Typically, note-taking applications are intended to ensure maximum productivity and allow individuals to capture ideas to enable minimal brainstorming but excellent organization of all thoughts.
Napkin takes this one step forward by shifting its focus from productivity to mindfulness and self-reflection. It presents itself as a companion to journaling--more thoughtful regarding capturing and re-capturing ideas.
Napkin's Approach to Note-Taking with Mindfulness
In 2022, the app's co-founders, David Felsmann and Fabian Wittel, collaborated further on an app they had begun to develop in the innovation department at BMW. The first web-based prototype of Napkin was meant to order and outline thoughts about a given subject; however, when more users began using it as a space for mindfulness and reflection, the founders opted to adapt the app for that purpose.
Now, Napkin is designed as a service that is supposed to facilitate mindful pause among its users by providing an outlet to reflect on ideas significant to them. The shift in focus led the company to concentrate on health and fitness in the App Store rather than productiveness or utility as its core market.
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How Does Napkin Work?
With Napkin, users can develop ideas in various ways—snapping pictures of quotes they find in books or, alternatively, typing the thoughts directly into the application.
The software will classify these ideas according to auto-generated tags so that users are on top and revisit themes they have run through. Ideas curated for initial sessions are also included in the user library, contributing to a more personalized experience.
According to TechCrunch, a great feature of the application is that users can easily archive their reflected ideas, and subsequently, these would no longer appear with corresponding flags. The app supports many languages, including Spanish and German, but it is significantly better optimized for use in the English language.
Non-Obtrusive Experience Based on Coherence
Perhaps the most crucial feature differentiating Napkin from other apps is its sense of coherence model, which lets users build a holistic mental model of the world.
Instead of drowning users with notifications and nudges, the app lets self-reflection quietly occur in the background. As co-founder Felsmann pointed out, "We do not want to add more noise to users' lives. We want to be a quiet place for retention and reflection.".
Many users have Napkin as the first thing they open in the morning, with its calming alternative to social media. Therefore, this routine gives them ample time for reflection on valuable thoughts rather than catapulting into the noise of the digital world.
How Much is Napkin?
Napkin is now available in the App Store, and a working subscription will cost $6 a month or as little as $50 a year. The app also features a free seven-day test period. The company has not raised institutional funding yet, but it has raised about $150,000 from believers and backers through convertible loan agreements.
Napkin has around 4,000 paying subscribers. To continue scaling, the company said it would not consider funding or adding more features until its user base expands to 10,000 subscribers.
At that point, the company said it would release integrations with popular journaling apps and services – including Amazon Kindle – to make capturing ideas easier and journaling about them.
Journaling Companion, Not a Replacement
However, rather than replacing traditional journaling applications, Napkin sees itself as a complement. Napkin focuses on mindful reflection, and the experience it offers people who want to build into their journaling habits or add some self-reflection into their lives will be great.
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