There was a question on the Ruby Oceania Slack recently:
What tools/apps are folks using in 2025 to manage their own tasks/life?
I gave an answer, which I’ve modified slightly for blogability, and kept focussed to just note taking:
Physical A5 note book with 0.8mm Uni-Ball Fineliner in either blue or black depending on the mood. Coincidentally, Sam Altmann has similar tastes.
Each page is a day. Write down intentions at start of day and then add to list as day continues. Review calendar, note down meetings and their times. Finish day by reviewing the list from the day and figuring out what to do next, then writing notes into next day’s page if necessary. Good for brain dumping end of day to then clear brain for home.
Bigger projects, longer term storage: Bear app, which is similar in featureset to Obsidian. Typically one note per project, person, team or theme. Most of the time these are date-headed as well, so for example project standup today was headed with March 17th, and can tag that with #Journal/2025/03/17 so I could look at #Journal/2025/03 and find all the things that I thought were notable for the month.
One on one notes with reports or managers go into this app directly as it’s helpful to track certain initiatives or discussions over time. Each time we talk, there’s as sub-heading in the person’s note with the date. All Bear notes being date-headed means I can say with assurance that “you said X on Y date” with some degree of confidence.
Other notes of note:
- (passworded) Tax Return check list (find these invoices for all your sass apps, other subscriptions, here’s what you had last year and their costs…)
- Blog post drafts a plenty (including this one)
- A very rough outline of a DND one shot I’m planning
- A list of magic cards I’m seeking
- Local burger shop order