Part of the Plain Text Is Forever series.
You don’t need a complex system to be organised. You need a text editor you enjoy using, a folder structure that makes sense to you, and the discipline to write things down. That’s it.
The Three-File System
A todo.txt for tasks. A folder of Markdown files for notes and drafts. A work journal you open every morning. These three habits, backed by plain text, will outperform any app that tries to be everything for everyone.
No project boards. No kanban views. No priority matrices. Just a list you look at, a place to think, and a daily habit of writing down what matters.
Why Simplicity Wins
The people who get the most done aren’t optimising their tool stack. They’re writing things down and doing them. Plain text gets out of the way and lets that happen.
Every feature a productivity app adds is a decision it asks you to make. Tags or folders? Priority levels or due dates? Board view or list view? Each decision feels small, but they accumulate into a system that demands maintenance. You end up spending time on the system instead of in it.
A text file asks you one question: what do you want to write?
The Anti-Setup
There is no setup. That’s the point.
Open your editor. Create a file. Start typing. You’re productive.
No signup. No onboarding. No tutorial video. No “getting started” guide that takes longer to read than the work you’re trying to do.
Start Today
If you’re already using Markdown in any flavour — Obsidian, Quarto, Logseq, or just a text editor — you’re already in. If you’re not, try this: create a folder called notes, open a new file called today.md, and start writing.
Just you and your thoughts, in a format that will outlast every app on your phone.
This is the final post in the Plain Text Is Forever series.