Google Keep is a fantastic digital notepad. Its interface mimics a corkboard covered in sticky notes, making it incredibly fast and intuitive for jotting down quick ideas, grocery lists, and reminders. However, if you use it frequently, that virtual corkboard can quickly become a chaotic mess of hundreds of unrelated notes.
To prevent your ideas from getting lost, Google Keep provides two powerful organisation tools: Colours and Labels. By combining these features, you can turn a messy pile of text into a highly structured productivity system.
Organising Notes with Colours
The simplest way to visually separate your notes is by changing their background colour. Just like using physical highlighters, assigning specific colours to specific topics allows your eyes to instantly scan the board and find what you need.
How to Change a Note’s Colour
On a Computer (Web Browser):
- Go to
keep.google.com. - Hover your mouse cursor over the note you want to change.
- A row of icons will appear at the bottom of the note. Click the Palette icon (Background options).
- A pop-up menu will display various solid colours and artistic background images. Click a colour to instantly apply it.
On the Mobile App (iOS/Android):
- Open the Google Keep app.
- Tap the note you want to edit.
- Tap the Palette icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
- Select your desired colour or background pattern.
Best Practices for Colour Coding
To make colours effective, you need a consistent system. Do not just pick colours randomly. Establish a personal legend, such as:
- Red: Urgent to-do lists or bills to pay.
- Green: Financial notes or shopping lists.
- Blue: Work-related ideas and meeting notes.
- Yellow: Personal journal entries or random thoughts.
Organising Notes with Labels
While colours provide quick visual sorting, Labels provide structural organisation. Labels function exactly like folders or tags. You can assign multiple labels to a single note, allowing it to exist in several “folders” simultaneously.
How to Create and Apply Labels
On a Computer (Web Browser):
- Hover over a note and click the Three-dot menu icon (More).
- Select Add label.
- A text box will appear. Type the name of your new label (e.g., “Recipes” or “Project X”).
- If the label doesn’t exist, click + Create “[label name]” at the bottom of the dropdown list. If it already exists, check the box next to it.
Pro Tip: You can also apply a label instantly by typing a hashtag directly into the text of the note. For example, typing #Recipes inside the note will automatically assign the Recipes label to it.
On the Mobile App (iOS/Android):
- Tap the note to open it.
- Tap the Three-dot menu icon in the bottom-right corner.
- Tap Labels.
- Check the boxes for existing labels, or type a new name in the “Enter label name” box and tap Create.
Viewing Notes by Label
Once your notes are labelled, finding them is effortless.
On the desktop version of Google Keep, look at the left-hand sidebar. (If you don’t see it, click the three horizontal lines (hamburger menu) in the top-left corner). You will see a list of all your created labels. Clicking on “Recipes” will hide every note on your corkboard except those tagged with that specific label.
On the mobile app, tap the hamburger menu in the top-left corner to access the same list of labels.
Combining Colours and Labels
The true power of Google Keep is unlocked when you use these two systems together. For example, you might create a Label called “Vacation Planning.” When you click that label, you see all your vacation notes. Within that view, you can use Colours to denote status: Red for flights you haven’t booked yet, Green for confirmed hotel reservations, and Blue for sightseeing ideas.
By mastering colours and labels, you can maintain the frictionless, sticky-note simplicity of Google Keep without sacrificing the organisation required for complex projects.