10 October, 2025
Do you need a massive, complex personal machine or something more streamlined?
Whether you intend to or not, it’s easy to wind up with the former rather than latter. You build a large collection of tools and apps, many of which do the same (or similar) jobs. You get a machine with lots of moving parts, which you keep adding to for the sake of … well, something or the other that’s not quite clear.
Having all those moving parts doesn’t make your tasks easier or smoother. They don’t make you more productive. It’s quite the opposite, in fact. That kind of setup requires more maintenance and, more often than not, you either wind up with a lot of duplication or you struggle to remember where something is.
There have been times when I’ve been as guilty of complicatin…
10 October, 2025
Do you need a massive, complex personal machine or something more streamlined?
Whether you intend to or not, it’s easy to wind up with the former rather than latter. You build a large collection of tools and apps, many of which do the same (or similar) jobs. You get a machine with lots of moving parts, which you keep adding to for the sake of … well, something or the other that’s not quite clear.
Having all those moving parts doesn’t make your tasks easier or smoother. They don’t make you more productive. It’s quite the opposite, in fact. That kind of setup requires more maintenance and, more often than not, you either wind up with a lot of duplication or you struggle to remember where something is.
There have been times when I’ve been as guilty of complicating my systems as those I castigate about it. But I’m trying Ringo, I’m trying real hard …
Over the last year or two, I’ve been gradually paring back my use of technology — using few devices, fewer apps (both desktop and mobile), and fewer services. And adopting simpler alternatives.
One area in which I’ve simplified what I use and how I do things is with my digital notes. For the last few years, I’ve been keeping my notes in a desktop application called QOwnNotes. In early 2025, I ditched QOwnNotes for a simpler alternative called Folio. Folio only has a fraction of the features that QOwnNotes, or the software which personal information management junkies drool over, packs. However, Folio better fits my needs and the way in which I work. And, as I’ve discovered, my note taking tool doesn’t need to support linking, the so-called knowledge graph, plugins, or anything along those lines.
What I have now is simple and effective. The software I use doesn’t add to my cognitive overhead.
Simplifying isn’t a chore. It’s definitely not an exercise in giving something up. Simplifying, at its core, is a journey of discovering what you actually need, rather than flailing around with what you think you need.