Sometimes I just talk

Some of my best thinking happens when my hands are busy: walking the dog, driving to a meeting, cooking, lying awake at 1 a.m. with a solution to yesterday’s problem.

For years my system was to promise myself I would write it down later. By the time I sat at the desk, I remembered how the idea felt and nothing it actually said.

Recording beats remembering

Speaking is the lowest-effort way to capture a thought. You don’t have to find the right words or structure anything. You just say what is in your head, messy and out of order, and the important part is safe.

Ultranotes records audio straight onto a note. Start a recording from the note you want it on, or from the quick-capture button, and it saves into your library like anything else, on your device.

Coming back to it

A recording on its own is easy to forget. A recording sitting on a note titled “Pricing idea — tiers by usage” is not. When I’m back at the desk, I open the note, play it, and type the one or two sentences that mattered right underneath.

With a paid plan, the assistant can turn the recording into a transcript and a short summary, so you can skim before you listen. Free users keep the recording and listen back whenever they like.

Imperfect is fine

I don’t need a polished transcript in the moment. I need the thought to still be there tomorrow. Talking it out turned out to be the easiest way to make sure it is.