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.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- 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$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.On record from 5 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it
- App$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Readwise
Syncs your highlights and resurfaces them a few at a time
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it, 1 recommends it - App$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Website and app blocker
Software that makes distracting sites genuinely unavailable on a schedule
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 2 recommend it - AppFREE, no cost
Notion
Flexible workspace used as a second brain, wiki and task system
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it - App$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe's video editor, the default in most professional edit bays
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it - AppFREE, no cost
Apple Notes
The note app that ships on every Mac, iPhone and iPad, synced through iCloud
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do 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.