Productivity tools and procrastination

01 Jan, 2025

In 2024, I tried a ton of productivity tools. Most were in the task/project management, calendar, note-taking, or personal knowledge management system (PKMS) spaces.

Here is an embarrassing, non-exhaustive list:

• Sunsama
• Capacities
• Things
• Akiflow
• Reflect Notes
• Obsidian
• Todoist
• TickTick
• Notion
• Fantastical
• Morgen Calendar
• Motion
• Tana
• Bear Notes
• Heptabase
• Scrintal

Yes, I suffer from shiny object syndrome.

For some reason I believed that I could find an app that would magically reduce the overwhelm I felt and help me get more stuff done. I would set up a new workflow in a tool, only to be distracted by a shiny new app several weeks later. Rinse and repeat. I think the longest I stuck with a note-taking tool (Reflect) was three months.

What I now realize is that I was spending more time pretending to be productive than actually being productive. Switching between apps was just another form of procrastination.

So what are my aspirations for 2025?

Stick with two apps that have mostly worked for me in the past:

Obsidian and Things 3.

I want to take the time to learn each tool inside and out and organize them to fit how my mind works. Because, in spite of all the shiny marketing and slick promises we see for productivity apps, finding a get shit done workflow is a deeply personal thing.

Last modified: 7 months, 2 weeks ago

#note