Skip to content
Influencer StackWhat the influencers actually use.
AppFREE, no costGoogle

Google Docs

Browser word processor that syncs across devices

Google's word processor, kept in the browser and synced to any device you sign in on. Plenty of people use it for plain text rather than layout: weekly plans, notes, drafts that need to be reachable from a phone. It is free with a Google account.

Who backs it

Sorted by strength of stance

  • Cal NewportDoes it

    Computer science professor · author of Deep Work

    Answering a reader question about his weekly plan.txt files in a 2010 comment on his own blog, he said the old ones used to sit in a folder on his desktop and that he had moved them to Google Docs, keeping one document per month with a space for each week.

    Source: calnewport.com: plan.txt post, 2010 comment
  • Chris BumsteadDoes it

    Bodybuilder · Six-time Classic Physique Mr. Olympia

    A Google Doc, plus notes on his phone, is where he writes down thoughts and reflections through the day. He read back through what had piled up there to set his priorities for 2026, and the thing he kept finding was that he is at his best when he is creating something.

    Source: The Standard newsletter: Lessons I'm Taking Into 2026

Aimed at the same thing

Other entries filed under productivity.

  • App$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.

    Claude

    Anthropic

    Anthropic's AI assistant, used by writers as a sounding board

    Backed by 5 of 62 stacks: 5 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • App$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.

    Readwise

    Readwise

    Syncs your highlights and resurfaces them a few at a time

    Backed by 4 of 62 stacks: 3 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • App$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.

    Website and app blocker

    Software that makes distracting sites genuinely unavailable on a schedule

    Backed by 4 of 62 stacks: 2 do it, 2 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • AppFREE, no cost

    Notion

    Notion

    Flexible workspace used as a second brain, wiki and task system

    Backed by 3 of 62 stacks: 3 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • App$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.

    Adobe Premiere Pro

    Adobe

    Adobe's video editor, the default in most professional edit bays

    Backed by 2 of 62 stacks: 2 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • AppFREE, no cost

    Apple Notes

    Apple

    The note app that ships on every Mac, iPhone and iPad, synced through iCloud

    Backed by 2 of 62 stacks: 2 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it

App entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.