I generally try to use the stock apps that Apple includes for as long as I can until I hit a wall with either a feature I feel I need, or a legitimate thing I want to do that I just can't accomplish because of the way Apple designed their app. For example, I used Apple's Mail app for a long time until I made the switch to Spark on both iOS and macOS because at the time, Mail.app did a poor job of handling multiple email accounts.

I've used a variety of note taking apps over the years - I loved Bear, enjoyed SimpleNote, and have settled on using Day One as a journal / note taking hybrid.

But I still use Apple's Notes app for a lot of things, including:

• Tracking details of one or more kids being sick.
• Shared projects with my wife (i.e. house hunting notes)
• Birthday list ideas.

I've always felt like I should be using something different - that there's better options out there. But Notes just keeps getting better.

Dr. Drang has a great write up on why Notes is still the app of choice for most things in 2020, even if he uses a few other apps alongside it.

Before I get into the strategy, I want to congratulate the Notes team for making what may be the only Apple app that has been unambiguously improving over the past few years. While it still shows evidence of the limited and ugly app it started out as, Notes is now one of the best note-taking apps on iOS, with features that nicely balance simplicity and power.