Google Keep: How to Use it

Google Keep, whether used on the phone or computer, takes notes.

It’s that simple.

Here’s how to do it:

Take a note:

• Click on the + sign to make a new note. 
• Then type. 
• Or hit the mic on your keyboard (on your phone) and record. 
• Then do nothing. The data is added to a card and saved to the cloud. You can retrieve it on any device.

Make a Check List:

• Press the checkmark in a square to make a new list. 
• Hit enter after each entry to put a box in front of each item. 
• To cross them off later, click the box. 
• When items are finished on the list, Keep only crosses them out. It does not erase them. You can double-check yourself if you finished that item. (I never do that…more than once or twice.)

Create a due date:

• Press the little bell to add a due date to the note or checklist. 
• Add both a date and a time like “Doctor apt Monday at 9.” A little clock will appear in the note. AND it will sync to your Google calendar with a blue note (on mine, it’s blue) and a little finger with a string tried around it. (No, not the middle finger!) 
• FYI: It also has Location available as additional information on the note. It’s not sophisticated enough to map your destination…yet. Click back from the Calendar to Keep to see that info. And even then, it’s not readily available.

Add a Pic:

• Press the square with the tiny triangles (mountains) on it to add a picture above your text—maybe something you snapped and something you want to look at it over and over (a book, a dress, your kid, Evan Peters, etc.) 
• Do the usual searching through your phone, laptop, files to find the pick and click Okay. 
• You can even draw your own pics! Great for entertaining toddlers. (But too advanced for the blog today.)

Organizing your data:

• Click and drag them to change their order on the screen. 
• Click the palette to color notes to group them.
•  Once in the note, click the three dots in a column for more menu options like Add a Label. Label notes to group them further.

Removing Notes:

• Click on the box with the down arrow to Archive a note. Which is wonderful if you’re like me and hate to throw away anything. Old lists can be archived and retrieved to bring up that story idea that now sounds awesome after a few months of not thinking about it or the Christmas list from last year for that hard-to-buy-for Aunt. 
•  Trash the card entirely by three dots in a column and hit Delete Note.

Hopefully, this list can get you started using Google Keep. 

Next time, I’ll share some ways I use Keep for my writing.