My Log Email

A Return to Simplicity After 15 Years of Complexity

After spending 15 years testing every note-taking app and productivity system imaginable, I've reached a surprising conclusion: email is the answer I've been looking for all along. I've tried everything - from GTD to Zettelkasten, from self-hosted wikis to Notion, from Evernote to countless default OS apps. And I'm done with all of it.

Here's why email is the ultimate solution:

1. The Original Decentralized Technology

While we chase the latest apps promising to revolutionize our thinking, email has been quietly doing its job for decades. No blockchain needed, no Web3 promises – just reliable, decentralized infrastructure that actually works.

1. Available Everywhere, Always

I'm tired of apps that disappear, change their pricing, or lock features behind subscriptions. Email comes standard with every device I own. It's there, it works, and it's not going anywhere.

1. Universal Communication Protocol

After years of trapped data in proprietary formats, I've learned to value systems that let me communicate freely – with others and with myself. Email does both effortlessly.

1. Natural Organization

I've spent countless hours learning complex organizational systems. Yet email's simple structure of subject lines, folders, and search has outlasted them all.

1. Time-Aware by Design

Every productivity app tries to reinvent how we track time. Email has been doing it naturally since day one, with every message automatically timestamped and ordered.

1. Built-in Backup

No more worrying about sync issues or lost data. Email's distributed nature means my thoughts are automatically backed up across multiple servers.

1. Zero Learning Curve

I've wasted too many hours learning new systems that promised to revolutionize my workflow. Email just works, using skills I already have.

1. Infinite Scale

From quick notes to complex projects, email handles it all without breaking a sweat. No need for different apps for different types of content.

1. Future-Proof

I've watched dozens of note-taking apps come and go. Email has remained constant, reliable, and increasingly relevant.

1. Actually Simple

After years of feature-bloated apps, there's something refreshing about email's straightforward approach: write, send, archive, search.

1. Always Moving Forward

Instead of maintaining complex systems, email lets me focus on what matters: capturing and developing ideas.

The irony isn't lost on me that after exploring every new tool and system that came along, I'm returning to the simplest and most obvious solution. Email isn't perfect, but it's perfectly adequate – and after 15 years of searching, I've learned that's what matters most.

PS. If you've been on a similar journey through the productivity wilderness, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Just hit reply – no new app download required.

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My Current Setup (Finally):

Email
- For everything: notes, todos, ideas, communications
- No apps to install
- No systems to maintain
- No subscriptions to manage

That's it. After 15 years of complexity, I've found peace in simplicity.

What's your journey been like?

Ivan