My productivity app for the past 12 years has been a single .txt file (2020)
The key to this solution isn’t really the .txt file or the formatting.It’s the ritual. Any productivity system can be made to work once it becomes a habit and therefore your default action.I think .txt files or Org mode are attractive to devs because they feel like something we’d be doing anyway during our day. the same system will work with a paper journal or even a fresh piece of paper every morning if, and only if, it can be integrated into your natural daily workflow as an automatic habit. I personally found that paper is better for me because I get to it before unlocking my computer and being confronted with work and communications and notifications that compete with it. However, I have a lot of peers who couldn’t hang on to a paper journal or TODO list during the day if they tried, so digital formats win.The real key is to make it a habit and learn to stick with it.