
Productivity Apps, And What A Full Stack Costs
Every productivity apps roundup skips the arithmetic. Here's the real annual stack cost, what you lose when you cancel, and the apps I actually kept.
The Index

Every productivity apps roundup skips the arithmetic. Here's the real annual stack cost, what you lose when you cancel, and the apps I actually kept.

A habit tracker Google Sheets template you retype from a blank tab, both streak formulas printed and checked against Google's docs, plus a progress bar and a chart.

A handwritten note taking app does one of three things with your ink. Seven apps checked per platform on vendor pages, with the tier and the pen each one needs.

A cross platform note taking app has six surfaces to reach. Ten apps checked on their own download pages, the free sync cap on each, and one setup per device pair.

A personal knowledge management system built in seven hours across one weekend, with the folder skeleton, three note templates, stopping rules and an exit test.

Automate tasks you repeat every week with the recorders already on your phone and laptop, then Zapier or IFTTT free, with every limit read off the vendor page.

A weekly planner Google Sheets template you retype from a blank sheet, every formula printed and checked, plus the rollover and archive tricks downloads skip.

Good apps for organization depend on which mess you have. Five messes, one free app for each, and the exact line where free stops, read off the vendor pages.

The best note taking device depends on what the note has to do afterwards. iPad, reMarkable, Supernote, Boox and paper, priced with the pen from vendor pages.

The reMarkable notepad is three paper tablets from $399, an optional $3.99 subscription and a 50-day cloud rule, all read from reMarkable's own pages today.

A sticky note app for desktop either floats or syncs. Microsoft's own page says its notes can't stay on top, Apple's Stickies can't sync. The setup per OS.

The bear note app is free until you want sync. Here's what $29.99 buys, why Bear's two pages disagree about export, and the restore step that deletes notes.

Google Calendar for time management on a free account, built from Google's own help pages, with the Workspace-only features named so you stop looking for them.

The google notes app is Google Keep. Here's what it does, the nine limits Google's own help centre admits to one article at a time, and the exit route.

A day to day planner app does four things. Here's which of them Structured, Sunsama, Ellie, TickTick and the free built-in routes do free, paid, or not at all.