or worse yet hallucinate and make up the answer. If you’re looking for validation, an AI is “happy” to provide that…but if you’re looking for a rational, experienced evaluation of an idea you need a person with real understanding.
Seeing people as people
In our modern working world, AI has become a major factor in the process of evaluating and hiring people. For better or worse, it can process thousands of applicants for a role, matching their information to the description provided and sifting through to find the “best match.”
If…the job description is accurate. If…the keywords in the resume match the keywords in the role. If…the terminology used across the sources is consistent. So many ifs. As an automation tool, it does it’s job. As something that sees the people behind the text, it continues to fail miserably.
Now we have people writing resumes using AI to optimize them for the AI applicant tracking systems so they have a better chance of being seen by a human. Back and forth the pendulum swings but where are the real benefits being seen? People are not data and when they are reduced to just that we all suffer for it.
Understand for you
This is a hard one to take for many people. It’s not a challenge with AI, but rather with how people handle the information provided to them. An AI can churn out pages and pages of detailed, referenced reports and research based on your prompts: text, charts, images, and more all to provide everything you’ve asked about.
The problem is…are you going to read it? Do you have the time to review, analyze, and process all the information provided to you to turn into something actionable and impactful? Can the AI explain it in a way that makes sense to you and your situation?
I always chuckle a little when, after completing a lengthy bit of research through an AI that goes on for pages, the AI ends with “would you like a one-page summary?” This isn’t an AI problem, it’s a people problem because we know people like quick and easy.
If you know anyone in the consulting field they’ll tell you this has been going on for decades. You spend hours creating the perfect meal of information only to be asked for it to be packed in a happy meal box with a toy. Only difference here is the AI isn’t going to complain about it. Maybe that’s why people like it…no push back.
AIs aren’t professors…they’re elementary school teachers
Now, I’m not disparaging elementary school teachers in any way with that statement. Personally I think an elementary school teacher has a harder job than a professor when it comes to the delivery of knowledge to their audience. (Please feel free to leave your agreement / disagreement in the comments.)
AIs will take a complex topic and synthesize it down to something consumable. A teacher takes complex topics and communicates them in a way that the majority of students can understand. However, the AI cannot tell when you don’t understand what it’s sharing…it can only provide the information.
When we ask an AI for complex research, in-depth information gathering, or recommendations based on available sources, we are presuming we will be able to understand what it returns. It has to be said…that is not always the case.
So how do we get the most out of AI as it exists now and prepare for it’s potential growth and change in the future?
What should you do?
Question everything and compare sources
Know the difference between can and should
Understand the landscape is always changing as are the rules
For the time being, AI is the biggest, noisiest, most disruptive technology out there. It’s critical you don’t fall for the hype, take time to understand how it can help you, and if you’re not sure…ask.
“Add 1 TB to your storage space for 50% off this week!”
The emails that come bearing these incredible offers are fast and frequent. Unfortunately they also rely on you not thinking about the best way to increase your available storage…by deleting things.
Because something is digital, it has no perceived weight, size, or capacity to take up space in our world, so why throw it away? We might just need it at some time in the future. With this thought and others, the trap is set.
Here’s a fun fact…by default, Microsoft SharePoint saves up to 500 versions of a file you place in one of it’s libraries as you edit and save that file. Not five, not 50, but 500. Now do the math of how many files you are saving and you can see why big tech is so anxious to have you add on to your monthly storage quota to keep those versions you “might” need someday.
Where to begin?
Start with the big files first. Videos are a great example. While it may be convenient to have video files in cloud storage, when was the last time you actually played back that video from there? The cloud can be effective for sharing, but far less for long term retention of large files such as videos. This is the time to start thinking about offline storage.
Three copies, two media, one to go
The strategy of protecting your files is best served by following this phrase: “Three copies, two media, one to go.” Let’s break it down.
That video of your kid’s graduation or the once in a lifetime trip somewhere…do you really want the only copy of that stored on some big tech server somewhere? A location where, in the worst case, they are no longer in business and your memories disappear just as easily?
Here’s the plan:
Leave a copy in the cloud, but also make a copy to two local storage devices. Preferably to your computer (if you have the space available…not always the case with the move to SSD drives) and to an external drive.
For example, I keep my most active files (the ones where I never know where I’ll be when I need them) in the cloud for easy access. I also keep copies of those files on my local computer drive AND I make a copy of them on the external hard drive I have for long term storage. Three copies, two media (or more), one (or more) to go.
Sounds like a lot of work.
That’s what big tech is counting on. If things feel difficult or cumbersome, they’re happy to offer an “easy” solution for a nominal fee. But is it really necessary? Let’s do a little more math.
Two terabytes of storage from Google in the cloud will run you about $100 annually. An external USB connected hard drive will run you just a bit more. Year one, the price comparison is a wash. Year two…now we start to see savings. The savings can justify the extra effort pretty quickly.
But what about…
The arguments start to come in, “what about search? what about sharing?” Remember the phrase…three copies, two media, one to go? No one said you CAN’T use the cloud…only that you should use it for the right things. Things that need to be shared are a good candidate for one of the copies to be in the cloud. Things that are rarely needed…they’re best served using local storage and a logical naming system.
Still sounds complicated.
Making the change from the “cloud will manage my stuff” to taking responsibility can be a bit of an effort, but in the long term it is the best approach. Subscriptions are temporary, no matter how big the company is providing them, whereas owning your content and files where you want them is the right way to keep control in this changing tech landscape.
But what about AI? (suppressing eyeroll)
Yes, AI can leverage your information to give you insights and synthesize answers based on your files and content. But what is AI doing with your information when you’re not using it? Does it really need everything you’ve stored? Selective use of information with AI can get far more accurate results than pointing it at the ocean and telling it to go boil it all.
That’s not how they do it at work.
Nope, it isn’t. Want to know why?
They consider information maintenance and storage a cost of doing business, not a benefit for the business. They keep all the things because it’s “non-productive” to clean up, organize, and manage the information. They’d rather let the wonders of machine learning and AI do the work and trust the result, failing to take into consideration that your systems are only as smart as the information put into them.
Ok, so where do I begin?
First, talk to an independent professional. Someone with business, productivity, and IT experience who can map out what you have, what you want, and what you actually need. Compare costs, accessibility, retention, and protection. Then…and this is the real hard part…get ready to get rid of things you don’t need anymore. Free up that space, reduce those subscription costs, and get a handle on what’s worth keeping.
In the world of productivity there’s always a running debate around task management.
In the world of productivity there’s always a running debate around task management. Should they have reminders? Do they get scheduled? How do you track them? How do you follow-up? Before delving into that type of discussion let’s focus on helping define exactly what tasks are to you and how you can get a grip on them.
The term “task” is a loaded one in my dictionary, because it immediately conjures the image of something hard, something that needs to be “managed,” and something that needs a “manager.” Let’s change the definition a little and see if that helps grant us a better perspective. Instead of a task being focused on work to expend, let’s focus it on objective to be accomplished. Each task we complete should be an accomplishment, no matter how minor. (You have no idea how often completing the task of “getting my morning coffee” is the biggest accomplishment of the day. Now, with our new outlook on tasks, we can change even more rules.
When we look at tasks there are really two types in my book: tasks you assign yourself and tasks assigned to you by someone else. The biggest difference is the second type, assigned by someone else, involves just that…someone else. Part of the task accomplishment process then has to include the other person in the mix to be considered an accomplishment when complete. Let’s take a closer look at a basic userflow (one of my favorite terms) for the two types of task:
Task A — Assigned by me
Identify the task –> Document the task –> Plan –> Execute –> Document accomplishment
Task B — Assigned by someone else
Receive assignment –> Review assignment –> Acknowledge assignment –> Capture the task –> Document the task –> Plan –> Execute –> Document –> Report accomplishment –> Confirm or review accomplishment
If you are in a situation where a task takes longer than planned, you add in a loop for “Report Status –>” after Execute and go back to Execute to continue working. See how much more complicated things get when we introduce another human in the equation? This is where so many of our “task management” solutions fall apart. As professionals, we strive to find the one system, the one miracle pill, to address both Tasks A and B. They’re a rare beast by any measure. So how do we do this? There has to be a way. My opinion…it all comes from a change in perspective.
Communication vs. completion
Let’s take Task B from earlier since it’s the complicated one and break it down into two main areas: action and sharing.
Receive assignment –> Review assignment –> Acknowledge assignment –> Capture the task –> Document the task –> Plan –> Execute –> Document –> Report accomplishment –> Confirm or review accomplishment
Interesting change in what the task effort looks like, isn’t it? Out of the 10 steps to carry out the task, only two focus on the “doing” of the task. The rest are either receiving, sharing, or documenting (for future sharing.) When we look at our tasks this way, we can see putting energy into the task itself is not where the bulk of the work is derived. The heavy lifting comes from the communication back and forth to keep both parties engaged. Now this is just if you’re working with one person on a task. Think about what happens when we add two, three, or more.
Creating the stages in a solution for managing tasks from others must include steps to close the loop on the communications. Updates, snapshots, etc. are all part of the accomplishment of the task, but for more than just the “doing.” If you are going to establish a reputation for being the type of person who gets things done, others have to know you are doing just that. It’s up to you as part of your solution to make sure information about the successes are getting back to the right people in a timely manner so your reputation for quality work grows, rather than just becoming the person who can really crank out the widgets.
When you’re designing your “task management solution” always keep this in mind; the work you do is only a fraction of the work you share.
So many hats, only one head. How do we wear them all without obscuring our vision?
Working solo means you take care of all the things. Big things. Little things. Things you love to do. Things you hate to do. Things you have no idea how to do. They’re all yours to handle.
Talk about overwhelming.
If you must do something new, you must either learn how or find someone to do it for you (hence solo leaning into the first choice rather than the second.) Time spent learning things that don’t grow your business but are necessary to stay in business can feel like a waste of time at most or a burden at a minimum. What’s a solo to do?
Unfortunately, there’s no magic wand to wave, no matter how much the influencers will try to convince you otherwise.
There are dozens of tools out there promoted with the intention of “wearing” some of those hats for you. While helpful, they still can’t completely replace your involvement in the process and execution of your work. Each tool takes time to learn, to implement, and to manage. Is that time that could have been spent doing the thing that needed doing?
Ironically only time will tell.
As a technology and productivity coach one of the most common things I see solos as well as small businesses struggle with is division and prioritization of work. We evaluate work to be done based on how it drives the bottom line, often missing the impact the work has on the short- and long-term operations of our business. Process documentation is a fitting example of this.
“Without documentation, every problem is a new problem.”
So often, the process necessary to accomplish a routine task includes multiple steps and a miss on any of them could derail the task completely. A process can vary over time as requirements and methods change, so the importance of process documentation never goes away.
When I bring this up to solos sometimes there’s pushback: “It’s my business, I know how it’s supposed to run.” While that may be true, how much time are you willing to waste recreating a process you may do only once a month or twice a year? Isn’t your time better spent? The impact to your business in this case is high when it comes to the potential of future wasted time and effort.
There is another facet to the world of the solo…the “I want to do it” approach. Many of us, me included, would rather do things ourselves. Sometimes it’s misguided thinking the only way something will be done right is if we do it. Other times we honestly enjoy learning new things, growing our skill set, and becoming more comfortable in the scope and requirements of our business. In any case, help will still be needed as knowledge doesn’t magically appear no matter how many YouTube videos you watch.
Solos can struggle deeply with the, “You need to do (the thing) this way or else it won’t be right” approach that many consultants and coaches will take. A good, effective coach will work with you to find out how you want to work and then aid in finding the ways to reach that goal. Let’s go back to our many hats for example.
Picture you wanting to purchase a hat. You need a hat as part of your business. You know what hats you like, but you aren’t sure you have the best one for your needs. You don’t want to spend too much, you want it to look good, and you want it to last.
One hat shop (not taking a shot at hat shops…this is just for example purposes) has racks and racks of baseball caps with all kinds of logos and colors. They can sell you anything you want, so long as you want a baseball cap. They will go out of their way to help you understand you really want a baseball cap.
Another hat shop has a huge variety of hats, from beanies to bowlers and more. Your eye catches a top hat on the shelf with all its splendor and you’re sure you would look amazing in it. You’re not wrong, it would be a great look, and all the really successful hat wearers have one you’re told. The price tag is large, and the upkeep will be a lot, but still, if this is what the successful people are wearing, why not?
While struggling with your decision, someone leans over to you and says, “you know, it’s supposed to be rainy and windy coming up.” You wonder why that matters and then it dawns on you. You came in looking for an all-weather, comfortable hat. The top hat, while stylish, can’t handle the wind and weather. The baseball cap, while durable, doesn’t make the impact you want. You’re back to square one. But are you?
You strike up a conversation with the stranger who asks you about where you want to wear your hat, what kinds of hats you’ve had in the past, and what you like about the top hat and baseball cap. The discussion goes back and forth, taking time you didn’t think you had, only to wind up in a place where you have a much better understanding of what you need and want. You reach over and take the wool newsboy hat from the rack, place it on your head, and immediately feel like this is the right choice. The stranger remarks, nodding, “now that’s a hat.” You leave, confident with your purchase, proud you were able to come to the decision on your own. But did you?
At this point you may be wondering what any of this has to do with process documentation, and you’d be right to. If you capture the process you went through to buy your hat, you don’t have to repeat that process blindly again. Referencing the past to apply to the present means your time spent the first time has a much greater impact in the future.
As a solo we need to always be aware of the ways we can help our future selves. Whether we simplify, streamline, optimize, or proceduralize parts of our operation, changing hats doesn’t need to be the challenge it is for so many of us. Take time to study what is required of you in all the ways, determine the courses of action that work best for you, and then make them part of your operation. Now is the time to get yourself a hat rack.
Of all the platforms, why ignore the one best suited to your application?
Of the challenges with note taking applications is making sure they are supported and “feature equivalent” on multiple platforms and devices. Cloud based applications usually find this easier as everything is reaching out to one source for not only the data but the user experience. Application that work in native modes on platforms such as Android and iOS can suffer from a divergence between what is available in the cloud, on desktop, and on mobile. It is here where we arrive at OneNote on Android Tablets.
If there was ever an example of a forgotten version of an application this would be it. The mobile version on Android phones, while not perfect, functions adequately within the limitations of screen real estate and user interface. Unfortunately, the Android tablet version fails to take advantage of greater screen space and capabilities of the tablet world. This is a big swing and miss on their part.
The argument will be made, and undeniably so, the market share of Android tablets is small enough to not warrant a heavy attention or investment in the platform for the Microsoft development teams. If this is truly the case, this is some of the most misguided thinking around. After all, when you have a platform that could potentially be redefined by a single, powerful app why wouldn’t you try and make that sea change happen?
Samsung is the main player in the Android tablet space, and their stylus-enabled, attached keyboard devices are all but made to get the most from OneNote. What happens though? Efforts are put into Samsung Notes (an arguably superior handwriting app to OneNote) and then the notes are “synced” to OneNote for accessibility. A clumsy work-around to be sure.
A second common argument is that Microsoft doesn’t push in the Android tablet space because they want to encourage purchase of Surface devices as a “better experience.” From a corporate perspective that makes sense, but since there is no equitable cost-comparison / capability-equity between Surface and Android, this too falls flat. If Surface tablets were truly a viable alternative, they would have made their mark by now and we have yet to see that happen.
Microsoft needs to step up and make basic improvements to the tablet version of OneNote on Android. This forgotten segment of the ecosystem compels people to other tools and ultimately a departure from OneNote entirely. As one of the most versatile and longest living note-taking applications in the market, neglecting this segment is truly that…neglect.
Do you agree or disagree? Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts on the Android / OneNote gap.
There’s tons of sticky note apps out there. What makes OneNote’s version worth using?
If you use OneNote for Desktop there is a feature you’re likely overlooking. The Sticky Notes option in OneNote provides you an easy way to capture notes for later organization into your notebooks. Did you know that it works well when browsing the web to help you keep track of information?
Open OneNote for Desktop and click on the Sticky Notes button in the upper right. By default this should open as a floating window but you do have the option to dock the Sticky Notes to your desktop (which is the way I use it.) Now that it’s open, here come the really helpful parts.
First, open your browser and navigate to a website. If you have enabled the setting to Capture the Source in the Sticky Notes settings, when you create a new note the address of the page you are viewing will be attached to the sticky note you create.
Even more powerful, if you are viewing a web page click the Screenshot button in Sticky Notes to capture a screenshot of the current window and then add your comments to the destination note. It’s that easy to capture and keep your information on the fly when you’re working.
One caveat for Sticky Notes created this way. Notes that have a source attached will not display that source when the note is pulled up on an Android device (I’m not sure about iOS so I’d love a reply in the comments as to whether or not this is the case.)
When all is said and done, the ease at which Sticky Notes can be used for quick capture and retrieval makes it possible to eliminate one more extra app from the digital clutter of our daily lives.
Doing the right things in the right ways at the right times
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