I’ve been using Drafts for years, but I’ve finally decided it’s overkill for what I need. It feels like they’re trying to implement every feature under the sun, resulting in a cluttered interface which I find too confusing. It suffers from feature overload to the point where it’s hard to find a feature without Googling it (the last time I had to do this was to change the icon, and I would never have been able to find this feature without searching).
I tried replacing it with Tot and the only thing I did regularly with Drafts which I could not do in Tot is to dictate my watch. If my hands are busy, I’ve decided to dictate using Reminders/Siri. After experimenting with this for a while, it’s even more convenient than tapping on the Drafts icon and then on the dictate function. I use PopClip for formatting text and feel I have almost everything I need, but I am curious if there are other similar alternatives. I am also experimenting with Notes.
What do other people use as a Drafts alternative?
I’d like to see what’s out there, but I want a simple notetaking app, not one with featuritis, the simpler the better. Alternatives don’t need markdown or archiving, and it must easily share to DevonThink.
Reviewing the r/macapps note list there aren’t many apps that take voice input. Drafts appears to be the best bet, but I’m certainly with you on it being over the top in many ways.
I use Just Press Record for voice recordings because it is a one-tap recording on the watch. It will transcribe the recordings, as well. I will probably be moving on from that to the built on Voice Memos app in iOS18 if it handles transcription. I know they mentioned the Notes app will transcribe voice, but I use Obsidian for notes.
I love Drafts and use it as a starting point for many things, but I only pay for subscriptions in the months in which I need to customize my actions.
Would it be an option for you to hold off until the fall (unless you’re a beta enthusiast) and use voice memos/Apple notes to dictate and then capture the automatic transcription? I put the beta on an older machine and have been using this dictate/transcribe feature quite a bit. I haven’t tested thoroughly, but so far I have been impressed with the transcription accuracy.
Me too, but I still use it almost every day. The free version is more than I need but I’ve subscribed to the Pro version, for one year, as a thank you to the developer.
I use iA Writer. I use it in conjunction with Obsidian, but you don’t need to, it can be your standalone notes app. I find the Obsidian writing experience to be subpar, so all my notes begin in iA Writer. If I decide to keep it, I then use Obsidian to organize it and create links, etc.
This is the advantage of using plain text markdown files, you can use different tools on the same set of files.
Check out SnipNotes. It has a fantastic watch app which can be configured to open directly into a new note with support for dictation. You can also view, edit and search all notes from the watch app.
The app is wonderful. Cross-platform support on Mac, iPhone, iPad and watch with fast iCloud sync, context-sensitive actions within notes (think of it as Drafts-lite) and a one-time payment. The developer is constantly adding features.
Same here. After my one year sub has ended, I continue using the free and I hid whatever I don’t need to make Drafts as minimalist as possible. I really like its Quick Capture (I configured it as Ctrl Space in the Mac) and it has been a muscle memory. I do find myself subbing for a month just to tinkle with the Theme but once I get it to what I like, I continue with the free version.
I’m using both Drafts and Tot currently (recent purchase and it was worth it!). I did spend a lot of time customising Drafts so that my menus were exactly what I wanted and nothing else. I don’t really notice much of the noise. I know Drafts is far more powerful than how I use it, but I just don’t need all the “extra” bits. I now find myself frustrated when I’m in other apps and I don’t have a custom menu just for me!
Drafts was getting cluttered, so I bought Tot too, but they are currently serving slightly different functions:
Drafts is where I write longer bits that I need to think about, and that will ultimately end up elsewhere. Sometimes they might linger in Drafts for weeks (or months ). Hence why it can get cluttered. I didn’t like having very short-term things mixed in with other things I was thinking about. Enter Tot.
Tot is for either very temporary scribbles (=less than a day) or stuff that I know I need to action promptly. This works really well for me, given that it’s designed to be emptied, and I needed an app that nudged me to do that.
My only exception for Tot is that I’ve started keeping my weekend to-do list in the last dot, because I really like the large widget that shows the content of one dot, and I have this mental barrier about keeping my weekend tasks in my regular task manager which has meant for several years they’ve just drifted around aimlessly depending on my whims. Tot turns out to be a very good landing place for them because of the smart bullet function, the ease of adding an item when you remember, and the good widgets.
(I have a “weekend” focus on my iPad that is scheduled, so my weekend tasks are immediately visible at the weekend when I want them via the Tot widget and my custom focus view.)
). Hence why it can get cluttered. I didn’t like having very short-term things mixed in with other things I was thinking about. Enter Tot.