Why I keep a plain-text notebook
I have tried most note apps. Each one was fine for a year or two, and then something changed: a subscription, an export format, a redesign. What I keep coming back to is a folder of text files.
How it works
One file per day, named by date, like 2026-11-06.md. They sit in a single folder that is included in my regular backup. Searching is a command:
grep -ril "router" ~/notesThat is the whole system. There is no tagging scheme to maintain and nothing to migrate.
The evening habit
Five minutes before bed, three lines:
- What happened today.
- What is unfinished.
- One thing for tomorrow.
Most days it is dull, and that is the point. On the days it is not, I am glad the record exists.
Why plain text
Plain text will still open in twenty years. It diffs, it syncs with anything, and it does not care which editor I am using this year. The notes are mine in a way that a database on someone else's server never quite is.