Notion is a powerful, immensely capable tool, but it's easy to fall into the trap of believing that it's more capable than it actually is. I implemented it into my workflow for a while, but it didn't take long to realize I was less productive than before, if only because I felt like I had to make Notion fit into how I approached projects. It's a solid application for certain tasks, but not everything.

I finally ditched Notion and built my own productivity stack instead. It's nothing fancy, but it gets the job done and actually improves my productivity, rather than masking distractions under the guise of structure. All of the applications I use run locally on my device, so I don't need a Wi-Fi connection to get things done. The stack itself is simple: a timer for tracking the amount of time spent on a project, a Pomodoro timer for periods of increased focus, and Obsidian to tie it all together and keep my notes and progress in a single place.

Liquid Timer and Tim help me track tasks

Focused work and time tracking at the click of a button

I rely on Pomodoro timers to get anything done. Those segmented focus blocks are a key part of my workflow, and without them, I'm practically useless. In fact, I'm using one of those tools as I write this article now. Liquid Timer is a free Mac application that I've previously talked about, and it's a phenomenal tool for quickly tracking Pomodoro timers. It slots easily into my workflow and doesn't distract from the task at hand, making it easy to start and/or stop a timer. Seriously, folks, working at home with a newborn is an exercise in focus, since you have no idea when to stop. With Liquid Timer, I can pause halfway through a Pomodoro session and return later to pick up where I left off.

Tim is a time management tool that helps me see exactly how long I've spent on any given project. I can start and stop it from my toolbar, and it's great for tracking overall time, not just individual Pomodoro sessions. If I'm working on something billed hourly rather than per project, it helps me keep track of my overall time. There's only one downside: I have to tell it when to stop, and I would prefer it to automatically stop tracking if I don't issue any keyboard input for a set amount of time.

Obsidian is the core of my process

A place for everything and everything in its place

Obsidian is my favorite piece of software, hands-down. I can use it for everything from ideating articles and drafting pieces to keeping track of the sometimes-absurd amount of research I do on a subject. Its massive plugin library extends the core functionality beyond the base program to include almost anything I can think of, which is why I use it to track upcoming appointments, deadlines, and so much more. The powerful interlinking function and built-in search tool allow me to navigate between notes in the vault with ease, unlike the macOS search. Spotlight falls short in many ways, and those shortcomings are one of the reasons I moved everything into Obsidian; I can find files with a few clicks, rather than hoping Spotlight searches the right folder.

I also use Obsidian to track my to-do list, and by integrating it with Claude — my go-to AI assistant — I also have easy access to my inbox from within Obsidian. That way, I can automatically sort and store incoming emails, media kits, and much more.

Keeping everything offline is key

I don't have to worry about Wi-Fi accessibility

There's no such thing as a fully offline workflow. That's just not a possibility in the modern age, when so much of our connectivity relies on tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and email. That said, the actual work part of the workflow can be done primarily offline. This makes it easy to pack up and head to a coffee shop or elsewhere when I need to really hunker down and focus, and it means I don't have to rely on dodgy public Wi-Fi while I'm there. Of course, that means a bit of pre-planning is necessary. If it's an ongoing project, I'll conduct research beforehand and save those notes in Obsidian.

The other two tools are available both online and offline, so Wi-Fi access doesn't affect them. It's a great way to maintain my productivity and momentum, even when I'm on the road and away from internet access.

The downside? It limits everything to one machine

Unless I want to engage in weird syncing shenanigans

Using online tools does offer one major advantage over a local stack, and that's accessibility. With my current setup, all of my tools are installed only on my laptop. If I use a different machine, I need to install everything to have access to it (and even then, I can't reach my Obsidian vault unless I sync it). There are ways around this, of course, but none of those options are exactly straightforward and easy. Shifting my work from my laptop to another device requires planning ahead; even loading a backup takes a not-insignificant amount of time. While I can put Liquid Timer, Tim, and my Obsidian vault in iCloud and access them all on another machine, it's a clunky solution at best — and it still relies on non-local tools.

But I don't need everything everywhere

It's okay that it's all on my machine

Here's the kicker: I don't need access to all of those tools everywhere I go. Any notes and files-in-progress are saved to Obsidian, and I have access to my vault through my phone. If I need to check something or make a quick note, I can do that on the go. Actual productive work, though? I try to limit that to when I'm at my keyboard. And in the event that something happens to my home machine, I perform routine backups to an external, dedicated drive with Time Machine (plus redundant cloud backups) to ensure all of my data is safe. Besides that, relying on cloud services tends to create a false sense of security; something like an AWS outage can make those "always accessible" tools anything but. With that in mind, I'm happy keeping things more firmly in my control.

The key is finding a productivity stack that works for you

As much as I loved Notion, it ultimately obfuscated my workflow more than it improved it. Only by taking a step back did I realize I was working within a self-imposed restriction: by creating my own stack and using tools I have access to, I've customized my workflow and improved my output. It's not without cost; my approach isn't as flexible as others', but I've found it suits me in a way that works for me.