--- title: I Tried Every Todo App and Ended Up With a .txt File description: A developer's journey through various productivity apps (Notion, Todoist, Things 3, OmniFocus, Trello) ultimately leads back to using a simple plain text file... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-every-todo-app-and-ended-up-with-a-txt-file-phgmruiea twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I Tried Every Todo App and Ended Up With a .txt File | daily.dev og:description: A developer's journey through various productivity apps (Notion, Todoist, Things 3, OmniFocus, Trello) ultimately leads back to using a simple plain text file... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-every-todo-app-and-ended-up-with-a-txt-file-phgmruiea og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/PHGMruiEA.png og:image:alt: I Tried Every Todo App and Ended Up With a .txt File og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I Tried Every Todo App and Ended Up With a .txt File **[Hacker News](https://daily.dev/sources/hn)** · 5 min read · 325 upvotes · 81 comments ## Summary A developer's journey through various productivity apps (Notion, Todoist, Things 3, OmniFocus, Trello) ultimately leads back to using a simple plain text file for task management. The author demonstrates how a basic todo.txt file with dated entries and simple formatting can be more effective than complex productivity systems, offering benefits like instant access, searchability, permanence, and freedom from vendor lock-in. The approach combines daily task lists with work logging, creating a living document that serves both productivity and journaling purposes. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@andradei** · 8 upvotes > Same. Got my own system with markdown files and neovim pluging to change specific text into pretty icons and that's it. > Better than any other complex tool. **@sandropacella** · 5 upvotes > Funny how people in the comments agree. > > Mine is similar. I use markdown's " - [ ]" and I leave the Done items on the list with a " - [X]". > > I also dump all my thoughts on the one file. So if a todo gets too far up I just make it " - [⬇️]" and write it again closer to the end of the doc. **@dochoh** · 4 upvotes > I tried everything including txt files over the last decades. Ended up embracing chaos and not go crazy in the course of it. Some Joplin, some Obsidian, some Workflowy, some Apple notes, some Google keep, MS Todo, Trello, etc. Same with notes. Workflow masturbation is so tiring. What's important will prioritize itself. **@timmyb824** · 3 upvotes > Just started a `todo.txt`, thanks for the inspiration! **@saumilshah78** · 3 upvotes > Same, just todo.txt ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Don’t just attend KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon, Merge Forward your experience\!](https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-just-attend-kubecon-cloudnativecon-merge-forward-your-experience--l0rpp73x8) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Announcing H2 2026 KCDs](https://daily.dev/posts/announcing-h2-2026-kcds-m96goajm1) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Two months of Open Community Groups](https://daily.dev/posts/two-months-of-open-community-groups-asf52zhbs) · CNCF · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [CNCF Unveils Schedule for KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon Europe 2026](https://daily.dev/posts/cncf-unveils-schedule-for-kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe-2026-ikhcoa5cb) · CNCF · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [CNCF Debuts KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon Japan 2026 Schedule](https://daily.dev/posts/cncf-debuts-kubecon-cloudnativecon-japan-2026-schedule-xp5pyudub) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#tools](https://daily.dev/tags/tools), [#productivity](https://daily.dev/tags/productivity) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-every-todo-app-and-ended-up-with-a-txt-file-phgmruiea) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I Tried Every Todo App and Ended Up With a .txt File","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-every-todo-app-and-ended-up-with-a-txt-file-phgmruiea","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-every-todo-app-and-ended-up-with-a-txt-file-phgmruiea"},"datePublished":"2025-08-11T15:06:16.669Z","dateModified":"2025-08-11T15:06:39.530Z","description":"A developer's journey through various productivity apps (Notion, Todoist, Things 3, OmniFocus, Trello) ultimately leads back to using a simple plain text file...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/d65a0c262574b340ede668e94f4adf3f?_a=AQAEulh","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/d65a0c262574b340ede668e94f4adf3f?_a=AQAEulh","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Hacker News","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Hacker News","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/hn","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/hn"},"commentCount":81,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-every-todo-app-and-ended-up-with-a-txt-file-phgmruiea","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":325},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":81}],"keywords":"tools,productivity","timeRequired":"PT5M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hacker News","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/hn"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"I Tried Every Todo App and Ended Up With a .txt File"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-every-todo-app-and-ended-up-with-a-txt-file-phgmruiea","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"Same. Got my own system with markdown files and neovim pluging to change specific text into pretty icons and that’s it.\nBetter than any other complex tool.","datePublished":"2025-08-11T15:23:35.335Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/PHGMruiEA#c-qJ3gnMHHK","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Isaac de Andrade","url":"https://daily.dev/andradei","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/2653546?v=4"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":8}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"Funny how people in the comments agree.\nMine is similar. I use markdown’s " - [ ]" and I leave the Done items on the list with a " - [X]".\nI also dump all my thoughts on the one file. So if a todo gets too far up I just make it " - [⬇️]" and write it again closer to the end of the doc.","datePublished":"2025-08-11T18:33:39.997Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/PHGMruiEA#c-Q8P6gdH9A","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Sandro Pacella","url":"https://daily.dev/sandropacella","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--IruSRaMF--/f_auto/v1731089574/avatars/avatar_oZ34daPU4ROdCttawATt0"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":5}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"I tried everything including txt files over the last decades. Ended up embracing chaos and not go crazy in the course of it. Some Joplin, some Obsidian, some Workflowy, some Apple notes, some Google keep, MS Todo, Trello, etc. Same with notes. Workflow masturbation is so tiring. What’s important will prioritize itself.","datePublished":"2025-08-11T20:56:49.365Z","dateModified":"2025-08-11T20:58:02.158Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/PHGMruiEA#c-7Q7FzI0xI","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Dochoh","url":"https://daily.dev/dochoh","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocKXpnQW52nQ2XbX9ZhPf39HSsdXqRqTL_AdN9rk8nzUy4ligTgY=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":4}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"Just started a todo.txt, thanks for the inspiration!","datePublished":"2025-08-11T17:59:03.305Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/PHGMruiEA#c-IA1xrAF8l","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Timothy Bryant","url":"https://daily.dev/timmyb824","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ALm5wu0-hQ2d_X5athFgX-hn5VIxAtOdVpyQ4uBM2y8vdQ=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":3}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"Same, just todo.txt","datePublished":"2025-08-11T17:05:06.030Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/PHGMruiEA#c-7ss4UzEqK","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Saumil Shah","url":"https://daily.dev/saumilshah78","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocK36JF25JMgkxs68sPYZIbSH5O5MvAJBc0UGG9WoZBlmzGc3g=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":3}}]} ```