Why I use Markdown to take notes

#firstpost #markdown #devto #blogpost

This is my first article, so please go gentle on me 😁 but I wanted to talk about why I started using Markdown to take notes.

Why Markdown

Before I started using Markdown, I used OneNote to take my notes. Why wouldn't I, it was cross-platform, it synced my notes across devices, and it was familiar. I started using it to take notes in my meetings, and it worked ok. I could take the notes, and then I could send them as a message later in our group chat. My issue came in the form of me spending too much time worrying about the formatting and then after the meeting, I would need to format the notes again. When I send the messages on our group chat, I can use a small amount of Markdown.

After using OneNote for about a week of taking notes, I decided that I would try using Markdown. I had some experience with Markdown from GitHub, so I felt comfortable taking notes with it. Markdown seemed like it would help solve my "issues" since I could quickly format the notes (Mainly bolding important things), and focus on taking better notes.

Choosing and editor

When it came to choosing a Markdown editor, I had 2 main requirements:

Open Source
Simple and distraction-free design

I came across some great looking editors, most of which I can't remember now. Eventually, I decided on using Mark Text, it was almost perfect out the box. I only changed a couple of small things before I started using it. I changed the default theme, the font size and have it open a specific folder on launch.

Final Setup

I have now been using Mark Text and Markdown to take notes, for almost 3 months. So far the experience has been incredibly smooth. I have a folder saved in the cloud, which contains all my notes, this folder is also stored locally on my device. This way if I get a new device or need to use another device, all I need to do is install Mark Text and point to the folder with my notes.

I have saved myself a decent amount of time, by switching to Markdown. I know longer need to spend as much time post-meeting, making sure the notes look good and are easy to read/understand. My typing speed seems to have improved as well, so that's always good. 😃

Found a typo?

If you've found a typo, a sentence that could be improved or anything else that should be updated on this blog post, you can access it through a git repository and make a pull request. Instead of posting a comment, please go directly to github.com/Kvanrooyen/dev.to and open a new pull request with your changes.