Plain Text for most things

The very first computer I used was a 386 – and I remember writing reports on it using a DOS-based word processor. I’m not sure at what point I began to be interested in digital productivity tools, but it is safe to say that I have tried most mainstream personal productivity tools at some point or the other. Most – out of sheer curiosity, but there have been a few that I used and some that I loved.

The only thing that has stuck by me over the years was the simple .txt file that I would open to jot things down.

I am longer interested in using sleek productivity software. I download and try something new every once in a while and poke at the buttons, but these are just moments of academic curiosity because I believe I found my system a decade ago. It works and I have never looked back.

The secret is to use plain text. For as many things as you can. Don’t lock your information in databases as in Evernote or Onenote or all those truly amazing, but ultimately doomed software services. Save them in a folder on your computer in plain text files, and you’ll still be able to use them a couple of decades later.

Happily, I also use Linux Mint, an operating system that seems sympathetic to my love for plain text. This is what my setup looks like these days:

• Capture: I use Kupfer, a nifty little multitool, to append plain text snippets all day long, regardless of what software i’m using at the time.

  • Say i’m on a zoom call and I pick up on something that ought to go into my TODO list. I just hit the command keys to call up Kupfer, type the task and that’s it! I don’t have to open a task manager or switch my application. Kupfer simply appends my note to the text file I pick.

• Tasks: I use the TODO.TXT format for task Management. This is basically a plaintext file filled out with my tasks in a specific format. This means that my todos are not locked to a specific software. I sometimes use GEdit, the amazing text editor for Linux with this nifty little plugin to work with my tasks and Qtodotxt when I feel like I need filters to slice and dice my tasks for the week.

• Notes: My central source of truth is my Zim-wiki installation, which is my Daypage, planner and reference all rolled into one. Zim-wiki is basically a text editor designed to function as a desktop wiki, but then it is so much more. I have used Zim for close to a decade now and cannot imagine my work life without it.

• Time Tracking: I use GtimeLog for time tracking, though I don’t always track my time. It’s only when I get into a funk every now and then, and my mind feels fuzzy and I track my time for a few weeks to see if i’m focusing on the right things. Gtimelog as you may have guessed keeps plain text logs.

• Database: I rarely need to use a database, but every once in a while I come across the need. Like keeping track of candidates i’m interviewing, or to be able to search the books in my physical library. I use the quirky, strange and beautiful Treeline for all of this. I export to CSV or plaintext files when I need to work on the data.

There are a bunch of other tools in my tool box that play nice with plain text. Like Freeplane, a mindmapper into and out of which I can cut and paste plain text data.

I put all these plaintext files in Dropbox. I use the brilliant Markor and Jotterpad to work with these files on my Android devices. Can you see why I don’t see the point in all those sleek productivity apps anymore?