You Don’t Have to Choose a Note-Taking App Forever
There’s value in changing your systems

Choose a side.
That’s what it feels like to get into note-taking. You hear about all these wonderful apps, and you see that people have VERY STRONG opinions about them.
Until you listen to normal people and realise, everyone is as confused as you are about which system, and what app to use.
It’s true though, apps do make a difference
Taking notes with Notion is different from taking notes with Obsidian. It’s different from using Tana, and Evernote and Bear.
Each app has a distinct personality.
Notion is a neat-freak, obsessed with categorising everything. Obsidian is CHAOS personified. Tana is a maximalist librarian. Bear is a minimalist extremist.
And because of that, each app will bring you something different.
So yes, it does matter which app you do use. Because you’re going to think slightly differently in each one. And surely, some are more suited to you than others.
But it feels like people don’t say this enough…
You don’t have to choose one for the rest of your life
So Notion is more suited to you right now? Cool, start there. But you know you can also always use Obsidian for other projects, right?
You can switch in the middle of a project, even. Just because you get the hitch to do so.
There are no rules.
I rely pretty heavily on Notion, because I like the idea of being a neat-freak in some parts of my life. But, these days, I often come back to Obsidian.
I like how the graph system makes sense of my chaos, without me having to categorise it all.
Hell, sometimes, I even open Notes because I just need to keep a trace of something very quickly. Like the dimensions of my desk, or the lane I parked on.
No, you don’t lose anything by doing that.
Because the goal is NOT to take notes. The goal is to think, create and grow.
Besides…
Sometimes, there’s value in changing your system for the sake of changing your system
Productivity gurus like to punch on people who change their minds all the time. They scream CONSISTENCY at the top of their lungs.
Something they forget to mention is that if you’re doing the productive stuff well enough, you’re going to grow. And with growth, comes change.
Consistency has to include changing your productive systems for something that suits you better.
And sometimes, changing just because you need a change of scenery. A new app, a new dashboard in Notion, a new way to record your thoughts…
I find that starting fresh is very fertile ground for breakthroughs.
I’ve been moaning about being uncreative for the past couple of weeks
If you’re a creative, you know how cranky we can get when no good ideas come to us. Netflix comfort shows, binging on cheap novels, and far too much early Easter chocolate. It’s not a pretty sight.
And just when I was starting to resign to the idea of being a failed creative, a friend of mine, out of the blue, started talking about Obsidian.
Asked me if I knew it.
“KNEW IT. Yes, I know it. I’m a Notion girl myself, but I’ve taken Obsidian for a couple of rides, it’s cool. Show me your graph and I’ll show you mine 😏”
And just like that… I remembered how much fun it was to play in the Obsidian graph. I started to do it again, just to prove myself I still had it.
And bam.
Ideas upon ideas flooding my brain.
Goes to show. Sometimes, what you really need is another app. Not because it’s better, but just because it’s going to make you think differently.
I found one way to be ‘consistent’ though
Through it all, there is one app I never ditch. Because it adapts to any system I want to throw at it. And that’s Readwise.
No matter the app I open, I know I’ll find my highlights. Because Readwise sends them for me to Notion, Readwise and Tana. Which not only acts as a backup in case of a catastrophic app failure. But also, never leaves me with a blank app.
There’s always content there I can start with.
⭐ More essays on living a more fulfilling creative life, on Pépites.