Productivity apps are a weird category because everyone has opinions and most of those opinions are based on like three days of use. I figured I would actually commit and try ten of the most-recommended ones for at least two weeks each. Here is what happened.
Spoiler: I now use three of them. Seven got deleted. The deleted ones were not necessarily bad, just not for me.
The 3 I kept
1. Apple Notes (yes, the default one)
The plot twist is that the productivity app I use most is the one that came with my phone. I tried Notion, Obsidian, Bear, Craft, and a bunch of others. None of them stuck. Apple Notes is fast, syncs everywhere, and lets me actually write things down without thinking about it.
What I use it for: everything. Random thoughts, recipes, packing lists, meeting notes, draft texts I want to think about before sending.
Why it stuck: zero friction. The app launches instantly. I never have to think about how to organize anything. Search works fine.
2. Things 3
For actual to-dos with deadlines and projects, I use Things 3. It costs money (one-time, no subscription) and it is iOS/Mac only. If you are on Android or Windows, this is not for you.
What it does well: makes it easy to dump everything into an inbox, then sort it later. The "Today" view is genuinely useful. The natural language date parsing ("dinner Friday 7pm") is great.
Why it stuck: it does not try to do too much. Most to-do apps either feel like glorified calendars or feel like project management software. Things sits in the sweet spot.
3. Calendar (Fantastical)
I use Fantastical instead of the default calendar app because the natural language input is faster and the interface shows my schedule more clearly. The free version is fine for basic use; the paid version unlocks more features.
Why it stuck: I look at my calendar a lot. Small UX improvements add up over hundreds of glances per week.
The 7 I quit
4. Notion
Look, I know everyone loves Notion. I tried. Three different times across three years. Every time, I would set up an elaborate system, use it intensively for a week, then slowly stop opening it.
The problem: Notion is too flexible. Every blank page becomes a decision about how to structure things. Decision fatigue eventually wins and I stop using it.
If you are a Notion person and it works for you, that is awesome. It is not for me.
5. Todoist
Solid app. Cross-platform. Lots of integrations. The reason I quit: the natural language parsing was not as good as Things 3, and the interface felt slightly busier than I wanted.
Honest take: if you are on Android or need cross-platform, Todoist is probably your best bet.
6. Obsidian
Loved the idea. Local files, plain text, no lock-in. Tried building a "second brain" with backlinks and graph views.
The problem: I was spending more time organizing my notes than using them. The whole point of taking notes is to capture things quickly, not to maintain a knowledge graph.
For people who are into the personal knowledge management community, Obsidian is great. For me, it became overhead.
7. Bear
Beautiful app. Markdown-native. Good search. The reason I quit: it costs $15/year and I had Apple Notes already doing 90% of what I needed for free.
Bear is genuinely nicer than Apple Notes, but not enough nicer to be worth the subscription for me.
8. Craft
Tried it for two weeks during the hype cycle. Beautiful interface. Good document features. The reason I quit: it sat awkwardly between "notes app" and "document app." I could not find a clear use case where it beat the things I already used.
9. Asana
Tried using it as a personal project manager. The problem: Asana is built for teams. Using it solo felt like driving a bus to the grocery store.
Asana is great for actual team projects. As a personal app, it is overkill.
10. ClickUp
Same general problem as Asana plus the interface tries to do everything for everyone. Felt overwhelming. Quit after a week.
What I learned from this
The pattern across what I kept versus what I quit: I kept the apps that were fast and focused, and quit the apps that were powerful and flexible. Productivity apps that try to do everything end up being used for nothing, at least for me.
The other thing: the default apps are way better than people give them credit for. I tried to "graduate" from Apple Notes for years and I just kept coming back. At some point I admitted that Apple Notes is genuinely the right tool for what I need.
The honest recommendation
If you are looking for productivity apps, start with the defaults on your phone. Use them for a month and notice what is actually missing. Then go shopping for the specific thing you need, not for a "system" that promises to fix everything.
Most people do not need a fancy productivity stack. They just need to actually open the app they already have.
