How I use Keep 3/3

I use Google Keep almost every day. I’m over forty, and my memory is not what it used to be. Keep helps me remember important things like grocery lists, story ideas, and when to go get my kid from that thing…

I put everything simple on there, whether it be a list, reminder, or just a sentence or two.

Cloud Use and Hands-free Options

The best feature of Keep is the cloud-based data. I never lose a plot bunny anymore. I can be in my car (or woken from a great dream), get a story idea, hit the mic, rattle off my thought to my phone, and instantly, it’s on my PC. (Yes, I’m a PC person.) Anything I list, note or mention will be on all my devices linked to that Gmail account. Being able to quickly and easily access data keeps my writing, my life, organized.

Organization and Lists

Keep works great for the holiday lists. With nine nieces and nephews, I can make checklists on the phone for gift ideas and then cross them off after purchase. I also get tons of book recommendations, that I never remember if I don’t write it down. Working in a library and being a writer, everyone has a book for me to try. I grab my phone, open Keep, and jot it down.

More Organization

I also label and color coordinate my notes. Story ideas get one color, books another. I have labels for WIP, Inspiration, and TV shows. This helps me access everything quickly. With two teens on the go, a job, and my writing, I don’t have time to dig through thousands of little notes to find what I need.

Searchability

If I’ve made a note and forgotten what I wrote, Keep allows me to search all my cards for the data. I can find things by due dates, keywords, or categories. I’m not sure they can make this app more user-friendly.

Reminders

But they do! The due dates go on my Google calendar! I can see them on my phone and on the computer. It even reminds me with a pop-up when my item is due. I use this feature for writing deadlines—editing due dates, reminders to myself to add the name of that hotel in chapter 3, etc.

Pictures/Drawings

Honestly, I don’t use the picture feature much. But I’m old. I could see a younger user playing with the feature for lists, reminders, and all that.

Keep is my favorite app. It’s usable, easy to learn, and accessible. I hope you love it too.

Next month, I’ll introduce you to Trello, a project management app that is also cloud-based.