One of the things I've enjoyed about self-hosting over the past year is discovering niche services that cater to my specific needs. In fact, self-hosted apps have made me more productive because I have been able to find solutions that don't overwhelm me as much as apps that are trying to do too much.

Jotty Page (formerly RwMarkable) is one app that has moved from being one I was simply trying out to one that I've decided to use to replace Google Keep and Obsidian thanks to how well it works for me.

Why I was looking for an alternative to Google Keep and Obsidian

Neither app had the right balance

I've been using Google Keep for years, mostly for quick notes and checklists. In fact, I considered it one of the apps that keep me tethered to Google. But I've been finding it increasingly difficult to organize these notes, even while using features like pins, labels, and color-coding.

This year, I also started using Obsidian for note-taking. But I've struggled to get used to the app's Markdown-focused approach. I did try out different Obsidian plugins to make the software easier to use, but I still found it a bit overwhelming and this limited how much I used it.

As a result, my notes and checklists were spread out across a variety of apps, with none of them achieving the right balance between simplicity and functionality for me. Keep was too simple, while Obsidian was a bit too complex. I also had notes in Notion and Google Docs, and even the occasional Word document.

But when I tried out Jotty Page, I found a solution that fits right into my flow.

How Jotty Page works for me as a Keep and Obsidian alternative

It's simple yet effective

There are a few features that Jotty has that work perfectly for me. First off, the ability to categorize checklists and notes makes it much more organized than my system in Google Keep. I created categories for Work and Personal checklists and can choose to add more categories later, depending on what needs arise.

The ability to sort through checklists more easily also means that I feel confident adding more checklists rather than relying on mental notes. Rather than having a single checklist for groceries, I also now separate my lists according to specific stores and item types.

The ability to bulk upload checklist items has also made it easier to transition from Keep to Jotty. My article ideas checklist, which has 68 tasks currently, was easy to switch across apps. Jotty also allows me to choose between a simple checklist and a Kanban board for task progress, but so far I'm mostly using it for the simple format.

When it comes to notes, I enjoy the fact that Jotty has a rich text editor. It also supports Markdown, but the fact that I get to choose without requiring plugins (which tend to work inconsistently) makes it a much more convenient solution for me. This means I can jot down quick thoughts when needed, but also create more complex notes such as article outlines or longer notes if needed. The fact that I can export these notes as a PDF is also useful. For example, when I take my car in for a service, I can choose for export my note with my areas of concern and email it to the service station on the day of my service.

I don't use Obsidian as a personal knowledge management platform, so I don't need complex interlinking. However, if I want to, I can link to different notes in Jotty. I can also generate tables of contents and insert code snippets if ever needed.

Making Jotty conveniently accessible across devices and networks

I used my NAS and a Cloudflare tunnel

One of the things that has also prevented me from using Obsidian very consistently is the lack of free syncing across devices. You can use Syncthing and there are ways to sync to the cloud for free with different services, but this runs the risk of sync conflicts.

At the same time, I don't want to be stuck with a recurring cloud subscription that I can't afford. But earlier this year, I did set up a Cloudflare Tunnel connecting to my NAS so that I could connect to Donetick from outside my home network. Since I already have the tunnel set up, using the same method to connect to Jotty was easy enough. I just needed to set it up as another app on my domain that's managed with Cloudflare and link it to the container on my NAS.

Since this allows for an HTTPS connection, I could also install the Jotty instance on my phone as a progressive web app, making it easy to access from my mobile device. Even if you just want to use it inside your home network, though, you can save a shortcut to your home screen through your phone's browser to access the service easily since it is mobile-responsive.

The solution gives me a balance of privacy and convenience that was easy enough to set up for my experience level. For people that don't want to rely on any company's servers though, there are other ways to access a self-hosted service securely from outside your home network, but this requires networking knowledge.

I already feel more organized with Jotty

I still have to migrate some of my notes and checklists to Jotty and, like any tool under active development, there are bugs and quirks to deal with. However, I already feel more organized and less overwhelmed thanks to using Jotty Page.

Different solutions suit different people. I like to be able to separate my tasks and notes into different views while still making them easy to access — otherwise I become overwhelmed (or forget about them completely). If you're looking for a different checklist and note solution, you might want to give Jotty a try.