PTPL 097: Informed, Intentional Note Makers Value Processes Over Apps
Quiz: are you an A, B, or C-type note maker / tool user?
You may not need to transition away from tool X, but you should know and structure your processes so that leaving it wouldn’t be a catastrophe or even a major disruption. Quiz time! When it comes to processes and tools, what kind of digital or analog note-keeper are you?
No AI input here; all words 100% human made. Support through reading, sharing or becoming a paid subscriber is gratefully received, not expected.
To choose a tool, first know your processes
You may have noticed “How to leave Evernote” articles leaking out of the online woodwork lately, sparked by that company’s recent price increase and crippling of their free plan. I generally ignore this kind of post, but the title of one of them caught my eye as it seemed to tie in well with the theme of simplifying and fortifying one’s processes.
“How to Transition from Evernote to …Nothing”, is wonderfully intriguing, don’t you think? And the subhead, “You don’t have to replace a thing with another thing”, clinched the deal: here was an article this non-Evernote user had to read.
Spoiler: the author, Darryl Brooks, is still an Evernote user. An informed, intentional Evernote user. And I love that!
Darryl took a deep look at his processes; what he was saving and where those things existed elsewhere, and embraced a mindset of using Evernote as a tool on top of files he controlled outside of that app.
I like to call my backup plan, my forward up plan. Instead of putting everything into Evernote and then trying to figure out how to back it up. I put most things in a place where they will be backed up and then put them into Evernote.
— Darryl Brooks
He and I use different tools, and do different things with them, but our underlying philosophy is the same: control your notes, and have an exit plan.
So, if you are searching for an [insert name of your tool] replacement and haven’t found anything you like, sit down and take a look at how you use the system. Create a flowchart if necessary. With some thought and planning, you could devise a system that gets the job done without moving to another software system.
— Ibid, comment in brackets added by me
Medium members can read the full article here.
Quiz time
And now, a bit of fun, with a serious side. What would you do if —
DIGITAL TOOLS:
If [app X] suddenly disappeared, could you still access your notes?
a. Yes! My notes are simple text files and can be read by any computer on any platform
b. Yes, if I’m up to date with exporting my latest notes (to a human-readable format)
c. No! Help!!
If all your devices were lost, stolen, or damaged beyond repair, could you still access your notes?
a. Yes! They’re stored in the cloud / on an off-site hard drive
b. Yes, if I have internet access
c. No! My notes are locally stored only, so they’d be lost forever
ANALOG TOOLS:
If your favourite notebook / pen brand was no longer available, what would you do?
a. Doesn’t affect me; I make my own notebooks from whatever is available, and I’m not too fussy about pens for daily writing
b. I’d switch to the next closest thing and just keep going
c. I’d put my life and notes on hold until I found someone who still holds stock!
If your paper notebooks and files were lost, stolen, or damaged so as to be unreadable, could you still access your notes?
a. Yes, but not all of them (and that’s okay) — I scan / back up the most vital information daily
b. No, but I’m not worried about that; my hybrid digital/analog system means I don’t keep vital information solely on paper; it’d be easy to start again from scratch
c. No! I’d cry for years if my notebooks disappeared!
Whether you love Evernote, Obsidian, Leuchtturm1917, Capacities, Lamy, Scrintal, Rhodia, Twos, Moleskine, Notenik, Waterman, Joplin, Hobonichi, Napkin, Craft, Filofax, Logseq, Bic, Emacs, Midori, etcetera, I hope you were happy with your answers. If not, what’s one thing you could do this week to assuage potential future anxiety?
How am I doing?
I love hearing from readers, and I’m always looking for feedback. How am I doing with Plain Text. Paper, Less? Is there anything you’d like to see more, or less of? Which aspects do you enjoy the most? Let me know in the comments, or hit reply if you received this as an email.
Yes, I’m still searching for a home for my work away from Substack; one that I control. It’s not as easy a journey as I thought it’d be.
No AI input: all words 100% human made. Download productivity goodies (including a soon-to-be-released updated Obsidian Planner demo vault) here.