I started Evernote back in 2014. It didn’t take long to fall in love and completely change my approach to note taking. Previously I had used OneNote to get me by.
When Notion came along and I saw all of the features available, I had to try it out. I didn’t intend to find an Evernote replacement, but I entertained the idea that Notion could be the one note taking and productivity app I didn’t know I needed.
I used notion for nearly 2 years and built up quite a repository of different stacks of information.
There are features that contribute more towards design and team use that Evernote really needs to work towards. However, I couldn’t stay with Notion as it was interfering with my workflow.
Notion Pros and Cons
Things I like about Notion:
- Icons and stock imagery.
- Backlinks counter, breadcrumbs, and easy table of contents and note links.
- Markdown formatting and keyboard shortcuts.
- Text and background text coloration.
- Code formatting, language recognition and formatting, and code copy button.
- Quote and callout designs, content embeds, and image and code captioning.
- Automation and app connections.
- Easy to paste content with appropriate spacing and no extra bloat.
- Great account and workspace settings.
Things I don’t like about Notion:
- Time to proficiency.
- App does not remember size when reopened (or fullscreen).
- No empty trash, must delete each note and subnote one by one. This is an absolute nightmare for entire stacks of information.
- No manual check for updates (yes there is an automated check).
- Update popup links to changelog (no way to turn off) and frequently comes before the update download is actually released.
Conclusion
The biggest reasons why I canceled Notion and switched back is:
- Time to learn.
- Ease of use/searchability.
- Windows app is basically a glorified web browser with no local storage of notes.
- Slowness or outages can ruin your workday. This happend to me multiple times over the 2 years of use.
I work well with Evernote and they are making some changes for the better. I would like to see them step up their game and add some of the great features Notion uses. Notion handles design and content WAY BETTER. I think you can still keep the simplicity of Evernote and still add rich content options and design choices.
Sometimes, simplicity is key. After all, I have heard entrepreneurs and YouTubers use Apple Notes exclusively. Sometimes the Power option isn’t always needed.
Let me know what you think in the comments below. What have your experiences been like?
