Goodbye Obsidian

I started using Obsidian some time ago for a number of reasons. I switched from Logseq after one day when my iCloud notes just disappeared. Before that I used Apple Notes - but I stopped using it because it only worked for a few reasons, and since then I have only used it as a scratch pad or for drawings, and there were many reasons to move on.

Why I Chose Obsidian

If you’re curious about the main reasons I chose Obsidian, here they are:

• Markdown Support and Flexibility
  Markdown support—and the ability to switch to another provider at any time—was a huge plus. I had a painful experience with Apple Notes due to its lack of Markdown support.
• Daily Notes Support
  Daily notes help me focus and plan my day.
• Control Over Note Storage
  I appreciate that I can simply store my notes in an iCloud folder.
• Large Community Support
  Obsidian had, and still has, a huge community of supporters and plug-ins, but we'll get to that later.

And of course: It is Open Source and free.

And for a while, Obsidian actually did the job.

When Obsidian Stopped Feeling Right

After a while, however, I realised that I didn't really enjoy using it, especially for daily planning and journaling. I even started adding notes and todos to other apps like Apple Reminders and Things3 because they were much quicker to use when I was in the flow.

I know that for many people, note-taking is almost a religious experience, and Obsidian has an incredibly powerful community. The observations in this post are purely subjective. Please don’t take them at face value—they’re simply meant to help you make your own judgment and take a closer look at features that matter to you, as they do to me.

I began reflecting and noticed several major drawbacks of this otherwise powerful tool, especially when I compared it with other options like Notion and Craft.

Drawbacks of Obsidian

• Plugin Dependency
  Nearly every feature requires a plugin to be useful. Some plugins work well, while others do not.
• No Quick Action for Todos
  There is no quick and easy way to add a todo or even a single line of text like you might find in Apple Notes or Craft.