written
2024-07-07
I used to use Notion pretty extensively, and loved the web extension for saving links. I'd jot down quick notes like what to mention at our next vet appointment or an app idea that popped into my head while on-the-go. I set up a table where each row represented a corresponding box in our basement, so when I was looking for that one thing that I knew was down there somewhere, I could just search for it in Notion, see it's in box 8 and go straight to it. It was generally fine at everything I used it for, but I never really felt like it was the right fit.
For a while, I searched for a replacement that would also do all of these things in one app. I needed a web extension for saving links, so that eliminated many note taking apps right out of the gate. My note taking needs are less about connecting ideas or deep thought, and more about quickly jotting things down so I don't forget them – which meant apps focused on effective note taking rather than efficient note taking were also out.
I tried several apps that claim they can do it all, "the last app you'll need" for anything in your digital life. AnyType, Mem, Obsidian, Supernotes, the list goes on.
None of them ever quite delivered on that promise. As it turns out, software that tries to cover any imaginable use case is really hard to do well, and usually ends up worse than software that does one thing well (don't get me started on Workday).
One day it occurred to me that my "quick notes" app and my "link saving" app don't have to be the same app. I searched for a link saving app and found Raindrop.io. I wrote a script to migrate all my saved links from Supernotes and store them in Raindrop – big shout out to both products for maintaining an API! That saved me hours because I had about 800 links saved at the time.
Raindrop is perfect for saving links. They have a web extension, and their iOS app has native share functionality so I can quickly save and tag a link from any device.
Now that I could scratch saving links off of the list of requirements, I thought that Google Keep was probably good enough for jotting down my quick thoughts. After using it for a while, not only is it good enough, it's actually ideal for this use case. I can open the app, and with one tap, I'm mashing away at my keyboard getting the thought out of my head. I don't have to worry about losing it and can stay focused on whatever I'm actually trying to work on at the time. I didn't have to browse a folder structure before creating the note or think about what type of note it is.
Open app, create note, jot down thought, close app.
Depending on the length of my thought, the round trip of my phone from my pocket back to my pocket could be as little as 30 seconds.
When I save a link in Raindrop, it also takes less than a minute regardless of which device I'm on.
This got me thinking about software that does one thing, and does it well. I think there is room in the SaaS market for these apps, where I can pay a small subscription fee and get a tool that is quick, easy to use, and just gets out of my way. No upselling me on AI or other features I don't want or need, just a tool that solves a specific problem well.
I've started to build out my own suite of web apps that align with this paradigm. The first is Buckets, an app that helps you build healthy spending habits.
All the interactions in Buckets follow the trend I noticed above, where you can be in and out of the app in seconds and get back to living your life. If you've been looking for a way to track and budget your spending, and other apps with more features have never stuck for you, give it a try and see what you think.
Next, I plan to build a very simple app that lets you keep track of things that have happened, where each item such as "Called mom" is its own sort of "tracker". It will of course follow the same pattern of taking only a few seconds to do what you need to do.
If you have thoughts on specific software as a concept, or its compatibility with the SaaS market, feel free to message me on LinkedIn or send me an email.