Notes (for iOS)

The Notes app is the single most important thing that caught my attention and eventually led me to purchase an iPod touch.  It used to be my go-to scratch pad for jotting things quickly -- it even became the place where I log my personal expense report.  Despite that, not everything was pretty about it.  It's a built-in app that nobody paid any attention -- chances are, you may not have used it on a regular basis.  Not until iOS 4.2, the only way to sync was through USB by iTunes.  Since then, things have changed.  Notes transformed itself from being an ordinary wallflower into one of my indispensable apps (often times even better than several paid ones).

On iOS 4.2, Notes can now be sync enabled to any email services that supports IMAP -- both corporate and consumer (like MobileMe and GMail).  Important notes can now be stored in the cloud.  You can create notes entry from your desktop or any iOS devices (that runs 4.2 or later) and access them anytime anywhere on any iOS  device (as long as they are sync'd first).  Personally, I prefer using Notes for stuff that are constantly changing and temporary (like grocery lists, meeting notes, etc.) -- things that you would normally write on the back of a receipt or on a Post-It note.

How to Organize Notes with the Mac
With the sync ability of the Notes app to Mail, you can easily create Smart Mailboxes (like how you would manage emails).

1. Active v.s. Archive
Segregating notes as "active" or "archive" help shed some excess entries that you wouldn't necessarily want to carry on your mobile device.  Store the current important things online, archive the old unimportant ones into your Mac.

Organize notes by moving unimportant entries from the cloud to your Mac.

Add a Smart Mailbox to setup the rules.

2. Organize by Subject Line
Setting a subject line pattern is as important as the entry itself (i.e. "Expense Report for February 2011" to log expenses for the month of February). This helps organize your entries by Smart Mailboxes.  Although Smart Mailboxes are not yet supported on the iOS side, it makes navigating through notes on the Mac easier and more effective.

Creating Smart Mailbox for consistent subject line patterns.

This article took me more hours to produce than the concept itself.  Go crazy with the idea.  Enjoy!