Getting started with Roam Research

You may have heard about Roam Research as the hot new note-taking app, which it certainly is right now. I’m using it and I love it — but why? Let’s dive in.

Structured organization vs fluid information

At its core, Roam is yet another note taking app. You type stuff in and it saves it. However, the core organizational structure of Roam is one of the big things that sets it apart.

In Evernote, you have Stacks, with Notebooks, with notes. Notion is a bit more fluid, but you still have to put things in a specific place. This is good for a lot of data, but not everything.

Suppose you have lunch with your friend Steve, he shows you a couple of great new apps on his phone, tells you about a book he’s reading, and gives you some advice on the next bike you should buy. If you want to put that in Evernote, where does it go?

In theory, you’d put the app info in a phone-related notebook, the book info in your “stuff to read” note, and the bike tips in your “outdoors” notebook. Right? Or maybe just put it in a note called “lunch with Steve”, list the items, and try to get back to them later. Either way, no single location is perfect, and any of them run the risk of getting buried under newer items.

Roam solves this by not making you put the info in any pre-built slot, but just adding it organically. We’ll talk more about this example in a bit.

Daily notes