The Notes App Lists You Should Keep In Your Phone For A Happier, More Organized Life
The Notes app in your smartphone may be filled with random tidbits of information you’ve accumulated over the years: the name of a doctor someone once recommended, a good quote you heard on a podcast, a project idea for work or the link to a new recipe you want to try.
But there are simple ways to utilize our Notes app more intentionally that will help make everyday life a little better and brighter.
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One example? Charlotte Upshaw, a professional organizer behind the company Chelf, started a note in her phone called “Good Things Are Always Happening To Me” and makes a point to add something to it every day.
A pal of hers tweeted about this in July, calling Upshaw’s recommendation an “absolute game changer” for her. The tweet went viral with more than 127,000 likes and 3.5 million views.
Upshaw started this daily practice as a way to shift her perspective to “focus on the positive things that I have versus getting down on the things that weren’t coming together,” she told HuffPost.
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“A couple spiritual teachers I follow emphasize that your reality reflects what you focus on so I wanted to challenge myself to think differently,” Upshaw said.
Included in her list are things big and small, like “a barista treating me to my daily matcha latte, to a consultation turning into a successful client relationship or getting free tix to see PARTYNEXTDOOR at the last minute,” she said.
Since starting the note, the phrase “good things are always happening to me” has become a mantra of sorts, and she’s noticed more positive things manifest in her life.
“Whenever I go to the list to add something new to it, it’s a refreshing reminder that good things are always happening in my favor and to the people I love too,” Upshaw said.
To that end, we asked well-being experts to share suggestions of other notes you can start that will make your life a little happier and more productive, too. You don’t need to incorporate all of these, of course — just try one or two that speak to you and see what changes for you.
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A “small moments of delight” list
Laurie Santos, a Yale University psychology professor and host of “The Happiness Lab” podcast, recommends keeping a Notes list of what poet Ross Gay calls “delights” — “those small things you notice in the world that bring you joy or a quick sense of delight,” she told HuffPost.
Delights need not be grand or extraordinary — just the little moments of beauty, humor and wonder you encounter in your everyday life that might otherwise be overlooked.
“As [Gay] shares in his book, what you count as a delight can be quite small— a quick high-five, a glass of kombucha or hearing a song by El Debarge,” Santos said. “By noticing the delights in life, we can train our minds to find the positive stuff that brings us joy.”
A “things you’ve learned about yourself” list
Cortland Dahl, chief contemplative officer at Healthy Minds Innovations, suggests keeping a running list of one thing you’ve learned about yourself each day.
“We have little insights and micro-epiphanies all the time, but we usually forget about them a few moments later,” Dahl, who is also a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds, told HuffPost. “Taking a few moments to step back and make note of the ways we are learning and growing is a great way to build some muscle memory around self-discovery.”
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A packing checklist
Rashelle Isip, a productivity consultant at The Order Expert, is a proponent of creating an overnight packing list to keep in your phone’s Notes app — either for personal vacations and/or for business trips, depending on your travel needs.
“You may wish to include items such as: personal bag, tops, slacks, blazer, jacket, undergarments, socks, pajamas, assorted toiletries, comb, brush makeup, skincare, eyeglasses, eye care, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, medication, vitamins, slippers, digital charger, umbrella, and any other items as you see fit,” she told HuffPost. “This list takes the stress out of figuring what to pack in a short span of time.”
Jose Gonzalez Buenaposada via Getty Images
A “time confetti” wishlist
Another beneficial idea for your notes app? Keep a “time confetti” wishlist, said Santos. It’s an idea she got from Harvard Business School professor and researcher Ashley Whillans, though the term was first coined by journalist Brigid Schulte.
Time confetti refers to those little scraps of time you have between interspersed throughout your day — “that five minutes when a meeting ends early or the 10 minutes you get when your child falls asleep quickly,” Santos said. Often, we end up reaching for our phones and checking email or scrolling on social media in these moments. But there are more fulfilling ways to use these short intervals of time — that’s where this list comes in.
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“Your time confetti wish list is a list of things you could be doing with that time that would make you happier — text a friend, do a quick set of deep breaths or just look around the world,” Santos said. “Having a handy time confetti list on your Notes app makes it easier to remember that there are ways to spend the short free time we do get a bit better.”
Ideally, it would feel more restorative to have longer, more consolidated stretches of uninterrupted time throughout our days — and that’s something we can try to work toward. But making the most of those little bits and pieces we do have can help boost our happiness, too.
For more time confetti ideas, check out this Instagram post from podcast host and author Liz Moody.
A grocery list
Your exact shopping list is bound to change week to week depending on what meals you plan to make that week. But you probably have at least a handful of staples you buy every time you go to the market — eggs, bread, milk, cheese, yogurt, avocado, carrots, apples, bananas, chickpeas, chicken, etc. Write them down in your Notes app so you don’t have to rely on memory alone.
You can also make a section for items you notice you’re out of or running low on that you don’t buy regularly — e.g., certain cooking oils, condiments, baking ingredients or seasonings you may only purchase every so often.
Keeping track of this in your phone prevents you from having to make multiple trips to the store (there’s also a checklist feature in the iPhone Notes app if you like that formatting). And if you live with someone, you can make it a shared list so all family members or housemates can add items as needed.
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A “moments of purpose” list
Having a clear sense of purpose is one of the most important ingredients of a healthy mind, “but most of us don’t realize it’s a skill that we can learn and practice,” Dahl said.
One simple way to sharpen this skill? By looking for and documenting moments of purpose in our everyday lives.
“Each day, make a note of anything that happened that day that aligns with an important life purpose,” Dahl said. “You might not find much at the beginning, but with a little patience you’ll start finding purpose in even the most mundane activities and routines.”
And a final thought: Building a happier, healthier mind doesn’t have to be “a huge life project” that eats up all your time, Dahl said. Rather, think of it as a series of small, consistent steps that can be incorporated into your busy day.
“We all have moments when we’re just waiting around for a few minutes, or transitioning between activities,” he said. “These are great moments to jot down a few notes of self-reflection. Over time, these small steps can lead to lasting change.”
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