Last weeks’ newsletter explored why I think it is the worst time to pick a Notes app.

But here’s the real question. Why should you care?

Three months ago, I spent 20 minutes trying to find a note I knew I’d written. I could picture writing it. But because my note taking system had become a cluttered mess of folders and tags that made sense at the time but now felt like archaeological layers, that note was effectively lost.

The app you choose is actually a bigger deal than you think.

Here’s what nobody tells you about using something “good enough”: it’s death by a thousand cuts.

You open the app. It takes three seconds longer than it should.

You want to add a quick thought.

But first you need to decide which folder it goes in. Then you need to remember the tagging convention you set up six months ago. Was it #ideas or #idea? Does capitalization matter in the search?

By the time you’ve done all that, you’ve forgotten what you wanted to write.

This is friction. And friction compounds.

Using something “good enough” creates mental overhead to manage the tool itself, small annoyances in your day-to-day work, and workarounds that might be best fixed by just finding an app with a better fit.

The question is not whether these costs exist. It’s whether you’re aware you’re paying them.

Let me tell you about the time I discovered backlinks.

I’d been using Apple Notes for years. It was fine. I’d write something, file it away, occasionally find it again. Standard stuff.

Then I tried Obsidian. I started linking notes together. And suddenly I wasn’t just storing information, I was building a web of connected ideas. A note about minimalism connected to a note about decision fatigue, which connected to something I’d written about YouTube strategy. None of those connections were obvious when I wrote them separately.

The tool didn’t just store my thoughts differently.

Getting information into an app and organizing it in ways that align with your workflow unlocks new ways of thinking you didn’t know were possible. Think Obsidian or Capacities with their visual graph views, making connections between ideas that weren’t obvious when you started.

But here’s the flip side: Notion, trying to do everything, might not be the right solution either. Yes, it can be a database, a wiki, a task manager, and a document editor. But if it takes you five clicks and three database properties to capture a fleeting thought, you’ve optimized for power at the expense of speed.

The tool shapes what’s possible. And just as importantly, it shapes what’s easy.

“But I’ve already invested so much time in this tool.”

I hear this all the time.

And yes, switching tools is costly. Moving your data, learning new keyboard shortcuts, rebuilding your workflows—it’s real work.

But here’s what I’ve learned: just because you’ve invested time into a specific tool doesn’t mean you can’t switch.

Think about it this way, would you keep wearing shoes that don’t fit just because you’ve already broken them in?

There are times in your life when switching makes sense.

I like to think about this in terms of seasons of life, 3 to 5 years in length, not the quarterly seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter.

You wouldn’t want to waste mental energy switching tools every 90 days. That’s just productivity theater, optimizing your optimization. But every few years, as your work or life changes, new job, new responsibilities, new ways of thinking, it may make sense to re-align yourself with a new app.

When I finished my Master’s degree and transitioned from being a student to focusing on the YouTube channel, my needs completely changed.

The tool that was perfect for managing research and coursework wasn’t built for managing video scripts, sponsor notes, and content calendars.

Switching wasn’t a failure. It was adaptation.

This one hits hard for me, because I am guilty of feature-chasing.

I’ve tried them all. Notion with its databases. Obsidian with its plugins. Roam with its outlining. Capacities with its objects. Each one promised to revolutionize how I think and work.

And yet I keep coming back to Apple Notes.

I am a long-time Apple Notes user. It doesn’t have nearly as many features as Notion. Comparing the two might seem ridiculous to power users who live in databases and relation properties.

But Apple Notes fits my workflow more often than not.

It has just enough features. But it also comes with some of that “good enough” cost that keeps me looking for something new every few years. I’m self-aware enough to know I’m still searching.

Here’s what I love: I can get information into it quickly, wherever I am. Phone in my pocket while walking? Voice note. Apple Watch while my hands are full? Quick capture. Mac while I’m writing? It’s already there.

The downside? It’s not a visual project manager. I do prefer the ability to add each item as a database entry, like you can in Notion, and tag them appropriately as ideas, doing, done. Apple Notes doesn’t think that way.

But here’s what I’ve realized: The tool with the most features isn’t the winner. The tool that fits how you actually work is the winner.

It’s like buying a Swiss Army knife when all you really needed was a good chef’s knife. Sure, the Swiss Army knife has 17 functions. But you’re just trying to chop an onion.

If you want to get the most out of Apple Notes, I have an Essentials guide on sale now, with a 30% off discount with code “JUSTUSENOTES” until November 14, 2025 at 12:00PM EDT. Get it here!

You know you’ve found the right fit when the tool melts into the background.

There’s this moment, where you stop thinking about the app entirely. You’re not wondering which button to press or how to structure something. You’re just...working. Writing. Thinking. Creating.

The tool has become invisible.

I felt this recently when I was outlining a video. I opened Apple Notes without thinking about it. Started typing. Rearranged bullet points by dragging them. Added a quick sketch. Linked to a reference note. All of it happened in flow. I wasn’t managing the tool. I was using it.

Compare that to the last time I tried setting up a Notion workspace. I spent 45 minutes debating database properties, choosing icons, and building the perfect template. By the time I finished, I’d forgotten what I actually wanted to write about.

If you can focus on writing or doing work inside the tool, don’t have to switch out of it for research or accessing book notes, and it integrates with all the devices you use, it won’t matter what cool new database feature or AI assistant people have come up with.

You realize those things are just noise, distracting you from doing whatever it is you want to do.

In my case, that’s writing. And thinking. And making videos.

The tool isn’t the point. The work is the point.

When you find the right tool, you stop talking about your tools and start talking about your work.