If you have any digital life whatsoever, chances are you have a Google account, right? But have you ever heard of Google Keep? It’s probably their least well-known service, but a quite useful one, worthy of its own blog post! Gear up Google fans, ’cause today we’re brainstorming ideas about how to use this note-taking powerhouse.

What’s Google Keep?

Google Keep was developed by Google in 2013 and is a cloud-based note-taking service for Android and iOS mobile operating systems. Users are able to take notes that include images, audio snippets, texts, and lists as well as set reminders for dates or events. It can also transcribe voice recordings and create text from images. Sounds nice, right?

Google Keep notes can be color-coded (red, white, yellow, teal, green orange, and blue) and labeled with titles to keep you #organized. You can also pin notes and collaborate with other Google Keep users in real-time. Oh, and did we mention that it syncs with Google Drive? And yeah, it’s free.

There are so many note taking Apps out there that it can be hard to figure out which one is the one for you. A good rule of thumb is that if you’re already happy with what you’re using then there’s no need to go looking for something else. Basically, if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. However, if you’re trying to do digital, or are looking for something new, here’s a contender for you because changes are you already have a Google account.

Here is a quick tutorial to get you started:

How to Use Google Keep

You can start using Google Keep by downloading it on the web or on your iOS or Android mobile device. Once downloaded, you can open the App. It’ll bring you to a page where you can take notes and everything will be kept.

Quick Steps (after downloading):

1. Open Google Keep App
2. Click on “Take a Note”
3. Give your note a Title
4. Type in the notes section to make a note
5. Tap on the plus sign in the lower left to create checkboxes, take a photo, choose an image, draw, or record a voice note by tapping on the plus sign box in the lower left of your screen.
6. Don’t forget you can also drag and drop images/files to make it easier

That’s it! Just so you know, it could look slightly different depending on if you are using iOS or Android, but here is a basic screenshot of the page you should see to start taking notes. 

What Do All the Symbols/Icons Do?

In the upper right corner of your Google Keep screen, there are three icons:

• A Pin – click on this to pin a list to the top of your notes for easy access
• An Alarm with a plus sign – click this to add an alarm for a specific date/time
• A Folder with a downward arrow – click this to archive your note

In the lower right you should see three vertical dots. If you click on this, you can…

• Delete notes
• Make a copy of your notes
• Send notes to people or to other media
• Add people as collaborators so that they can work with you
• Create Labels that can be color coded for better organization

12 Ways to Use Google Keep

So now you probably have a good idea of how you could use Google Keep to your advantage, but just to help you brainstorm, here are a few more.

Why not:

1. Create shopping lists 
2. Collaborate with someone on 
3. Keep story ideas and notes for your Hollywood blockbuster
4. Stay organized without Post-its
5. Attach drawings or photos to notes to plan a remodel
6. Store your thoughts or reminders with voice notes
7. Set location reminders (unless you are trying to conserve your battery)
8. Plan meals
9. Take a screenshot of text and have it transcribed
10. Use it to for correct word pronunciation
11. Sync it with iWatch
12. Manage your daily activities and to-dos

How Google Keep Stacks Up

Google Keep is easy to use, fast. secure, and great for on the go. On the flip-side, you don’t have too many formatting options and it can’t search scanned documents Evernote can, but for the price of free, it’s a solid note-taking App. For a long time, I just used the basic Notes App on my iPhone, but what I found with Google Keep is that it was extremely easy to use and served to meet my general mobile note-taking needs better overall. 

I should mention is that in order for it to be useful and productive, you need to create a habit of using it. That goes for any new app. You sort of need to drill it into your weekly use. Otherwise, you’ll forget about it and then that’s how notes end up in random locations. If you integrate it into your daily routine, you are more likely to stick with it. If you do that, you’ll be on your way to better organization in no time.

I love Google Keep, so I encourage you to try it.

Let us know if it works for you!

Featured Photo Courtesy of Tom Rogerson