Academic Toolbox

Students and academics can quickly become overwhelmed by all their notes. Note-taking apps allow you to organise, sort, tag and link notes, search within them, make connections between notes and sometimes visualise them in graphs, discover new connections and gaps. In a sense, they should allow you to "think".

	Free (but access to the Joplin Cloud, required for synchronisation, is paid) and open source (accepts donations) Desktop based, syncs to multiple devices (desktop or mobile) Multimedia notes, Markdown format (an online Markdown editor is included) Task manager included, with alarms to receive notifications Plugins to add features Data and servers located in an EU country (France)
	Free and open source Plugins to add features (calendar, to-do list, mind maps, GPT text generator, etc.) Desktop based, syncs to multiple devices (desktop or mobile) Bidirectional links between notes
	Online, free for personal use Notero, a Zotero plugin for syncing items and notes into Notion Apps for iOS and Android devices Many organisational tools for your academic and personal life (calendar, task list, reading and movie list, travel plans, etc.) Not the best tool to link notes and files
	Desktop-based, free for personal use Operates on Markdown files Apps for iOS and Android devices Allows users to create bidirectional links between notes and then visualise the connections as a graph Extensive range of plugins, including one for Zotero integration 8 Must-Know Hacks for Academic Note Taking in Obsidian, by Ilya Shabanov Organizing Academic Projects with Obsidian Tags and Mind Maps, by Ilya Shabanov
	Desktop-based, no registration required, free and open-source Markdown editor, allows to add citations easily Bi-directional links between notes No knowledge graphs or mind maps

To avoid procrastination. Some note-taking apps include these techniques in their task manager features:

• The pomodoro technique: A pomodoro (tomato in Italian, named after a tomato kitchen timer) is a 25-minute period of work, followed by a 5-minute break. Every 4 pomodori, you should take a longer break (20 to 30 mins). There are Pomodoro plugins in Logseq, Notion or Obsidian. Alternative method: the 52/17.
• Interstitial journaling: a note-taking technique where you continuously take notes to record activities, thoughts, breaks during your working day. You usually record the time spent on each task or break (productive or unproductive). The aim is to increase productivity and mindfulness. Most note-taking apps have a daily notes feature that allows you to practice this method.