Note-Taking Styles

There are three main note-taking styles:

• The architect: They enjoy planning, designing processes and frameworks, and need a note-taking tool that allows them to easily structure their ideas.

• The gardener: They enjoy exploring, connecting various thoughts together, and need a note-taking tool that allows them to easily grow their ideas.

• The librarian: They enjoy collecting, building a catalogue of resources, and need a note-taking tool that allows them to easily retrieve their ideas.

Architect

The architect rely on a hierarchical structure based on pages and categories. They need a bit of planning to decide whether an idea deserves its own category, its own page, or just its own block of content. But once they have gone through that decision-making and design process, they can keep re-using their templates for different workflows, which can greatly enhance productivity.¹

Gardener

Gardeners prefer a non-linear approach to note-taking, akin to the process of simultaneously exploring and building a map in a video game. They might start with a seed of an idea and allow it to grow organically, discovering the structure and connections as they progress.

Their ideal note-taking apps offer bi-directional linking, allowing them to not only see what a note links to, but what notes link back to it. These apps let users access both explicit and implicit links, so they can discover connections between ideas that they may not have made themselves. Some even have a visual knowledge graph, so they can literally explore a map of their ideas.¹²

Librarian

Librarians primarily use note-taking apps as a place to store and retrieve information they care about. Their ideal note-taking apps feature web clipping, rich formatting, file attachment, tagging, and a filtering system. These tools are all they need to quickly save and access what they need, whether it’s some book notes, meeting notes, or a recipe. These apps allow librarians to do just that.¹

References