What tools or simple setup do you use for general knowledge upkeep and taking notes?

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What tools or simple setup do you use for general knowledge upkeep and taking notes?

I try to publish as much of my long-form writing directly on my blog as possible. Publishing in public acts as a positive incentive mechanism—knowing that people will read my journal entries forces me to ensure my thoughts are clear, presentable, and well-structured. Aside from publishing publicly, I use an app called Standard Notes for taking general notes, and I have also used Day One on Mac in the past, which was quite valuable.

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How do you manage your tasks, projects, and ideas? Do you use an AI layer or a system to centralize new contacts?

I use a mix of tools. While many people rely on Apple Notes, I’ve found that the truly powerful setups involve Readwise, Obsidian, Notion, Anki, Quizlet, Adobe Acrobat, and Google Drive for knowledge management. For task and project tracking I use Linear, which feels like a super‑charged version of Apple Notes with AI tagging capabilities. The point is you can use whatever works for you – the system is less important than consistently capturing and organizing information.

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youtube ↗Agency Operations

How do you manage to keep track of all the things you want to improve about your business? Is it just in your head or do you have a complex system? How many things do you manage week to week (Google Sheets, notes, etc.)?

Managing everything can get chaotic. I don’t have a fancy CRM; I’m pretty disorganized. My Google Drive is filled with countless files with little naming conventions. I’m good at taking ideas from conception to a minimum viable product quickly, but after that it often becomes a mess. For example, a couple of hours ago I responded to 92 DMs for Maker School without any system—I just opened the DMs tab and worked through them top‑to‑bottom, which I do every few days. Most people at my level would have a proper CRM, support tickets, a refund person, etc., but I don’t. Realistically I probably have around 50 Google Sheets and 100 notes. To keep track, I use a note‑taking app called Godspeed. I write a line like “respond to school DMs,” and it creates a giant to‑do list that I see each morning. You can use any tool you like—Apple Notes, Google Docs, etc.

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Is there a way to sync Apple Notes with Godspeed, and does the choice of note‑taking system matter less than building good habits and SOPs?

The specific tool you use—whether Apple Notes, pen and paper, or a printed list—matters less than the habits and standard operating procedures you build around it. For example, my friend Matthew Larson prints his daily tasks; the extra minute of printing is trivial, but the physical act of touching the paper makes him more likely to follow through. Focus on developing consistent routines (like a daily inbox review or a set‑time planning ritual) rather than chasing the perfect app.

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What to-do list do you use?

I usually just use pen and paper, which I don't think is as efficient as the one you use. I use this one called Godspeed right now. It's just a to-do manager right at your fingertips. I just write stuff. I can set a duration, for example 30 minutes, then hold command and press enter to create the task. The whole benefit is that it's based on keyboard shortcuts, which I love because I'm really fast at keyboarding. Now, is this the best to-do list? No. I think a pen and paper works just fine. I'd probably just use a pen and paper. Don't focus on the efficiency; focus on your ability to do it over a long enough period of time so you can eventually accumulate massive results.

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