Writing daily saved my creativity

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Hey honeys and hustlers,

600 files, millions of words, and 1 year with what is quite possibly the best note-taking app I’ve used to date. I started writing this newsletter by keeping ideas in Google Keep Notes and writing drafts directly into Substack. Then I transitioned to writing ideas, drafts, and research links in Strut (RIP), where I fell in love with markdown files. I also started using the calendar function in Notion to plan articles ahead. When Strut ended, I looked for a new home. Free of AI, minimal but customizable, and with markdown file capabilities. Obsidian entered the chat. Suddenly, my notes were more organized and synced across all my devices. After 1 year, I thought I would share what I like, what could be improved, what competitors are now on the market, and why I’m not leaving Obsidian.

This isn’t an ad for Obsidian, and I don’t have an affiliate link. I firmly believe that having a digital notetaking system can transform your life, creative work, and business. Obsidian (paired with my analog notes and Notion), is the foundation of my daily writing and life organization. I wish I were being dramatic.

Table of Contents

• What I like about Obsidian

• What could be improved on Obsidian

• What are other note-taking options?

• Why I’m not switching

What I like about Obsidian

Let’s start with the dessert.

• Markdown. Did I already say markdown? Well, let me say it again, MARKDOWN. It is the superior text file format. Argue with somebody who has never experienced this joy and ease. Google Docs and Notion both added this functionality in the last 6 months or so, because they heard the cries of their users.

• Sync functionality. With the Sync plan, I can sync my notes seemlessly across all my devices: Windows, Android, and Mac. With Strut, I could only use it on desktop on my Macbook. With Google Keep notes, I couldn’t do long form writing on desktop or mobile. Trying to write long form on Notion on their mobile app is actually a joke.

• Display theme options. Monochromatic colors have their place, but it’s nice to be able to glance at a note and clearly see distinct bolded and italicized writing. They have tons of theme options for free, and you’re also able to create your own if you know anything about coding.

• Templates. I have a daily notes template, a weekly schedule template, and a monthly goals templates. This helps me get from 0-1 so easily and quickly.

• Tabs on mobile. It may sound like a small thing, but being able to switch through open notes easily is a nice experience. It resembles the Google Chrome mobile tab design, making it easy to preview what’s in each tab and have clear headlines for each note.

• Robust editor. I can write a whole article or film script in Obsidian. Again, sounds like a small thing for a note-taking app, but formatting text, being able to easily see my word count, and more just make the writing experience so nice.

• Calm minimalism. Many of the apps we use are screaming at us to increase our screen time. Obsidian feels like the opposite. I open it when I’m writing. I open it when I’m searching for something I’ve written. I open it when I’m organizing things I’ve written into docs and folders. And then, I close it and move on with my day.

• It’s a great base that you can build up OR strip down. You can install plug-ins into Obsidian, create bases, use their web clipper to import web page content, and integrate ChatGPT if that’s what you’d like. You can also do exactly none of those things. I love they were able to create a great product that just works regardless of what you need it for.

What could be improved on Obsidian

I don’t have a lot of issues, so I’m kind of nitpicking here.

• Speech to text on mobile. I’m not actually sure if it’s an Android thing or an Obsidian thing, but I’ve noticed when I’m in a pinch and tryign to dictate my notes, the function will just…stop. No rhyme or reason. I didn’t tell it to stop. It just does. Not great.

• Android widget. In short, they should make some. There are none currently, and a quick notes or daily notes widget would do wonders for me. Would also love a quick notes search widget. I could go on, but I’ll stop there (unless by some miracle someone from the Obsidian team reads this and wants more of my thoughts).

• Search functionality. It’s not the greatest but not the worst. The results are also inconsistent across devices which is interesting.

What are other note-taking options?

• Craft Docs. Beautiful UX/UI design. It has AI integrated into it, which was a turn off for me. Otherwise has raving reviews and sync functionality.

• Butter Docs. More of a Google docs replacement. You can write long form here, but it’s also meant for sharing with team members to get feedback. I prefer to keep my notes private and just use Google Docs when I’m writing something that needs to be reviewed.

• Kortex. The note-taking app built by Dan Koe, a prolific writer on Twitter. I believe he also has a newsletter, in addition to the one he writes on Substack.

Why I’m not switching

It just works. 3 simple words, that I’ve learned as a creative business owner, are more than enough. I’ve seen a lot of people complain about Notion because they feel that by the time you set up a complex database to make your life and workflows simpler, you probably could’ve just done the thing you were trying to create a system for. I like Notion and use it often, but I completely understand where those people are coming from. I feel that way about my note-taking app – I just want it to work. I want the barrier to writing to be as low as possible.

I’m sure there will be more note-taking apps that come out, but I don’t have issues worth switching for. I’ve tried tons of platforms, and I can honestly recommend Obsidian whole-heartedly. On Thursday, I’ll be writing about Substack, and why you might consider it for the home of your newsletter. Feel free to drop me any questions you have about using Substack that I can answer for you in the article.