OneNote
Microsoft’s free-form digital notebook. Organises notes into notebooks → sections → pages, with handwriting, drawing, and clipping support. Syncs across devices via OneDrive and is bundled with Microsoft 365.
Links
Description
Download or use
Reasoning for
I used OneNote as my general notes hub before moving to a Markdown, local-first workflow. It is strong for free-form capture (handwriting, screen clips, mixed media) and for anyone already inside the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. I replaced it with Obsidian because I wanted plain-text Markdown, local files, and a wikilink graph rather than a proprietary store.
Alternatives considered
- Obsidian — Markdown, local-first, linkable graph; what I use now.
- Notion — database-style workspace, better for structured pages. Note-taking method is tool-agnostic — see Cornel Notes Taking System and the Building a Second Brain PKM methodology.
Resources
đź”— Related
- Obsidian — the note-taking tool I actively use instead; Markdown-based, local-first
- Cornel Notes Taking System — a structured note-taking method applicable in any tool including OneNote
- Building a Second Brain — PKM methodology relevant to how OneNote can be used
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