Smart Notes structures and categorizes your note-taking process. Whether you're a university student, a knowledge worker, or a life-long learner, Smart Notes will help you on your journey.
A simple spaced repetition system is built into Smart Notes to help cement your knowledge. When you take notes, it's essential to review them regularly to keep the details sharp.
How spaced repetition works:
Spaced repetition is the process of recalling the same information over specified amounts of time. These "spaces" get longer each time you practice recalling your information successfully. The spaces range from the next day all the way to one year away.
Why spaced repetition works:
We forget quickly. Each time we recall the information, we're building connections in our brain that signal to ourselves: "this information is important." Each time we remember and use the information, we extend the "forgetting curve." Therefore, we will not need to practice recalling the information as often (similar to forming a habit).
Here is what spaced repetition looks like:
Suppose you don't review your notes regularly. In that case, your retention (y-axis) of that information will continue down its trajectory, eventually reaching ~0% over time.
Setup Instructions
- Create a new note
- Select a subject and fill in the applicable details
- Select a template from the options at the bottom, or just start typing on a blank page.
- Each note-taking template has a short explanation of how and when to use it. Select the template that best fits your material.
- Start taking notes!
If you need additional help on how to use the templates, read through this short article.
Set up your note reviews
Reviewing your notes is almost as important as taking them. Smart Notes gives you two ways to set up note reviews. Through spaced repetition, you will review your notes over time until their contents are established in your mind. You'll be ready to recall the info at any time!
You have two options for setting up note reviews:
Recommended — Using the automatic spaced repetition system
The built-in spaced repetition system requires minimal setup to begin using.
- In a completed note, change the "Last Review" date to the date you wish to review the information (ideally, this would be the next day).
- Set the "Phase" of your note to "1 Day"
- You'll see the "Next Review" date one day after the "Last Review" date.
- When your "Next Review" date arrives, the note will automatically appear in the To Review section. Set aside time to review your note on that day.
- After successfully reviewing the note (read over it a few times, rewrite some of the note for clarity), set the "Last Review" date to today, and change the "Phase" to the next stage.
If your "Phase" while reviewing is "1 Day," change it to "2 Days" after you're done. This will change the "Next Review" date to 2 days from now. After that review, change it to the next phase (1 Week). Feel free to increase the frequency of your review if the information in a note is important.
If you would consider a review unsuccessful or you didn't recall the information accurately, start the cycle over by setting the Phase back to "1 Day" and work your way back up.
Manually checking and unchecking the "To Review?" checkbox
You have a test coming up and need to review a several notes at once. Not every note can wait to be reviewed until it's automated upcoming "Review Due" date.
This is where the manual "To Review?" checkbox comes in. You can either drag a note directly into the To Review section or you can open a note and check the "To Review?" checkbox. Both options will check the box and reveal your note in the To Review section:
Template Sections
All of your notes in a list format.
This is your main Note database. Feel free to create and adjust the Views based on your needs.
By default, the list is sorted by the most recently edited notes.
A list of notes that are to be reviewed.
Notes that need to be reviewed will automatically appear here based on the "Next Review" date. You can also check the "To Review?" checkbox on any note to send it to To Review, and uncheck the box to remove it.
A gallery view of the subjects you're studying.
Create and organize your subjects here. There is an "Active" checkbox that is checked by default. If you uncheck the box, it will hide the subject from the Subjects default view. You can view inactive subjects by changing the "Active Subjects" view to "All Subjects."
Feel free to add covers to your courses to stylize your Smart Note subjects and make it your own 😎
A table view of all of your notes that have upcoming reviews
This view of your notes sorts them by the nearest "Next Review" dates. You can also view your notes grouped by their "Phase" by changing to the "Phase View." Unlike the To Review section, the Review section shows all of your notes' "Next Review" dates, not just the reviews that are due.