A sticky note can be a powerful ally in your self-study efforts. Thanks to Google Keep, you can swap out your stickers for a digital notebook and sync it across your devices. Keep may sound boring, but it has many useful features besides colorful checklists that students and learners can use anywhere.
Let’s take a look at some tips about Google Keep and how to use Google Keep to be more productive in your studies.
Take your notes to Google Docs
You can open Keep in the sidebar next to Google Docs and Slides. Use Keep as a placeholder for your sketches or draft ideas. Then, when you have more time, add them to Google Docs with a simple drag and drop.
You can also do the opposite. Select a block of text and right click to save it to Keep. Keep keeps a link to the document attached to the note.
Tip: Use Google Keep Notes as a regular tool to collect random notes. When you’re ready, organize all of your field notes in a Google Doc.
Mind Map with Hand Drawing
Mind maps help visualize relationships between different concepts. Paper is the best tool for drawing mind maps. But any tool that allows you to draw by hand comes second.
Start brainstorming with a finger-drawn mind map. Click the plus sign and select Picture. Use the Pen tool to draw simple mind maps and save them to a note.
Tip: Circle your presentation with a mind map. And then open the note in Google Slides to create your slides.
Notes color code for better organization
Recording would be boring in vanilla white. Instead, Keep offers you 12 colors to choose from and makes your notes clearer. To differentiate them at a glance, you can color them by tasks, due dates, or the type of information stored in the note.
For example, urgent tasks with due dates can be marked in red. Long-term tasks can be colored green. Color choices depending on the topic can be orange for ideas or red for the most important information.
You can take your organization to the next level with the Category Tabs extension for Google Keep.
Tip: It’s easy to forget which color goes where. Make a separate note with the color index and their meaning.
Organize your notes without folders
Labels are a more specific way to organize your notes. They work like hashtags and are searchable in the bar at the top. Think about your labels, as they can become a cumbersome mess. Just enter # label-name and Keep will prompt you to either apply the label if it already exists, or create it if it doesn’t.
For example, you can tag a note according to your study schedule. Use the search bar or shortcut list to focus only on the notes for that day.
Tip: Keep does not support nested labels. Use delimiters like forward slashes instead to mimic them. The list of labels can be long, but they are sorted alphabetically, so this is not a big problem.
Grab Text From Image
Google Keep supports Optical Character Recognition (OCR) This can save time if you want to use Google Keep to retrieve anything from your typed notes. Take a photo with your mobile camera and save the image in a Keep note. OCR will extract the text and now you can change it in the Keep note itself.
OCR is not that great for handwriting, but you can try it on a whiteboard with dense text in its class. You have a photo to link to even if the character recognition fails. On the other hand, you don’t have to rely on alternative OCR software
Council. Keep can also search for specific text in images stored in notes.
Collaborate with Public Checklists
A simple checklist can be more than just a way to get things out of your mind. A modest step-by-step checklist will help you get things done over a long project. Break the subject down into tiny steps using the checklist and see if it helps you better understand the learning process.
The collaborative team can share Keep checklists and communicate project details in the same way.
Tip: Use the L key combination to open a new Google Keep note in list mode.
Review using Voice Memos
Launch the Keep mobile app, click the microphone icon in the lower right corner of your screen, and record your message. When you finish speaking, the recording will automatically end and a new screen will appear with your message text and audio file.
Voice memos can be used to jot down ideas, revisit a topic and check how much you can remember, or it can be a way to prepare a speech for an oral presentation.
Tip: are you learning a foreign language? Try using the voice feature to improve your pronunciation and fluency.
Set time or location reminders
Google Keep allows you to set reminders based on time or GPS location. You can customize a note with the address of the school and the task you want to be reminded of. As soon as you enter the premises, Google Keep will remind you of the task.
Time-based reminders can help you set revision schedules. Let’s say you’ve just learned a new topic and want to test your memory in a few days. Create a note with a few hint questions and set a reminder for the future.
Tip: Location reminders can be handy aids in remembering places such as libraries. Install it and remember to grab the book when you get there.
Use Google Keep like a simple flash card
Want to set up a timetable for your lessons? Use the Keep reminder to choose a date and time. Then set it to repeat at a fixed time. You can change this to longer ones as you remember it improves.
This is not the recommended spaced repetition system for programs like Anki or SuperMemo, but it can still be useful.
Tip: You can practice in your spare time by choosing the right time of the day.
Return to important websites with the Keep plugin
Supervision is important for any student. The Google Keep Chrome extension can help you fill out your notes quickly. Find something to save online and click the extension. The link to the site is automatically added to the note. You can also select text or image and create a new note from the context menu.
Tip: make Keep work with your online bookmarks. Take notes while watching YouTube, and then re-view notes and videos referenced in your notes.
Learn how to use the Google Keep Chrome extension and save time.
Keep it close for quick feedback
Google Keep may appear as a colored rectangle on your screen, but it can be made to work with whatever Getting Things Done (GTD) system you use to self-organize. Use Google Keep for simple notes, transferring deeper work to the more powerful features of Evernote
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