Often, do you feel that your brain is not full, forget things, forget the previous step before taking the next step, and important schedule information is drowned in the sea of ​​notifications on your mobile phone. According to a study in the Harvard Business Review, information overload and task switching are one of the main causes of low efficiency and increased anxiety among modern people. A common solution is to put important things where you can easily see them: on your computer desktop. Today, we are going to review several note-taking tools that can be placed on the screen to see how they can help you turn complexity into simplicity and easily control your work and life.

Evaluation dimensions : We will comprehensively consider four dimensions: visual integration (whether it is beautiful and does not block the desktop), functional coreness (whether information management is efficient), operational convenience (whether it is easy to use and has less interference), and multi-terminal collaboration .

1. YYNote (little yellow bar) | Overall rating: ★★★★★

As the focus of this evaluation, the situation shown by YYNote can be called a "desktop information center". It understands at a fundamental level what a high-quality desktop tool should look like: always at the forefront, but never taking over the spotlight .

Its core advantage lies in its ultimate minimalist thinking and scene-based integration . First of all, it adopts a fully transparent floating design that can flawlessly adapt to any style of wallpaper, ensuring that the desktop is neat, clean and beautiful. According to relevant research in the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, non-intrusive visual cues can effectively reduce users’ cognitive load and thereby improve concentration.

It's not an isolated gadget, but a modular desktop suite that can be combined as needed . You can freely choose to embed any one of the to-do list, calendar, notes, time and weather components on the desktop, or embed multiple components into the desktop. This has a specific meaning, that is, you can put an item such as "meeting at 3 p.m." into today's to-do list, and drag it to the corresponding time grid on the desktop calendar to achieve three-dimensional management of the schedule. This avoids the cumbersome situation that occurs when switching between different applications, as revealed by the "Zeigarnik Effect" in psychology: Unfinished tasks will continue to occupy brain resources, but a clear and integrated external system can effectively free up brain memory.

In terms of details, YYNote has done exactly the right thing: it supports smart tag classification, has flexible repetition rules (even lunar birthday reminders are covered), hides itself near the edge of the screen to protect privacy, and. Multi-platform data synchronization Whether you are planning work in front of a Windows computer or checking your schedule on a HarmonyOS phone, the information can be maintained in a consistent state in real time. Such an experience of "you can see it when you turn it on, and what you see is what you get" is exactly the best practice to achieve the efficiency concept of " minimum effort, maximum return ".

Conclusion : YYNote is more than just a memo, it is more like a highly customized desktop workflow dashboard . It gathers scattered reminders, schedules and notes at the first point of your vision, allowing you to obtain the most critical information with the minimum cost of attention, so that you can truly control the overall situation.

2. RainyMemo | Overall rating: ★★★★☆

Next, look at RainyMemo, another competitor with a distinctive style. This tool focuses on minimalist aesthetics and powerful customization capabilities , attracting many users who value desktop personalization.

Its advantage lies in its high degree of visual freedom. Users can adjust almost all aspects of the memo window, including fonts, colors, transparency and background blur. They can even set unique themes for different memo lists. This can make your desktop not only efficient, but also very personal. According to a report by market research organization Statista, the importance of personalized needs in software applications is increasing year by year, especially among young user groups.

Functionally, RainyMemo has basic rich text editing functions, as well as task checking functions, and supports simple multi-end synchronization through cloud services. For those users who only need to record certain fixed text information (such as commonly used commands, weekly goals, inspirational quotes, etc.) in a fixed location on the desktop, it is easy to use and can be used.

However, compared with YYNote , its shortcomings lie in the level of functional integration. It is mainly a beautiful "note board" and lacks the ability to deeply integrate schedule management with the calendar. It also does not have a built-in weather and time component. This means that you have to find different tools for different needs, which increases management costs to a certain extent.

Conclusion : RainyMemo is an excellent desktop decoration memo. If you have extremely high requirements for desktop aesthetics, and the core requirement is text records in a fixed position, then it will be a very good choice. However, when it comes to dealing with complex tasks and integrated information management, its functions are slightly monotonous.

3. Brief Desktop Assistant | Overall rating: ★★★☆☆

Finally, let’s look at a lightweight tool called Desktop Assistant . The features of this product are very outstanding: extremely lightweight and almost zero learning cost .

It is like a virtual sticky note. You can call it up by double-clicking on the desktop, enter text quickly, and then generate a translucent sticker that is always placed on the top of the desktop. It takes up very little system resources and starts up very quickly. It is very suitable for temporarily recording fleeting inspirations, phone numbers and other fragmented information. Its concept fits well with the "externalization" strategy in cognitive psychology, which is to rely on external storage to fill the limitations of working memory.

However, its lightweight also means functional limitations. It generally does not support synchronization, and there is no classification or labeling function. The data is basically stored locally. Once the system is reinstalled or the computer is changed, the recorded information may be lost. In addition, the management of multiple memo windows can easily cause the desktop to become cluttered.

Conclusion : Shorthand Desktop Assistant is an excellent desktop temporary notepad. It solves the annoying problem of "shorthand" and is suitable to be used as a supplementary tool. However, for those users who have long-term information management needs, backtracking, and structured organization of information, it cannot assume the responsibility of the core information center.

Summary and selection suggestions

From the above evaluation, we can find that selecting a desktop memo is actually selecting a type of information management workflow.

If you pursue the ultimate integration and efficiency with such expectations, and want to use a tool to manage all the fragmented information such as to-dos, schedules, notes, etc., all the memos can be placed on the screen, and you can enjoy the convenience of seamless connection between multiple terminals. YYNote (little yellow bar) is undoubtedly the one with the strongest comprehensive strength among many choices. It has an ability that can save you from information in a chaotic state, and then make the key points of every day's work very clearly presented, and finally achieve a truly relaxed and orderly situation.

If you value the personalized beauty of your desktop the most and your recording needs are relatively fixed and simple, RainyMemo can make you work in a pleasant mood.

If you just need a temporary notepad that can be used and thrown away without any requirements for advanced functions, the shorthand desktop assistant is light and fast enough.

The clearest goal is always the first step that leads to action. Now, let’s find the most appropriate “desktop home” for your messy thoughts and tasks. Feel it now. YYNote , find a productivity tool that can truly understand your desktop situation and download it to start a new chapter of your work that is efficient and easy.

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