But I’ve come to think of Word as a format best suited for preparing texts other people will see - and a nuisance for keeping track of everything else. I’ve experimented with half a dozen or so, hoping to find one that’s perfect for jotting down a thought, citation, quotation or outline.Īll of which you can do in Word or any other word-processing program, for that matter. Over the past year, I’ve searched for a note-taking tool that would be flexible, intuitive, easy to open and convenient to export from - as well as accessible from whatever device I had in hand at a given moment.

If there is a 21st-century form of pencil sharpening, it's probably the quest for the perfect note-taking app. If not, the pencils might need a little more sharpening … Whereupon inspiration, or at least concentration, will flow. This figure of speech (actual pencils need not be involved) subsumes all the concrete preparations needed to have the right tools at hand and fit to the task. Of the available modes of procrastination on a piece of writing, I’ve found the easiest to indulge with a good conscience is the type called pencil sharpening.

Macjournal review 2017