ditching evernote
It’s been 2,123 days since I created my first note in Evernote on January 5, 2017. It’s served me well, taking practically everything I threw to it and retrieving information at will.
Exactly one year ago, I wrote a commented list of my favorite apps and, when it came to Evernote, I said:
This is my long-term memory. It has many detractors because it’s a “seasoned” app (the web version was launched in 2008), a bit heavy, and the UI could be better. But it has no rivals.
That last sentence about no rivals was a white lie. Alternatives abounded. I just hadn’t spent time exploring them.
But the time to part ways has come.
why the separation
Innumerable articles float the web describing why evernote is no good. Too pricey, no markdown support, incompatible versions between web, desktop, and mobile, lack of direction by its management team… the list goes on.
I’ve been aware of those reasons for a while, but I decided to ditch the app for a different reason: it failed me in a few occasions. Synchronization issues. Notes taken on the iPhone that never made it to the server and were lost like tears in rain.
This happened one last time a week ago with a list of possible posts. I couldn’t find my most recent post in the cluttered user interface, it was gone forever again. So I thought “this is it.”
what do I use now?
I have not conducted an exhaustive search. Just a cursory glance at simplenote, obsidian, notion, and a couple more.
I was and I am looking for just two characteristics:
- clean user interface
- ability to save files: pictures, PDFs, etc.
At the intersection of these two modest requisites lies Apple Notes. An unpretentious app that simply works.
I’ll see how it goes.
no second brain
I don’t look for “second brain” capabilities in my notes app, although YouTube is plagued with “productivity” videos that tout the importance of leveraging the latest apps (or stack of apps) as a second brain.
It’s tempting to experiment with tools like obsidian or roam research to understand what the fuzz is all about, but hey, I just explained one thing in my 48 signals post.
Besides, this meme says it all.
