{
  "id": 652377,
  "title": "I tried to love ‘second brain’ apps. Here’s why I abandoned them — and what I’m using instead",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/12/i-tried-to-love-second-brain-apps-heres-why-i-abandoned-them-and-what",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-12T10:00:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Android Authority",
    "slug": "android-authority",
    "url": "https://www.androidauthority.com/second-brain-apps-alternatives-3695946/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. When I explored the \"second brain\" productivity apps like Notion, Obsidian, Tana, Anytype, NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook), Logseq, and others, I found they didn't increase my productivity. These apps promise a single, searchable knowledge management system, but they require significant time to set up, adapt to, and use effectively. Living with ADHD and autism, I struggle with memory, task-switching, and routine changes. For me, note-taking needs to be quick and frictionless; otherwise, ideas get lost. The steep learning curve of these apps often made me forget how to use them, leading to frustration. After trying various apps, I realized smaller, purpose-built tools with fewer features were more effective for me. Google Keep, though simple, lacked offline capabilities. Notion and Obsidian, while powerful, were overly complex. Notesnook emerged as a middle ground, offering a balance of features, free cross-platform syncing, and offline functionality. Its simplicity and ease of use helped me stay productive despite my challenges. By splitting my reminders across TickTick and Donetick, I minimized task paralysis and increased my overall productivity.",
  "summary": "Trying to maintain a second brain app felt like a second job.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": "The author's abandonment of comprehensive 'second brain' apps in favour of simpler, purpose-built tools like Notesnook, TickTick, and Donetick suggests that ease of use can outweigh feature richness for productivity.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}