Fussing with Notes
I think I'm finally done fussing over digital notes and writing apps.
Like Jack, I've tried every note-taking and organizing app under the sun, but none of them seem to stick. 1 I got lost in the endless customization of Obsidian. I loved TiddlyWiki, but the default markup language and finicky saving functions drove me nuts. I thought Logseq would be the one, but I couldn’t get my head around its linking protocols or outlining structure—and iCloud syncing for these apps is painfully slow and cumbersome. 2
Back in the early days, around 2007-2012, I was all about plain text files using nvAlt. Those were simpler times. The portability, the lack of distractions—it was a perfect system when I only had to worry about personal devices like my MacBook and iPhone. But as time went on, my setup became multi-platform: iPhone, MacMini server, Linux personal laptop, Windows for work. This complexity pushed me to search for a single, cross-platform app that would give me a consistent experience everywhere I worked.
That app doesn’t exist. Go ahead, try to prove me wrong—you won’t.
So, it feels inevitable that I return to what I know works: Markdown-flavored text files.
No more fussing. No more bloated apps.
Just text files and two simple tools—1Writer on iOS and QOwnNotes everywhere else.
I’m done. I’m spent.
It’s time to stop fussing and get back to writing. Time to come home, back to simple systems that allow my time and energy to be spent where they matter most.