The Tool Is Not the Work
There is always another folder structure, plugin, application, or supposedly “optimal” system to try. Some YouTuber has found the bloody damn treasure of systems, or another second-brain guide that will completely save you forever has hit your feed. You know, we tell ourselves that it will reduce friction, make everything clearer, and finally make the whole thing feel finished. But are we ever actually finished with these things? Probably not. I don’t think I would ever be fulfilled, even if I were to use the fanciest and most optimal note-taking system.
There is always another feature to add and another problem to solve, most of which we created ourselves, by the way.
Less is almost always so much more.
The less friction there is between you and what you want to do, the better. Take George R. R. Martin as an example. The man writes using WordStar on an old DOS computer: black screen, plain green text, almost no features. One would think he’s a hacker. Yet entire books were written there, and he still uses it, while modern writing applications offer more features than anyone could reasonably need. (Well, at the very least, some delusional folk waiting for his next book, myself included, think he still uses it. Come on, George.)
The point is obviously not that everyone should start writing on ancient software. (Unless that’s your thing, man.) It is that the quality of the tool matters much less than what the person using it can actually do. The “greatest” tool pales in comparison to the most average tool when the former is used by an average person and the latter by a master. The tool is there to help with the work. Maintaining the tool should not become the work itself.
Obsidian is wonderful precisely because it offers endless plugins, customization, and freedom. But spending half your time changing how it works or looks is still procrastination, only dressed as productivity. The same applies to any note-taking or productivity system. If you spend more time maintaining the system than producing anything from it, then the system is counterproductive. Eventually, it becomes a time bomb: too complicated to maintain, too demanding to use, and therefore bound to falter.
Simplicity is best. Just writing is best. You can write something worthwhile in Notepad. Doing is better than constantly searching for better ways to do, and no book, video, article, or plugin will teach you as much as first-hand experience. Every tool has problems, and there is no perfect setup waiting somewhere to finally save you. Use whatever helps you do the work, even if that means using more than one thing. Stop obeying all the strange-ass rules your brain creates around where the work is allowed to happen. The objective is simple, really: not to build the perfect system, but to make something with it.