These two apps lastly fastened my artistic workflow

For years, Notion has been my go-to for organizing every little thing from invoices to film watchlists. Its flexibility as a database is unmatched, however when it got here to artistic workflows like jotting down spontaneous concepts, threading collectively ideas, and gathering visible inspiration, that’s the place Notion begins to really feel a bit inflexible. I wanted one thing that didn’t ask me to file each passing concept right into a system the second it confirmed up. That’s simply not how a artistic move works. At the very least not for me.

I do know, I do know. Obsidian is the same old reply right here with its endless customisation and the famed graph view. However I wished one thing cloud-first. So I started in search of a device that might complement, if not change, what Notion already does so effectively. That’s how I discovered myself bouncing between Notion and Capacities for the higher a part of a 12 months. Like most individuals making an attempt to prepare their digital life, I began with one, flirted with the opposite, then went backwards and forwards till I spotted one thing easy: these two instruments aren’t competing. They’re finishing one another. Right here’s why constructing a system that makes use of each apps works so effectively for me.

The trick, as at all times, wasn’t choosing a aspect on the get-go. It was determining what every device is definitely good at — after which staying out of their method. That realization modified how I approached each instruments. For instance, I finished utilizing Notion as an area for unstructured notes. Not as a result of it will possibly’t try this, however as a result of it by no means felt pure. You may create infinite pages and subpages, positive. You may embed something you need. However that multi-page hierarchy shortly spirals uncontrolled. I used to be utilizing Notion to catalog attention-grabbing locations in cities I wish to go to, and over time, that construction grew to become a maze — a number of layers deep, exhausting to navigate, and tougher to take care of.

Notion thrives when there’s construction and function. It’s the place I construct programs which are borderline automated in execution. Capacities works finest when there’s none. It’s the place I believe. The second I finished making an attempt to pressure one app to do all of it, issues clicked, and I might transfer between them with out friction, letting every device deal with what it’s constructed for as a substitute of bending it into one thing it’s not.

It’s not only a consumer interface problem. It’s a mindset problem. Notion forces you determine tables, databases and extra the second you determine to enter in some knowledge. This makes me really feel like each concept wants a house earlier than it even exists. That strain to prepare too early kills my artistic move and inhibits how a lot I exploit Notion. I may need the concepts, however the atmosphere doesn’t really feel proper. You wouldn’t wish to work in Google Sheets for capturing concepts. Notion’s rigidity has the identical impact.

Capacities flips that dynamic. You don’t begin with a desk or a template — you begin with an object. Notes, photos, bookmarks, and recordsdata are all loosely organized by sort and stitched along with backlinks. It’s nearer to how Obsidian works and feels extra like a residing community than a inflexible pocket book. That one shift modifications every little thing. I don’t fear about the place a thought belongs. I simply seize it, drop in a couple of tags, and transfer on. I’ll clear it up later. Or not.

After I’m in artistic mode doing something from writing to outlining one thing imprecise, my go-to app is Capacities. If I’m gathering screenshots, reference visuals, creating to-do notes or compiling quotes throughout a number of articles, all of it goes there, simply cross-referenced by Capacities’ tackle a graph view. I can write half a thought, depart it for per week, and are available again to search out it already linked to a few different concepts I forgot I had. That’s not simply good design. That’s momentum. And it’s vital in permitting me to leap again into work and be in a artistic house nearly instantly.

On the danger of sounding loquacious, Capacities presents an atmosphere that invitations exploration. This consists of the way in which Capacities treats photos which will be inline, full-bleed, or tied to things permitting you to successfully flip it right into a gallery, not only a doc. Which may seem to be a small factor, however while you’re spending hours sketching outlines or piecing collectively visible references, it provides up. You’re not simply writing. You’re successfully constructing an interconnected net of concepts — one thing I’ve struggled with in Notion. Apple’s wildly totally different FreeForm device presents the closest, however not fairly the identical, expertise. Alternatively, Notion doesn’t work like that. It’s structured. Exact. Typically a little bit too exact. However that’s precisely why it really works so effectively for every little thing else.

Capacities could also be higher for considering, however Notion nonetheless runs the day-to-day. That is the place I monitor invoices, replace my studying listing, monitor freelance initiatives, and verify off recurring duties. After I know what I’m monitoring — issues like consumer deliverables, model campaigns, editorial calendars — Notion is unbeatable. I can construct databases with views and filters, join them with automation, and arrange reminders that truly assist. It’s purpose-built for that sort of work.

Not like Capacities, Notion presents a sort of security in figuring out that every little thing has a spot. If I log one thing right this moment, I’ll know precisely the place to search out it three weeks later. It additionally makes it extremely simple so as to add knowledge on the go. After I wish to add one thing shortly like, say, a brand new restaurant I’ve noticed on Instagram, I exploit a Notion Kind I set as much as log key particulars straight into my meals database. Title, location, delicacies, tags, and that’s it. The shape is saved as a bookmark on my telephone’s homepage and lets me accomplish the duty in seconds. That’s the sort of frictionless utility Notion excels at.

I’ve tried doing that inside Capacities, and whereas there’s a desk view, it nonetheless looks like an afterthought. It’s not likely constructed for structured knowledge entry, neither is it superb at making sense of enormous volumes of knowledge.

The largest mistake is considering these two instruments are fixing the identical drawback. They’re not. They each allow you to write, acquire, embed, and manage. However what they do with these talents is completely totally different. Capacities is designed for creativity and information exploration. Much like Obsidian, every little thing in its interface is nudging you to attach concepts via backlinks, nested objects, graph views. It’s much less of a productiveness device and extra of a artistic studio. After I’m not fairly positive what I’m engaged on, however I do know I wish to chase an concept, Capacities provides me the room to do this.

Notion, however, is extra like a conventional work device. It doesn’t ask you to discover. It asks you to determine, outline, and commit. And that issues as a result of how we really feel when utilizing these instruments typically dictates whether or not we use them in any respect. Whereas it’s actually attainable to make use of both of those instruments completely, Notion’s structured strategy to knowledge sorts makes it really feel like a chore. In truth, I’ve tried to decide to Notion a number of occasions, however each single time it felt I used to be underusing it as a result of my notes have been messy or incomplete. However that wasn’t a Notion drawback. That was a mismatch. As soon as I gave that function to Capacities as a substitute, Notion stopped feeling like a burden and began being helpful once more.

The takeaway

There’s no straight-up winner right here. Capacities helped me get comfy with a messy workflow once more. It gave me again the power to assume in fragments and acquire concepts with out committing. It’s a device for planning and for customers nonetheless getting used to the concept of information administration. In truth, I’d say it’s the right PKM device for the first-time consumer.

Alternatively, Notion helps me make order out of chaos. It’s the device I belief to carry the items collectively as soon as I do know what they’re. Be it massive databases of pitches, invoices, issues to do, eating places to take a look at, Notion is nice for that sort of workflow. That stated, on the finish of the day, each instruments taught me to cease in search of the right app and begin constructing a greater workflow as a substitute. For me, it was a mix of Capacities and Notion.