Once in a while I go through a phase where I get really into Org Mode and dropping all of the software I use for “plain text” alternatives. And while there is something philosophically attractive about the plain text life, I always snap out of it usually due to some combination of the following reasons:
- Mobile plain text solutions are inherently terrible. The preferred modus operandi for touch screen devices are swipes, taps, pinches, and pulls. None of which translate well to plain text files which are designed to be manipulated with a keyboard. Even as a someone who uses a smartphone as little as possible, trying to edit plain text files to quickly add things like tasks and calendar was a tedious experience.
- Plain text might be fine if you only need a calendar for yourself, but the second you need to involve others it becomes inadequate immediately. This also applies to documents to some degree, depending on who you’re working with.
- Plain text files don’t natively sync changes. Plain text files were not meant to be open and edited from multiple devices at once. You might have your todo list open in more than one place, but you’ll need to always remember to save and reopen files and be careful not to overwrite or revert anything accidentally.
- Voice assistants like Siri work better with native apps. The only time I use Siri is when things pop into my head when I’m driving. There’s no way I would take my phone out to try and type into an org file with my phone (even using a “native” iOS org mode app) when driving.