Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

I see your point but this viewpoint might be veering to another extreme. The truth is probably somewhere in between, as is the case with many other matters.

I certainly spent a lot of time taking notes in org-mode but I don't regret it. Whenever I want to look something up and revise, I can find it in an instant by simply grepping my repo or by targeting a header. Goes without saying, this is particularly useful for notes related to programming. However, even for other notes (e.g. vacation plan) I still find tremendous value in org-mode's flexible and powerful approach. In addition, org-mode is also a medium for me to freely write things down and clarify my thoughts whenever I feel the urge to do so. I can even "write and forget", but the reward is already reaped when I wrote out my thoughts in the first place.

However, I have indeed moved time tracking and task management out of org-mode, after struggling with it for a couple of years and trying out various customizations. Ultimately it feels like that org-mode is not built as a suitable system for this purpose, for various reasons. Being "able" to do everything doesn't mean it does everything well, and I fell into the trap of idolizing it too much to the detriment of other viable alternatives. IMO it's a perfect note-taking system for programmers/STEM people, but task management and time tracking should not have been mixed with note taking in the first place. It feels like a bloating of product scope (were it a for-profit product, of course). Now I've switched to a dedicated software for task management + time tracking that has cross-platform support, and I feel much happier and can actually properly track my tasks, review my productivity and get things done.



Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: