Do You Still Text Yourself? Introducing Qept!

Have you ever been in the middle of a meeting, a casual stroll, or perhaps one of those midnight moments of genius when inspiration strikes? You think "Ah! I need to jot this down!". If you're anything like me, your first impulse might be to Whatsapp or text yourself. The trouble is, amidst the swirl of group chats, memes, and daily life exchanges, these valuable nuggets can get lost.

That's where my lightbulb moment occurred, leading to the birth of Qept.

A Strange Habit

I have to admit that I've actually been texting myself for years. Create a group chat with a friend, kick them out and you're left with a "me, myself & I" group chat for all your random thoughts.

What surprised me is that I'm not the only one. When I started talking to friends about my note-taking habit I expected weird faces, but many interjected "Ow I do that as well!". From a solo Whatsapp group to mailing yourself or even a single long note in the Notes app, many seem to capture unstructured thoughts in some way.

Why Not A Traditional Note App?

Great question!

Revealed preferences show that this is what many already do. When asked about ideal note-taking practices many might not talk about texting yourself, but if you look at what people actually do it seems to be a common habit. What could be causing this?

Firstly, traditional note-taking apps often demand two things - a title and the content. Sometimes, our most spontaneous, brilliant ideas don’t come with ready-made titles. It's like asking a newborn for their university major - too soon!

Secondly, most apps require some notion of where you want to leave the note. What notebook, folder or existing note does this thought belong to? It pulls you out of the thought and forces you in organising mode, when all you wanted to do was capture your inspiration.

Qept takes away all barriers. Just write down the thought and be done with it. Then later when you revisit it, you can still organise or edit your thoughts. From "organise first" to "write first, organise later".

Why Not Just Whatsapp?

Whatsapp can be a good starting point and it's what many people use right now, but it has its limitations. It's an awesome app, don't get me wrong, but it was never meant for note taking.

Firstly, there is no editing feature. Editing would be confusing in chat conversations, but it makes a lot of sense for note-taking.

Secondly, it's hard to stay organised. Over time your stream of thoughts is likely to become an unnavigable mess. It's possible to create multiple chats and separate thoughts by topic, but this will clutter your Whatsapp chats overview.

Thirdly, while you do get speed and simplicity, you have to let go of powerful note-taking features even when you need them.

Qept aims to combine the best of both worlds. The simplicity of texting with the power of note-taking. Simply capture your notes like you would in Whatsapp, but then be able to edit or organise them later. Write first, organise later, instead of the write first, organise never you would get from using a note-taking app. Besides, Qept allows you to use powerful productivity features such as checkboxes to create simple and quick to-do lists.

The Journey To Qept

Qept isn't about reinventing the wheel. Instead, it's about combining two great tools that we're already used to into a brand new productivity tool. Quick note capture should make it easier to put your thoughts to use. The vision is clear: bridge the gap between fleeting thoughts and unorganised notes.

The current iteration of Qept tries to make the app seem and feel as similar as possible to texting apps, while still allowing for powerful note-taking features. The app will evolve and people will use it in different ways, but the core mission will stay the same: to make better use of your ideas. I truly believe that we all have great thoughts, but we just need to use them.

Get Ready To Qept It!

With Qept your thoughts will find a new home, waiting for when you're ready to revisit, revise or act on them. Initially, Qept will launch for iPhone and be available on devices with iOS 15 or newer.

The goal is to create the best iOS note-taking app for capturing ideas and organising thoughts. There is no exact date yet, but Qept is expected to launch in the next couple of weeks.

Remember, jot it down, before you forget. With Qept, it's a tap away!