Note-Taking For The Average Person: The Power Of AI

As much as I love super powerful note-taking tools, they do require an extra level of commitment, especially for those of us who already see a lot of value in Personal Knowledge Management (PKM). But this makes me wonder, how can I help people who aren't as nerdy as I am, or those who are not fully committed to spending an extended period of time improving their systems, learning advanced note-taking concepts, and improving the tools they use? How can I help these people improve their digital world without having to worry too much about spending time on organization and learning advanced tools?

The Appeal of Simplicity

This made me realize that a lot of people are using basic apps like Apple Notes. The reason why these apps are so popular is because they are simple and frictionless. You just open the app and write down your idea. However, a lot of people aren't forward-thinking enough to constantly ask, "How can I find this idea later?" They make the mistake of thinking that simply writing down ideas is enough. But you do need a system to be able to find what you need when you need it in the future. Otherwise, things can easily go to waste.

The Role of AI in Note Organization

So, how can I teach something that gives an 80/20 split, where with 20% of the effort, you can get 80% of the outcome? The answer seems to be AI. AI can allow workflows as frictionless as Apple Notes, but also discoverable. AI search would allow the average person to easily find exactly what they need in their notes, without having to go through the extra effort of spending time organizing things.

I've been having a bit of trouble with this idea because I make a living from teaching people how to use advanced tools that allow for the type of organization that truly gives results, that truly helps you turn your ideas into actions, and helps you use note-taking for your own professional and personal growth.

But I really think that AI is going to force advanced apps to become a lot easier because AI can do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to organization.

Embracing Change

Advanced apps will probably still want to give users manual control for those of us who do like organizing things further. But for the average user, they just want to be able to write down an idea, get back to work, and later when needed, just find that idea.

So, I think a lot of apps are going to move towards using AI to organize things and using AI search to resurface exactly what you need when you need it, without having to go through great lengths to organize things. So, instead of fighting this truth, I want to think of ways in which I can teach systems for the average person that wants to spend less time on organization, and is interested in leveraging AI. The goal is to write down things without friction easily, and then being able to find exactly what you need later when you need it.