There are too much time spend on configure my tools, replace a more efficiently tool with the less efficient one. It takes me so long to understand those apps doesn’t matter if just want to take a notes

Time spending on notes taking app

Effie

When I have to take notes, I fisrt using Effie, but then I find it don’t have good image insert support, give up. Their idea is great, notes or writing apps should be clean enough and later I find every notes app say they are clean.

Notion

The next app is notion, it is great, the markdown blocks and integration of app make notion eye-cream, but then regarding the loading time take decade long, no offline support, and most of my time are dragging blocks make my workspace more pretty. “Um… A good notes should look like this.”, regarding my terrible sense of beauty, the “design” never fit my imagination of prefect notes. Notion maybe too capable for a note taking app, the database function make them customizable, I want writing notes, but not build website. Nevertheelss, Notion now becoming my todo list, and event recorder, how great it support syncing across all devices, and can be access with browser.

OneNote, CollaNote, Goodnotes, Remarkable

All of them used to be kept my handwriting notes, among them, OneNotes is canva, CollaNote is vertical scrolling canva, Goodnotes is a good handwriting notes app but neet to pay. Remarkable is an accidient, I never understand why I think it can take a notes with high writing delay and slow responding time. All of them have been used on 2018 Ipad with 20.7 grams Apple Pencil (1st Generation). This gen pencil is too heavy, compare to Samsung 8 grams S Pen, it is like holding a sticker stamp on glass. I remember I have spend so much time finding free alternative on Ipad since good software and hardware are expensive, and finally stay with second hand Samsung tab S7.

Obsidian

Before trying Obsidian, I have finally realize that note is simple as markdown, no need of those notion blocks or Effie cards. basiclly supporting tree directories selection and image insertion is a must. Obsidian do quite well, and finally I realize how much time is wasted on making my own notion note space. No database and todo list is needed, and therefore Obsidian is enough to write and manager notes.

When tinkering a customizalbe tools, I always try to make the tools part of mine, try to complish all the tasks with the lovest tools. When there exist a better tools, still I have to use my lovely tools try to accomplish the task, if not, then google way to implement it. Most of the time tinkering the tools, losting the initial goal, turn into making my tools super powerful and multi-funcional. Therefore, never love your tools, getting the job done in efficient way is much more elegant than done the jobs with the specify tools, if the initial goal is getting the task done.

Editor

Editor is another time sink source. Vim is the first editor I know it is a editor, I have use vscode before but I don’t know it is a editor, back to the day using vscode, I am scaring of those UI, I don’t know what will happen if I turn on/off some of thems. Vim is clean, simple and elegant. However, it is like a mindset trap, the more I know Vim, the stronger will to do all in vim way. Vim bring me to shell, shell bring me to plain text operation. A mindset form, command line and plain text are efficient, GUI and mouse are evil. At that time, I have read many article of how to navigate laptop with only keyboard and vim like motion. Most of the time spend on google “how to do XXX in vim” and “how to do XXX in cli”. Still worse, I have imaged many situation that never happen, prepare a function or shortcut to overcome the problem never happen in future.

Any customizalbe editor can be time sink to configure, they becoming toies insteat of tools, I am adding too much unnecessary function before applied in real context. All those function and shortcut should only solved and implment in fly or they are repetitive to give a handy marco. When some special case rise, I am aware if it can be handle in “simpler” way, the real is they seldom occur in the future. However, time is wasted already.

Problems of upgrading productivity through changing tools.

Replacing the current tools with a more productivity one is often handy and attactive, imaging better functionalility of newer tools and get the job more efficient and elegant. However most of the time is spent on move data and rebuild working flow. When I merge my notes from Effie to notion, it take me one day to do so, it is repeative and boring to copy all the structure of the notes.
My current strategy are of merging notes are don’t touch the notes unless necessary, most of my old notes are still keeping on notion instead merging them into obsidian, although it may feel statisfy too see a deep direcotry of notes on Obsidian side bar. It just too time consumming, no real benefit to merge all the notes into single place, whatever the notes still appear in both apps, it is really not difference to merge from one to one and separate them.

Changing tools

I always want to try new tools, like emacs, vscode, Obsidian open source alternative, Mac built-in preview.app “better alternative”. Try them like playing new toy, fun but no real gain. I try them under the name of learning, and end up with tinkering configure.