I’m skeptical of articles that recommend twelve tools for productivity. Here’s a shorter list — the software I actually open every day and haven’t replaced in at least two years.
Obsidian
My notes live in Obsidian. Plain markdown files in a folder, synced across devices. No proprietary format, no lock-in. I’ve been using it since 2021 and I’ve never had a note disappear, corrupt, or become inaccessible because the company changed direction.
The graph view is mostly decorative. The daily notes plugin and a consistent folder structure do the actual work.
Things 3
Task manager. I tried Todoist, I tried Notion, I tried a paper notebook. Things 3 is the one I actually maintain. The design is calm, the capture is fast, and the project structure maps well to how I think about work.
Raycast
Replaced Alfred on my Mac. Launches apps, runs calculations, does clipboard history, has a built-in window manager. It’s free. I don’t think about it, which is the whole point.
Linear
For anything involving more than two people, Linear is the clearest project tracker I’ve used. We use it internally and it’s made a real difference in staying coordinated without extra meetings.
The theme here is software that stays out of your way. The best tools are the ones you forget you’re using.