Plain Text
A lot of people talked about plain text. I mentioned some of it before. To be more specific, I have developed a system of using plain text for recording my life, and it works great so far.
The best authors write about plain text. For example, Derek Sivers has a great essay. In this essay he claims:
I write almost everything important in my life: thoughts, plans, notes, diaries, correspondence, code, articles, and entire books.
Which is pretty amazing. Most of his work is plain text. He just writes and saves. He is minimalist. These are what Derek says about the pros of using plain text:
- Portable
- Un-commercial
- Offline
- No dependencies
- Easiest to convert
And they convinced me well. Now almost every note app I use is based on plain text (Obsidian, TiddlyWiki) except AnyType. I find it very easy and cheap to sync between devices when it's only plain text. I no longer use Evernote, Notion (for note taking) or Trilium Notes.
I write articles and notes in Markdown. It's plain text, easy to read and highly compatible. I use Markdown format in WordPress too, and it supports fine. The simplicity of plain text is quite enjoyable and feels peace.
I quote Derek Sivers:
Plain text files and a basic text editor are enough. This is everything you need for great thinking and writing.
I totally agree with that.
Other articles about plain text:
- Why Plain Text Matters
- Plaintext Productivity
- My productivity app is a never-ending .txt file
- File over app
Day 32.