(question triggered by #606764)
I'm mainly using vimwiki as a tool to journal in, every day, almost at every minute of the day. It's kinda like the hugely popular Obsidian, but simpler.
I also have the SelfControl app installed to block out distracting websites for set amounts of time.
What about you?
After years of trying hundreds of different options (I'm not exaggerating, I'm for sure around the hundreds), dozens of them thoroughly and for long time periods, I finally settled with Obsidian. Files on the left, text in the middle, table of contents on the right. Perfection. And everything is just a render of your folder structure and your markdown files, so Obsidian can't lock-in anything: if it dissapears tomorrow, I'm left with my folder structure and universally readable markdown files. And it's blazing fast, which is really important for taking notes.
Coming first from using Google Keep, I now take notes viciously directly in the google Calendar, exclusively. It's cumbersome, but I make sure I don't forget anything because I know everything is there, and reminders are a default trait. Then I go by checking out notes once I transcribe them where they belong, which is now for sure going to be a markdown document, through Obsidian. It's the most stable and safe workflow I have ever had, but there's room for a good note app regarding the way I use the google calendar, I would love to implement something like that in a future.
I feel you. I've tried so many things too.
Obsidian just came "too late" in this journey of trying things out. I had already somehow settled with Vimwiki. I briefly tried Obsidian, but I am somehow at a point now where I don't want to learn a new tool. What I have now just works. Vim is an extension of my thoughts. I get frustrated when I see a colleague or student trying to navigate a file with his mouse. But they get frustrated too when I give a hands-on tutorial and they can't follow what I'm doing on the screen.
The proper method is the one that just works, no questions
The table of contents in obsidian solved a long time ordeal of navigating long documents by endless scrolling and wishing you remembered where that specific subject was. Now it's a quick scroll on the right, click, bum. And if that doesn't work right away, it means the document is messy, so I proceed to refactor and indeed that solves the problem and makes the document better. I can't believe this workflow isn't more common among text editors.
I tried vimwiky but it was way too packed and with time I realized I needed something barely above a txt. For a time that's what I did until I got to know markdown.
But anyway, the definitive answer is the one you said: "What I have now just works". Period.
To be fair, I barely use the wiki part of it. It's mostly one central text file, from which I sometimes branch out to a separate file using
[[other page]]. The searching to find something I wrote months agao happens mostly on the main file using vim's/. I'm not really using it much as a Zettelkast.Obsidian allows to use wiki links natively, but I found out that I never use them in practice. I do refer in the documents to other files by name, but I found out that if you keep a proper structure, even for very long projects, you will hardly need wiki links, and if you ever do, chances are you are doing things wrong. Unless you are making an actual wiki, but that's at company-level, can't be at personal level.
Searching for a productivity tool can hinder productivity?
The irony
Productivity Youtube is a HUGE rabbit hole. It's easy to get completely lost in videos about optimizing Obsidian or Notion.
I have gone that far sometimes just for the sake of completeness, to be as sure as possible that I'm not losing something that's a breakpoint in how you organize things. But I learned that if a method relies on being way deep to be functional, chances are it's way too rigid and impractical. I do engineering projects that require hundreds of doc pages, and obsidian with markdown, a simple table of contents and a file browser just collapses all back again to manageable levels.
You will learn about new tools possibly better without actively searching
In practice that's what happens. The one tool I settled with, obsidian, is the only one that was brought to me directly. But I like to deplete possibilities, at worst you learn other ways to not to do things.
Non ironically yes, indeed That's why finding one that works is so relieving!
And it may or may not be the best but in this case something that works is good enough and stop the search
Since you're on a Mac (I assume from SelfControl), Alfred's indispensable for me.
Wow, this tool is crazy... had to grant it quite a few permissions, but looks immensaly powerful. Did you customize it for personal workflows? Did you go for the powerpack?
EDIT: kinda looks look
10x-spotlightYeah, I sprung for the Powerpack, and create my own workflows with it (and also use ones others create). Super-Spotlight is a good starting point for describing it (though I think it offers a ton more).
Is there a Windows version? Don’t ask why I use Windows like it’s 1994
I remember when Google Desktop came out. Spotlight search for Windows!
Alfred doesn't have a Windows version. Not sure if anyone else has come up with something similar. I haven't used a Windows machine in a long time, so I'm not up on the software scene.
Obsidian and PPQ.AI
ppq.ai looks cool. Other than the ideological aspect (pay using Bitcoin for a few indiviudal queries), did you calculate from what point it's more interesting to pay the monthly ChatGPT 4.0 membership and until when it's interesting to pay by the query? I also notice it has a search function, which the standard ChatGPT doesn't. Does it work well to search through your old conversations? I find myself asking the same things over and over again as I can't be bothered looking through 100s of conversations.
Looking through past conversations come in handy. I haven't done a cost analysis, but I'm primarily using funds from nostr zaps and stacker news rewards (so it feels almost free). Unleashed and CASCDR are my next favorite AI projects run by freaks.
I've just cancelled my subscription. Will be using ppq.ai from now on. Thanks for the tip.
GitHub Copilot counts? I think it increases my productivity.
Sure does. ChatGPT helps me greatly too in coding endeavours (see #347574).
I use GitHub Copilot integrated with vim, it's great advanced code autocomplete tool.
you are cool person !
I used to use notebooks, until mom found out about them :D, then went to normal text on my desktop, to google sheet :D
will try these apps you shared !
I have been using "lobseq" it is the same as obsidian, based on the diary and the truth is it is wonderful for organizing tasks, ideas or study information or other things.
I’m going to check out obsidian
https://www.notebookstories.com/2018/03/07/larry-davids-notebook/
It's not the software. It is the method. Check out GTD
https://gettingthingsdone.com/
Exactly. All the answers here show that many tools aim to achieve that same method. As long as it works, doesn't matter what tool you settled on.
Are these gtd books any good? Did you subscribe to any of the trainings?
I read the book back in the early 2000s, but didn't do any subscriptions. The principles stick once you incorporate them. The big thing is to schedule in time to review 30,000 ft, 10,000ft, and 1000 ft goals and tasks. I also place calendar, goal, and task reviews into my weekly agenda to force review. It has allowed me to manage the equivalent of 3 full-time jobs at times.
Yeah, reminds me of the One Thing Book I once read. Same message, different package.
That one came along later.
What's the craziest thing a stranger has ever said to you?
"What's the craziest thing a stranger has ever said to you?" I don't get out much.
I don't know how can anyone live without a "Second-brain" (Obsidian, Notion, ...).
my brain, hands, and legs are my productivity tools. out of software tools - the notepad.
All I use is Trello and apple notes. These two have made my life a lot better.
Project management tools or sprint management are always a never ending debate
Joplin - notes in markdown, syncs across devices
Syncthing - syncs things
Tasks.org - its a tasks app, syncs across devices play store link
Since I’m a teacher, I use Magic School AI to churn out literacy questions. I sometimes use Gamma to turn my notes into PPT slides.
Do your colleagues use similar tools 🛠️?
Are you conventional or rebellious?
Rocks. Levers. Fire. Wedges.
I am new to this crypto world and I recently just installed an application called logset that allows me multiple functions for my daily, weekly, and monthly activities. The truth is that I keep reviewing it because it brings multiple functions which are very complete and so I see it has many more tools within the application... it was recommended to me by the person who is not teaching Cryptoeconomics... and it is very useful to me...💪