In my own work, I was faced with this dilemma. I knew I wanted to use a digital journal to organize my workflow. But I wasn’t completely satisfied with the options in digital journals, so I created my own. This digital journal has worked so well for me, that when I told people in the Paperless Community about it they wanted to give it a try — so I made it available in form of the Digital Journal Designer.

I must say I was surprised at the exciting feedback I received from so many people who have used this digital journal. But this has inevitably brought up the question, “Which note-taking app is the best to use for digital journaling?”

Year after year the makers of our favorite note-taking apps release updates. And I must continue to try out each feature and report which are the most convenient and easy to use.

As of today, I find that Noteshelf  is the best note-taking app to use with a digital journal.

Here are eleven features of Noteshelf that make it a great note-taking app to use with a bullet journal.

1. Notebook Password Protection

While you can enable password protection on your mobile device, not all apps have notebook password protection. Noteshelf  allows you to enable password protection so your digital journal will be safe from prying eyes.

2. Handwriting Recognition

While it’s true that several note-taking apps have handwriting recognition, Noteshelf  is particularly good at reading very bad handwriting. This means that Noteshelf  can more accurately read your handwriting to convert it into text or perform a search and locate what you’re looking for inside of your handwritten text.

3. Drag and Drop Import

Importing a file or an image into your digital journal is simple with the drag and drop import feature in Noteshelf.

4. Split-screen support

The ability to run Noteshelf in split screen mode means you can have a web browser or a document open alongside your digital journal for reference gathering, image importing, and so much more.

5. Moving pages to other notebooks

Noteshelf  allows you to move pages from one notebook to another so you can easily organize and rearrange your digital bullet journal.

6. PDF import, annotation, and search

You can import PDFs into Noteshelf  and then annotate directly onto the document, or even search inside the document. The search terms will show up as highlighted, making the search function that much more pleasant to use.

7. Automated date/time stamp per page

Noteshelf  will automatically date and time stamp each page of your digital bullet journal giving you an organized, easy to search notebook.

8. Customized notebook covers

The ability to customize notebook covers will help you easily identify and group your notebooks, and add an element of fun and personalization to your work.

9. Import custom page templates

Being able to import custom page templates means you can import a complete digital journal and use that journal inside the Noteshelf  app. Custom page templates are another way you can use your digital journal to meet your specific organizing and notebook building needs.

10. Clickable bullet points

Create clickable bullet points that you can use as task lists. Because they’re clickable, you can mark them off once a task is complete. Use this feature to create lists and tasks that are easy to use and have a clean and organized look.

11. Add individual tags and bookmarks to pages

Noteshelf  allows you to add individual tags for easier searches, and bookmarks for an instant look at pages you want to revisit often.

These are just some of the great features of Noteshelf  . Using the Tom Solid Digital Bullet Journal along with Noteshelf will give you the best of bullet journaling combined with the ease and convenience of paperless note-taking.