Organize your ideas with this iPhone, Mac and iPad app (2024)

We’re well into the new year now and if you didn’t get that fresh start feeling or dose of motivation you were hoping for after the holidays, you’re not alone. I’m not suggesting a new app will change all of that, but a better way to sort your ideas and keep track of your notes can make your work a little more streamlined, at the very least.

I’ve recommended several different note-taking apps recently, including Bear and Obsidian. That’s not because I think you need them all, but because different types of apps — from their features to their design — will appeal to different people. And I think Craft is well-deserving of a recommendation too.

Craft is an app designed for your iPhone, iPad and Mac. Like most note-taking apps, it’s here to store day-to-day documents, enhance your productivity and get you thinking in more creative ways, which is also the main USP of Obsidian.

You can simply start a text document or a note, but Craft wants to make everything super easy, so it’s best to begin with a template. There are loads of these, from meeting notes to a packing list, a workout training plan to a time-blocking schedule – I’ve never actually needed a template I haven’t been able to find yet.

These templatest are divided up by categories, which means if you’re using Craft on your own, the personal ones might be best, but there’s also a huge section dedicated to work that are for both individuals and teams.

What sets Craft apart from the competition?

Like a lot of apps these days, Craft has had a recent AI upgrade. What does that actually mean in this context? As well as its organizational features and wide-range of easy-to-use templates, there’s a sort of AI assistant baked into the Craft experience. This can help you with brainstorming, summarizing content, finding and refining your notes.

It’s limited — don’t expect it to be as ‘smart’ as ChatGPT — but it’s handy for proofreading, generating new ideas and summarizing big chunks of text. I'd definitely recommend it if you’re going to be dealing with large volumes of information, like if you’re working on a lengthy research project or writing a book.

As I mentioned above, it’s best to think of Craft as both a personal app and a work-based one —it can really stretch based on your needs. If you do want to use it in your business, there are a bunch of collaboration features and ways to share documents, as well as support for multiple formats so nothing gets messed up across platforms.

If you’re looking for a new task management app that combines various content types, notes and research, then check out Craft. I always think the best way to find out if this kind of productivity and note-taking app is for you is to simply use it for a week and test out if you like it. Luckily, Craft makes it really easy to do that as a basic version is free. You can then pay $6/£6 a month to get all of the benefits. There are also business options too if you want to move your whole team over to Craft.