As you can see I'm getting into using lots of organisational software, have read about another PhDer (Pixie?) using OneNote and seen that I have it with Windows 2010 - looks good but does anyone have any tips? What do you all use it for?

Thanks, Nx

I think it can be really useful. I used it for all those times where I read something and thought "ooh that's relevant to study 3 but I've not quite got onto that yet" - so I had tabs in the notebook for each study. You can also add screen shots, good for when you've found a useful page in google books.

However, I wished I'd used it more consistently. I have a few notes in it, but I think you have to get into the habit of using it daily.

Hi Natassia, yes I did mention using OneNote in another thread.
I've been using it since my MSc but really got to grips with it this year for my PhD. I have several different sections in my OneNote notebook. These include a To Do section where I keep my lists, a log section where I keep track of what I've done and any little ideas that spring to mind. The log section started when I was at the beginning of my PhD and doing lots of reading but couldn't 'see' what progress I was making so found it useful just to quickly write how many papers I'd read that day so it felt like I'd achieved something. I tend to write in the log daily and have a separate sub page for each day, it's mostly filled with ramblings with some useful stuff. I also have section for writing up notes from meetings with my sup, also sections for courses I've had to do, a list of useful websites etc.
The most useful section I have at the moment is 'analysis' as I have just finished processing the data and plotting it all up for my first experiment and I use this section for writing my initial interpretations and ideas before using these notes for writing up something coherent. In this section I have attached the files for each of my figures so I can have the notes alongside them which I find helpful.

Essentially instead of writing stuff by hand in a notebook I do it all electronically, this is mainly because my handwriting has gotten so bad that it takes me a while to translate what I've written sometimes. Also means that pages won't have tea/coffee marks on them which is a bonus.

It's also possible to back up the notebook, you can save pages or whole sections separately as pdf files which I should probably get into the habit of doing sometimes. My notebook also 'lives' on my usb stick so every time I plug it in when the notebook is open it is synchronised onto my stick. Also means that if you use another computer that has OneNote installed then you can plug you usb stick in and your notebook will be there.


Hope this helps :-)

I am a big fan of OneNote for one particular usage: tracking things I see on the web. First, it's brilliant for saving copies of receipts etc. -- saves on printing. Use the "clip" tool, grab your confirmation numbers etc., and you've saved on printing.

But the very best tool -- something few people seem to be aware of -- is the "Send to One Note" tool that is integrated between Windows Explorer and One Note. It sends the complete page -- often with some layout difficulties, since style sheets etc., don't translate well. But, while it may not look perfect, the main text and most photos almost always transfer perfectly fine -- and a note is automatically added that records when this page was downloaded, and from what URL.

What this "Send to One Note" is brilliant for: saving job announcements, funding opportunities, calls for papers, etc.: Anything where you'd want to go back and check the details. I've been keeping the job announcements for positions that interest me -- either because of the uni/organization or because of the position description. It's helped me develop ideas/language/buzz words etc. for my CV. It's also good for saving news stories (say, about places you'd like to holiday, once you can!). I just "send" things to a default section, and then once a month or so, go through and delete what's no longer needed (receipts etc.) and file the rest under various categories (sample job announcements, postdoc ideas, etc.). It has replaced the need for notes, print outs, or re-googling something you saw when you were too busy to take notes. It's really brilliant.

I have never found it particularly helpful for regular note taking, though -- word processor works better for me for that.

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Hi Natassia.

I was just wondering how you're getting on with OneNote? I have just started playing around with it today as I think I need to streamline my planning/outputs a bit.

If anyone has any hints or advice I'd love to hear them. :)

I've also started using onenote, although I don't use it that much. I mainly use it when I'm on my netbook surfing in the evening, and come across things like conference calls for papers, or anything interesting. I then just right click on the webpage and select 'send to onenote' and it sends the info to onenote. My onenote notebook on my netbook is synced to my PC (which I do all my phd work on), so once I'm back at my desk the following morning I file it/sort it/put it into phd writing/delete it.