3 Apps I Cannot Live Without

I use a plethora of apps, but these are the three I really couldn’t live without.

1. Raindrop (free for most features)

Raindrop is a bookmark manager and it’s key to my capture system. I put links for things to buy, things to read, things I want to think about later… really anything my brain doesn’t have capacity for at the time.

I save everything to my unsorted folder (the default) which makes capturing really fast and then during the week I’ll dip in and process whatever I want to in the moment. If it’s in the unsorted folder I know I haven’t looked at it. Once I have reviewed it (and processed it if needed), it goes to the archive folder which my curious brain can come back to at any time.

This kind of practice really epitomises my attitude to PKM and consuming content. It’s honestly not really about productivity. It’s not about processing everything in the most optimal way for getting more output or more followers or new insights. I take a more leisurely approach that is truly driven by curiosity. It’s about creating a bank of resources that relate to my interests, or challenge my thinking that I want to engage with long-term.

It’s so simple but so perfect, and I love it. A digital archive of what I’m interested in at a given time wrapped in a really easy to use app that’s on all devices and never fails me.

2. Capacities (free for most features)

This won’t be a surprise… Capacities solves so many of my needs and I have a genuine emotional attachment to it because it works how my brain does.

Capacities is organised around objects which are databases that hold pages with a specific job. I like this level of categorisation because I can give each object properties that suit the type of information it holds, but Capacities also has a great approach to linking content together because it allows you to do so with different views.

I find this very engaging and I enjoy the customisability of the app and my knowledge, and I’m supported by a structure that really works for my brain.

This is perfect for me because I take the same leisurely, curious approach to PKM in Capacities. It’s not about processing all notes and creating the most curated page of insights and understanding. It’s about having a solid system where my curiosity can live, thrive, and develop.

I found Logseq/Obsidian overwhelming in this sense. I had so many interesting thoughts hidden in thousands of pages but no easy way to dive into them. Capacities has fixed this for me and I cannot imagine a different app that would work better for me. I’m so excited for the app’s future!

3. Concepts (free for basic features)

Concepts is an infinite whiteboard on iPad which I use with my Apple pencil. This might be a surprise if you’ve read any of my other content because I haven’t spoken about iPad as I use so it infrequently. However I still believe that I couldn’t live without Concepts.

Sometimes in times of overwhelm I want to turn off my digital devices and just go back to pen and paper. However paper has a physical boundary and my chaotic brain often wants to go beyond this so Concepts + iPad + pencil is a great solution to this. There’s just something about writing that is so grounding, but having it digitally means my thoughts are kept safely somewhere and not cluttering my flat.

I also use Concepts extensively when working out issues in my system or developing new systems. I map out my thoughts, pros and cons of various approaches all over this infinite canvas until I come to a solution.

My key note-taking practice was developed in this way too:

It’s a great addition to my system and I really recommend this if you like writing things down but are committed to the digital life.

It’s also great to dive back into old whiteboards and see what I was previously thinking and see how far my systems have evolved.

So there we go, three apps I couldn’t live without. What are your top three? I’d love to know!