Org-Mode can work, but it's not for everybody. I tried using it for GTD for more than a year, but ended up gradually abandoning it. It was too much friction when I least need it.

One problem is that it encourages to put both to-dos and reference material in the same place. I found this makes things a mess more often than not.

Also, it forced me to learn Emacs way more than I otherwise needed, instead of focusing on work.

I did enjoy some aspects of it though. All my to-do history from that time is still searchable. And I didn't have to upload my work and personal data to some random SaaS provider.

I actually ended up building a desktop GTD tool [1] based on those needs. It looks good, is low-friction and pleasant to use, runs on Linux, stores data in a local Sqlite DB. No subscription. But it's on Electron. I know HN seems to hate Electron apps.

[1] https://everdo.net/

I love org-mode but I don't use Emacs. Here is (almost complete) vim equivalent: https://github.com/jceb/vim-orgmode

With vim-orgmode I can quickly edit stuff in familiar editor.

I have tried various other formats, including taskpaper and various to-do lists but org-mode stands out by far.

Another great vim option is vimwiki: https://github.com/vimwiki/vimwiki

At a glance it supports all of the features provided by vim-orgmode, but it will probably never be as fully featured as emacs' orgmode

I was always curious about trying this, but has always been put off by the Emacs part of it. How much Emacs do you need to know to use this comfortably?

Apart from the actual set up to include org-capture in it, not much.

Shortcuts to open a file (C-x C-f), close it (C-x k), and closing emacs (C-x C-c) would be the emacs shortcuts you'd need to learn. The rest would be org-mode shortcuts, like setting something as done (C-c C-t d) etc.

You will have to get used to being in Emacs though, that's for sure :)

Take a look at Checkvist. No emacs knowledge necessary, just heirarchal notes where you can set due dates and whatnot.

Not much. I hardly know emacs (would love to learn more though...) and am using sublime as my editor, but have learnt just a few shortcuts to be productive in orgmode. Currently I run emacs just for my orgmode tasks and org-agenda which is fantastic.

Maybe the Spacemacs distribution of emacs is more accessible for emacs beginners. But beware: it is really opinionated.

+1 for org-mode and GTD. But then, I'm an Emacs Everywhere person also. I spend all day in org-mode. It's both a task-management _and_ a knowledge-management system, my exocortex. Couldn't survive without it.