Tools per purpose

Many people I know prefer one app as an all-in-one solution for their note-taking, to-do lists, and personal knowledge management. I tried Apple Notes for this a couple of times — for journaling, writing, worknotes, and goal tracking — but I hadn’t been successful because of one reason: the line height feels too tight, and there’s no way to adjust it.

But the more I think about it, there are advantages to using different apps for different purposes, or what I call tool compartmentalization. My current setup looks like this:

• Apple Journal for journaling, which I switched to from Obsidian in late 2023. It’s finally available on Mac and iPad with the latest OS updates (I’ve been on the public beta for a month), so it’s been great writing with more screen real estate and an actual keyboard — much better than typing on glass.
• Obsidian for writing blog posts and storing evergreen notes. I use Steph Ango’s Minimal theme with the Flexoki color scheme, and have also tweaked a lot of the UI on top of it using CSS snippets — something I found intimidating at first when I started using Obsidian because of the number of customization options. Now, it’s a reason I stick with Obsidian, I can configure it exactly how I want.
• Notion for personal and work to-do lists. I’m actually looking to split these up into separate tools (potentially finding a new app for either) because I want a clearer separation for managing these tasks. I’ve written more about how I set up those systems in How I track my work and life.
• Thoughts for quotes. I’ve been saving quotes I come across from newsletters, books, and corners of the internet. I collect ones that inspire me, remind me of what matters, and reflect what I aspire to be.
• Apple Notes for my work brag doc, worknotes, and snippets from articles or blogs that I’m not sure how to categorize yet. I also use it to collaborate with my fiancée when we’re planning travel itineraries and checklists.
• Plain Text Editor for when I just want a clean, minimal interface to jot down random thoughts.

This workflow might seem a little scattered, but I’ve built the muscle memory for it. When I want to do something, I know exactly where to go. Each app holds a different context or mental model for me. Context switching is pretty much nonexistent since I’m usually only doing one thing at a time anyway.

The same idea applies to other parts of my life. I like going into the office because it helps me get into work mode. I eat lunch at a nearby café to shift gears and make space for reading. Being home helps me unplug and focus on other important things. I have playlists for different energies: EDM for design execution and workouts, melodic or lo-fi for thinking and creativity.

Each has its place. Knowing where things belong has brought me more clarity, not less. What might look like “friction” from using separate tools is actually intentional context switching that serves how I think.