When it comes to apps and online tools, you might be surprised to find that less is often more. Instead of downloading tens or hundreds of apps, find the very best, and focus on those. Also, if you’re hesitant to spend money on apps, remember the saying that you get what you pay for. By investing a tiny bit of money, you will receive immense value. So, what am I talking about? What is the only paid app that you need on your iPad? It’s called Goodnotes. And even though you’ll have to pay for it, at $7.99 it’s actually a steal for all of the amazing features you get!

What is Goodnotes?

If you’re not familiar with Goodnotes, it’s an app that allows you to turn your handwritten notes into digital paper. If you’re the type of person that loves having handwritten notes, this will be right up your alley. Basically, you’re combining the fun of handwriting, with the ease and convenience of an app. I know, it sounds almost too good to be true. So, let’s get into the nitty gritty of some of the features, because that’s the exciting part.

What Features Does Goodnotes Have?

Most of us have journals and notebooks full of notes, and yet, it’s impossible to find what we’re looking for when we need something. With Goodnotes, this is never an issue. There is a searchable feature that allows you to quickly find anything you need. For instance, if you are looking for a quote that you wrote down, you might search for a few keywords or even the quote author if you can remember it. Or, if you’re looking for a specific topic that you have notes on, like “productivity or “exercise” you could search for a topic name as well. It doesn’t get any easier than that, right? As long as you’ve written it down, you can search for it.

Become The Most Organized Person You Know

Another big benefit is organization. As we talked about, it’s easy to take lots and lots of notes but never have a systematic way of organizing everything that we’ve written down. Fortunately, with Goodnotes there is a folder system to help you with this. You can even create subfolders too. And with the ability to backup all of your files you never need to worry about losing something that you’ve written.

A Few Fun Tips For Goodnotes Newbies

Even if you’re fairly tech savvy, there is always a little bit of a learning curve with using a new app. But, if you give yourself time to learn the basics, you’ll be an expert in no time. To help you get started, here are a few fun tips.

• Create Your First Notebook: in the documents tab, tap the large + button (the “New…” button > Notebook

• Change the Color: Lasso tool > Circle text > Tap > Color > Choose Color
• Go Back: double tap on the screen twice
• Pen Tools: 
  • Fountain pen: pressure-sensitive pen style
  • Ball pen: NOT pressure sensitive
  • Brush pen: highly pressure-sensitive pen style 

Become a Goodnotes Master 

As you’re becoming acquainted with the app, another great resource to check out is the Goodnotes blog. You’ll find so many amazing articles with more specifics for using Goodnotes for studying, work, or everyday life. And, if you are just a little bit nosy and love “behind the scenes” posts, you can even read more about how the team at Goodnotes actually uses Goodnotes, which sounds intriguing. Or, for some visual inspiration, follow Goodnotes on Instagram to see how other people are using the app.

At first, going digital with your notetaking might feel overwhelming, but long-term there are so many benefits. Keeping things digital is so much better for the environment, it’s more convenient and simple to organize compared to using paper, and since you’re able to sync your devices, you can always have your Goodnotes app with you whether you just have your iPhone or your iPad. As you can see, the benefits are countless. So, what are you waiting for? Get started, get organized, and get ready to flourish. 

Watch a video on how to use your iPad as a planner

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.