Since elementary school, I’ve been fascinated with tech trends, but that doesn’t mean I always splurge on the latest gadgets. When the productivity software boom hit, I got sucked into the vortex of gurus and optimization hacks. It felt like everyone was promising the secret to becoming a superhuman productivity machine.
One problem was that most of these “gurus” were dudes. No shade, but none spoke to my experience as a woman. That is until I stumbled upon the Period Power1 book. It was like, “Hello, women have cycles!” I realized women have unique needs and rhythms when it comes to productivity. We can’t always be doing what men do 24/7. Of course, the counterargument is that’s why most scientists were men. Hard disagree. If women had the same opportunities as men back then, we’d be crushing it in every field. Just look at Hedy Lamarr, the OG inventor who basically laid the groundwork for Wi-Fi, but that’s a whole other topic.
Anyway, back to my productivity obsession. I went down the rabbit hole of hustle culture,2 rationalism,3 and all that jazz. I felt guilty for not constantly optimizing, learning, or producing. I bought courses, templates, books – the whole shebang. Being the curious cat I am, I wanted to know everything about productivity. And like any good Gen Z-er, I signed up for every productivity app under the sun, got beta access to most of the shiny new tools, and became the go-to person for recommending solutions to my team.
But soon, I found myself drowning in a sea of apps and platforms. I was constantly switching between them, juggling subscriptions, and worrying about data ownership. I wanted something simpler, more sustainable, something that would last. Something like my childhood diary, which I still have to this day. But, obviously, I didn’t want to lug around a physical notebook everywhere.
That’s when I discovered Obsidian. It’s an offline-first, markdown-based note-taking app, customizable with a passionate community and overall Obsidian philosophy4 speaks for itself. But old habits die screaming, and I kept bouncing back to the allure of all-in-one apps, thinking I needed all the bells and whistles to be productive.
During my recent sabbatical, I decided to give Obsidian a real shot. I wanted to build something that would last, a “second brain”5 where I could store my ideas, notes, plans, and reflections. I went all-in, customizing it from the ground up. I even dusted off my long-abandoned GitHub account, opened up the new interface of VS Code, and dove headfirst into the world of code tinkering. It was a blast! There’s something incredibly satisfying about troubleshooting errors and watching your creation come to life.
Then it hit me: I wasn’t searching for an all-in-one app. I wanted something that would stand the test of time. Software comes and goes, but my thoughts and ideas are here to stay and my files and data should last forever. It seems obvious now, but I couldn’t articulate it before. Obsidian gave me the freedom to own my data and create a system that truly worked for me.
This whole rollercoaster ride taught me a valuable lesson about building things that last, even when you’re not around to tend to them. There’s something to be said for going back to basics, creating something that’s less about fleeting trends and more about lasting value.
That’s how I fell down the rabbit hole of digital preservation. I’ve always been a fan of the Internet Archive, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how fragile our digital world really is. I mean, what happens to all our data, our memories, and our online creations when the platforms we rely on inevitably change or disappear? It’s a bit like we’re heading towards a digital dark age, where all our precious data and memories could vanish into the ether. You know, the whole “losing our history to obsolete technology” thing that Vint Cerf was warning us about6. It’s kinda spooky, tbh.
And then I stumbled upon the story of Marion Stokes, the woman who obsessively recorded television for decades. She understood the importance of preserving information, even when others didn’t see the value. It made me realize that I wanted to do the same with my digital garden – to create something that would outlive me, a legacy of my thoughts and experiences.
That’s when I started digging deeper into the concept of “local-first software,” advocated by folks like Adam Wiggins7. It’s all about building tools that give you complete control over your data so you’re not at the mercy of tech companies and their ever-changing algorithms.
This all ties back to my commitment to responsible innovation. I want to build technology that not only solves problems but also serves as a catalyst for individuals and communities. I want to create tools that are accessible, sustainable, and respect users’ privacy and autonomy. It’s a big goal, but I’m determined to make it happen.
For now, I’m still figuring things out, learning as much as I can, and trying not to get overwhelmed (lesson learned). But I have a good feeling that my digital garden is a step in the right direction, and I’m excited to see where this journey takes me.
- your cyborg girl, alta :)
Footnotes
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Maisie Hill, Period Power: Harness Your Hormones and Get Your Cycle Working For You (Green Tree, 2019). This book explores the connection between menstrual cycles and productivity, offering insights and strategies specifically for women. ↩
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Hustle culture often promotes overworking and constant striving for success. While it can drive initial motivation, it’s often unsustainable and can lead to burnout. ↩
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Rationalism is a philosophy emphasizing reason and logic. In a productivity context, it can involve data-driven approaches and optimizing workflows for maximum efficiency. ↩
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Obsidian philosophy centers around the idea of a “file over app” – a digital repository for thoughts, ideas, and knowledge that’s completely customizable and owned by the user. ↩
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The term “second brain” refers to a digital system for organizing information, acting as an extension of memory and cognitive processes. ↩
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Vint Cerf, a pioneer of the Internet, warned about the potential for a “digital dark age” where data and information are lost due to obsolete technology. (Source: ” Vint Cerf calls a ‘digital Dark Age’“) ↩
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Martin Kleppmann, Adam Wiggins, Peter van Hardenberg, and Mark McGranaghan. Local-first software: you own your data, in spite of the cloud. 2019 ACM SIGPLAN International Symposium on New Ideas, New Paradigms, and Reflections on Programming and Software (Onward!), October 2019, pages 154–178. doi:10.1145/3359591.3359737 This paper advocates for software that prioritizes user ownership and control of data, even in cloud environments. ↩