The key is come up with something, then stick to it. Too many people spend months or years chasing perfection that doesn't exist.

Bingo. I’ve bounced around note systems and realized I was just wasting time bouncing around. Now I use Apple’s Notes.app. It syncs and can be used on any of my devices which was my only hard requirement.

I followed the same path. I spent so much time trying to design some elaborate system that I could own from top to bottom but eventually I found that apple notes was “good enough”. And worst case scenario I can copy and paste my notes into a markdown file and deal with it there once syncthing move it to my Linux box.

Being able to pick up any device and seamlessly continue editing the same document without messing with a third party app is pretty nice.

Yeah, part of my search was a bit of 'nerd pride'. Org-mode, text files, markdown, I could have them be in git or used anywhere, etc... I realized all these shifts were just getting in the way of taking notes. When I really distilled it down, my only hard requirement was secure and easy to use and sync on any of my devices. Since I'm all Apple, Notes made the most sense.

same. I have 5000 notes now - without even making conscious decision to use Apple Notes in the first place.

I also make a tool that takes one folder in my apple notes and publishes it as a site. So my site https://podviaznikov.com is basically served from the content of Apple Notes.

Fascinating. Do you mind sharing that tool you made? I'd love to possibly use it myself.

That sounds really cool indeed!!

And very little customization to constantly tinker with. I also love Apple Notes and have found myself much more productive since I stopped switching apps and settled on using Notes.

same!

blog post from my friend on this topic https://blog.montaigne.io/write-in-apple-notes

Ditto, the search really works for me.

I've found Logseq and Previously Roam work well in that they are low friction in recording information, but I'm still able to find information when I need it (most of the time). The nested block system means it's pretty easy to link concepts together without having to find the right place to put information. This ease of workflow helps me to be more creative, in that I can add a note quickly and move on, with out having to search, prune and deliberate on a 'PKM'.

Org mode is so incredibly powerful but also so painfully beautiful in it's simplicity if you dont go overboard with it

It's not about doing it well versus poorly, it's about the motivation behind it.

If you're building a complex organizational system because it absorbs your time and enables you to avoid confronting the fear of making artistic choices and putting something out into the world, it's not helping.

If you're building a complex organization system because you need it to build the thing you want to put out there, by all means go for it.

It takes a lot of introspection to be able to distinguish these two cases.