Which note-taking system fits you? Three questions
Pick what you use notes for and how many minutes a week you can spend sorting them. The quiz recommends Cornell, PARA, a small Zettelkasten, a bullet journal or capture first, sort weekly, then adds a tip for where you write. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.
Answer questions 1 and 2 to see your match. Question 3 adds a tip.
Your match
Cornell pages
You learn from material, so use a page built for recall. Split each page into a notes area, a cue column and a summary strip. Write notes during the session, turn them into cues and self-test questions soon after, add a short summary, and review several times a week.
- First step: rule your next page into three zones before the lecture or reading starts.
- Add: a small inbox for everything that is not coursework.
Read: how to choose a note-taking system, the weekly review.
Your match
PARA folders
You have commitments to sort by. File everything under Projects, Areas, Resources or Archives, by what it serves rather than by subject, and do a short sort each week.
- First step: list your live projects, no more than five, and your ongoing areas. Make one folder for each.
- Add: an Archive folder, and move finished work into it every week.
Read: Zettelkasten vs PARA, tags vs folders.
Your match
A small Zettelkasten
You read to produce something and have time to write. Keep short notes with one idea each, in your own words, and link them with a reason. Start small and let the structure grow.
- First step: write five notes from one article, give each a unique ID, and link two of them with a sentence saying why.
- Add: a capture inbox for fragments, so ideas that arrive away from the desk are not lost.
Read: Zettelkasten for beginners.
Your match
Bullet journal
You plan on paper. Log short entries with symbols, keep a daily log and a monthly overview, and regularly migrate unfinished tasks forward so only the ones you still want survive.
- First step: start tomorrow's page with three entries: one task, one event, one note.
- Add: a phone inbox for thoughts that arrive between pages.
Read: the weekly review, which uses the same migrate-or-drop idea.
Your match
Capture first, sort weekly
Your head is full and your time is short, so the cheapest system wins. Put everything in one inbox with no sorting, then spend ten minutes a week turning each item into act, keep or delete.
- First step: choose the one place where everything lands, and use it for seven days.
- Add: only what you miss. A folder for projects, much later.
Read: the smallest note-taking system, capture first, organize later. Nom is one app built for the capture step.
Phone tip: put your capture app on the home screen, and send links and screenshots to it from the share sheet instead of saving them in five places.
Desk tip: pin one inbox note or file where you can reach it in one keystroke, and keep it open all day.
Paper tip: once a week, photograph or retype the pages worth keeping into a single inbox, then recycle the rest.
How the quiz decides
| Your main use | Under 5 min | About 15 min | An hour or more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learning | Capture first | Cornell | Cornell |
| Projects and admin | Capture first | PARA | PARA |
| Writing and research | Capture first | Capture first | Small Zettelkasten |
| Remembering things | Capture first | Capture first | Capture first |
| Planning on paper | Capture first | Bullet journal | Bullet journal |
The logic is simple on purpose: heavier systems need more weekly time, so when time is short the answer is always the smallest one. This is editorial judgement, not a validated assessment. Nothing you pick is stored or sent anywhere.
Next steps
- How to choose a note-taking system explains each match in more depth.
- Why note-taking systems fail helps if you have tried and quit before.
- The weekly review checklist turns any of these into a ten-minute habit.
Made by EASYTECH, who also make Nom.
