ANNOUNCEMENT: I’m so thrilled to tell you that The Quiet Hours Community (TQHC) is coming. In case you missed it, this will be a weekly space for us to connect and be vulnerable with one another in a safe place behind the paywall.
If you’re already a paying member of TQH, you’re automatically in! If you’re not but would like to join us for these weekly conversations, it’s just $3/month or $30/year. But don’t worry, my weekly essays will always be free. This is just a separate space where we can really get honest. You can see more of my reasoning behind charging for the space here.
I’ll be changing up my publishing schedule to accommodate these new posts - my weekly free essays will now be published on Tuesdays, with the TQHC posts on Thursdays!
Recently I shared the 10 apps that I use the most on my phone. But the one that I didn’t talk about, that is likely the MVP, is the Notes app. I wanted to dedicate an entire post to this one app because I use it that often. Notes has become a bit of a catch-all for me. It houses everything from books I want to read to things my kids said that made me laugh. It’s also the place I jot down ideas for The Quiet Hours, as well as where I take notes from meetings with my clients.
Organization
As we know, organization is important to me. So naturally, I keep my Notes app very organized as well utilizing folders. I have folders for each of my various clients, I have a folder for my own business, I have a bookish folder, and I have a “remember” folder with lots of random notes inside. Let’s do a quick breakdown of what’s inside:
Client Folders: Within each of these folders, I house meeting notes and important reminders per client. That way everything I need is a tap away.
Bookish Things Folder: We’ll dig into this one more below, but I have three main notes that I regularly use—books to find, 2025 releases, new books.
SHCo: I have important links that I don’t like to search for, ideas for the newsletter, and a list of my available services to send to potential clients.
Remember: Kids memories (more on that below), lunch and dinner ideas, a shared note with my husband for groceries, a shared note with a friend who takes care of our house when we’re out of town, a gratitude list, and more.
Bookish Things
The most fun folder is definitely the one that deals with books.
New Books 2025 - Back when I was co-hosting Reading Through Life, I started a note where I listed each new book that I got in a month that I could then transfer over to Trello for my permanent housing and review platform. I have these going back to 2023 and it’s fun (and possibly horrifying) to see how many new books I get each month.
Books to Find - Anytime I’m out and about and hear about a book I want to look more into, it goes onto this note. It doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to buy it, but that I want to have more time to see what it’s about. I use this a lot when listening to podcasts or reading bookish Substacks.
2025 Releases - This year I made a note with all of the upcoming books that I knew I wanted to purchase, listed by month and date so that I could stay on top of when they were coming out. Plus then I could check them off once I acquired them.
Remember
These two notes below are some of my favorites because they’re things that make me smile and that feel extra personal to me.
Kids Memories - If you’re a parent, I’m sure you know that feeling when your kid says something hilarious, or sweet, and you’re so certain you’ll remember it but 10 minutes later you don’t. (Just me?) I started keeping a note of the funny/sweet things I want to remember, and I also shared it with my husband so he could add his own things. Every once in awhile the four of us will go through this list and next thing you know we’re laughing hysterically remembering a particular memory. It’s by far my favorite note in my phone. I only wish I had started it sooner. (The later years as the kids have gotten older are so, so funny.)
Everything Note - Along the lines of wanting to remember, I also keep an “everything” note of favorite quotes or lines from books, song lyrics, or memes that I see. I do also have a physical journal of this, but this is the first place that they live because it’s quick and simple to jot them down.
Food Things
And finally, two more notes that I reference a lot but aren’t as exciting. I despise cooking and thinking about cooking so this just makes things a bit easier.
Kids Lunches - Anyone else have the pickiest eaters in the world? I bought Feeding Littles Lunches last year because I needed help figuring out more lunch ideas after being really sick of making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But naturally I knew that after a week or so I wouldn’t reference the book anymore so I made myself a note to quickly look back at ideas in the mornings.
Dinners - And similarly, I also keep a list of dinner ideas for us so that when we’re planning our menu each week it helps to take a quick glance at the things that are approved by all of us (though it’s not much). I recently added a section to this note of things that are easy to take to the pool as well since we eat there a lot in the summer.
Naturally I can’t share the folders that I use with my clients or some of the other more personal notes, but I wanted to share this today in the hopes that it might give you some ideas of how you can also use your Notes app in your phone. I find it to be so convenient and easy to pop in there, multiple times a day, and keep myself organized with so many different pieces of my life.
I’d love to hear about your experience with the Notes app - do you use it? If so, HOW do you use it? Give me even more ideas so I can keep adding to my Notes addiction.
A few more things…
🎨 I recently signed up for the Art Maker’s Club by Lisa Bardot and it has been THE MOST fun to draw in Procreate on my iPad. Henry is also doing it with me and we love sharing our final products with one another. Membership is on sale this month for “Founder’s Month.”
🇫🇷 Yet again, the French just do things better… including vacation time.
👙 My limbs are nice and tan, my stomach is… not. So I decided to buy a longline bikini top so that I feel a little more comfortable while balancing out my skintone. I love this leopard print one - and it’s comfy!
💻 Don’t forget, The Quiet Hours Community starts on Thursday! Join us in discussion right here on Substack. You can find the details here. And make sure you’re signed up by clicking below.
Sarah, I know you hate the whole cooking thing as much as I do, and everything surrounding it, and I just thought of something! When I remember, I use the app eMeals, and it is so, so helpful! It goes on sale occasionally, usually around holidays, so it's affordable, and it allows you to pick from a selection of different themes -- 30 minute meals, kid-friendly meals, etc. -- but you can click on and see other meal plans. Plus, it gives you some festive ideas. The best part is that you can find a recipe and send the whole ingredient list to Walmart or wherever and pick it up/have it delivered. And you can save recipes, too. I have the 30 minute meal plan, and it's super easy when I remember to use it. Ha ha! Thank you for this post on Notes and for the the new community!