I mentioned in November that I thought change was coming. So here is an app stack for 2024 – a seismic shift has happened. Well, a seismic shift from my point of view at least. Before I go through the apps, I need to explain 2 things:
1. I want things to be as simple as possible.
Complexity is not bad. Complexity when it isn’t needed IS bad. During the space race, it was noted that most pens will not work in zero gravity. Gravity is required for ink to flow. The USA spent millions of dollars and months of research and solved this problem. They designed a pen that worked even in space, even in zero gravity. A good friend of mine once bought a space pen using this design from the science museum in London and for a time, would not stop talking about it. The Russians on the other hand, just took pencils into space with them which worked fine.
I am perfectly happy for there to be a bit of complexity in my systems and in my apps, as long as it benefits me and as long as a simpler approach cannot easily replicate what I am wanting to do. Complexity takes time to manage, which is fine, so long as the benefits warrant that cost.
2. I need to stop app switching
App switching IS bad. It’s fine to play around with Obsidian and Notion. By all means dabble in Tana and Capacities. Try before you buy is wise advice when it comes to apps. BUT to dabble in Notion for a week, migrate everything into it, use it for month and then start playing with Obsidian for a week, migrate to that and so on and so on is a killer.
I have had big issues in the past with task and project managers and more recently with notes applications. It is a killer and it needs to stop. With one caveat that I will get to later.
My Apps for 2024
Calendar – Microsoft Outlook
I have moved away from Google Calendar. Having said that I don’t like Outlook calendar, I realised this is just the Microsoft Office version of the app. The new Outlook app and the web app are actually pretty smart in my view. I also realised that what I do not like is that overlapping events do not overlap but sit side by side. But, I asked myself, is it wise to plan schedule two events at once? Probably not.
The main reason is that my workplace uses Outlook. Whilst I can get my Google Calendar in Outlook, the sync isn’t great and I cannot edit these calendars in Outlook. So I was maintaining 2 calendars. This introduces complexity and wastes time. Using a personal Outlook account, I can share my personal calendars with my work account and manage it all in one place. The mobile app is pretty good too.
Notes – UpNote
I am going all in on UpNote for note taking. I was going to explore Notesnook and Obsidian but I just don’t like them as much. People often ask about the stability of the company. It’s a valid question. So I aim to export all of my notes in Markdown and HTML every week.
I love the look and feel of this app, love the feature set, love the UI. I am actually writing this post in UpNote.
Tasks – ToDoist
I tried ClickUp for a 3rd time. I love ClickUp. Again, I came unstuck. Tasks are completed but they don’t disappear right away. If I go away, or if I have a day where I have to abandon my list, I find ClickUp is overwhelming to reschedule the tasks that I have not completed. With ClickUp, as it is focussed in multiple directions that do not apply to me, I face too much temptation to include complexity I don’t need.
ToDoist is neat, fast, easy to capture into, easy to organise and easy to use as a list I reference through the day. It’s not in your face.
Emails – Outlook & Gmail
So I use Outlook for work and a new private email address that I haven’t used yet. Gmail is going to be for newsletters, general communication and Effective Faith. Currently I am just using the web apps for both. I no longer see the need to have one email app to rule them all.
Journal – Twos
See this post to find out why.
Planning, Projects & Content Management – Notion
I’ve gone back to Notion for this, for now. I ditched my old Notion system and built a new one from scratch (based on the old) that is much simpler and designed to only do what I need it to do and not everything else.
I have a goals database, a projects database, a task database and a notes database. These relate to each other in quite simple and obvious ways. I also have a content management system that is a slimmed down version of something share by August Bradley.
As and when UpNote sorts out dragging and dropping content within notes and tables, I expect I will be able to manage a lot of what I am currently using Notion for in UpNote. I have also noted some social media posts from the guys at ToDoist that may mean I can switch somethings from Notion to ToDoist as and when they go public. So, I may find myself doing everything across UpNote and ToDoist. One thing – I am not archiving anything in Notion. Once a project or goal is complete or once a plan is finished with, I am exporting it, and all associated notes and tasks, as an html into UpNote where it will be archived. It is then deleted from Notion.
Cloud Storage – OneDrive and Google Drive
My employer uses OneDrive and SharePoint, so my work is there. I use Google Drive for personal stuff and Effective Faith. Eventually, as I release more videos, I will need to pay for more storage. Then I will have a decision to make.
So, an app stack for 2024 – A seismic shift happened as I have been using Google Calendar for nearly 10 years.
