[HN Gopher] Legend
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       Legend
        
       Author : rohithkp
       Score  : 112 points
       Date   : 2021-09-07 17:35 UTC (5 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (legendapp.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (legendapp.com)
        
       | glasss wrote:
       | Seems interesting! Thinking of trying the free account once I get
       | some spare time this week. Anyone here have experience with it?
        
       | bmmayer1 wrote:
       | Obligatory xkcd: https://xkcd.com/927/
       | 
       | But also, I applaud this effort at simplifying workflows,
       | recognizing how difficult it is to program around productivity
       | where everyone seems to have a different way of doing things :)
        
         | pbreit wrote:
         | I suspect you are being downvoted because this isn't really
         | related to standards.
        
       | jaaron wrote:
       | A decade or so, I did _everything_ in emacs. I was never more
       | productive and I attribute it partially to the sort of flow that
       | Legend seems to be trying to make.
       | 
       | Smartphones are what killed it for me. As I switched to using my
       | smartphone + tablet more, it broke my emacs setup. I'm still
       | trying to get it back.
        
         | unemphysbro wrote:
         | vi todo.txt
         | 
         | the same file served me well for over a decade. :)
        
           | nixpulvis wrote:
           | Stupid question, but what do you do from your phone? I would
           | like to put my grocery list in the same system as the rest of
           | my notes/todos.
        
             | stevage wrote:
             | I would probably put the file in Dropbox . Easy to read on
             | the phone. Can probably edit it too.
        
             | unemphysbro wrote:
             | I have another todo list in my mac's notes 'app' which
             | syncs to my phone.
             | 
             | However, for non-work stuff, I usually rely on pen-and-
             | paper lists.
             | 
             | It works for me, I've experimented with a few apps but
             | they've never stuck within my workflow.
        
             | frereubu wrote:
             | I do this with text files and add them to Dropbox, then
             | mark them as offline files for easy access in the Dropbox
             | mobile app.
        
             | bee_rider wrote:
             | If you had a publicly accessible server, you could SSH to
             | it and vi todo.txt there. But I'm not sure this would be
             | worth the effort of setting up...
        
         | bee_rider wrote:
         | iOS has a couple decent ssh clients, if you are into command
         | line stuff. Blink and Panic both seem fine, although I'm sure
         | I'll get some better suggestions now as that is the inevitable
         | result of publicly airing an opinion on an ssh client. :)
        
         | timbaboon wrote:
         | Our IT dept at work is super strict with everything, to the
         | point that I don't even bother accessing anything work related
         | on any device other than my work machine. Nor am I allowed to
         | actually (so these tools like Legend are by default unusable).
         | By the same token, I refuse to put any personal info on the
         | work machine. The upside of this is that I've been able to go
         | back to using emacs for everything :)
        
         | selfhoster11 wrote:
         | Smart devices suck for deep focus productivity and
         | organisation. Ultimately what works is either the desktop
         | Outlook application or some offline gadget that can sync to
         | your PC.
        
         | fuzzybear3965 wrote:
         | I read this a few times trying to understand this. I guess OP
         | means:
         | 
         | > I was very productive, then, using emacs.
         | 
         | "I was never more productive" isn't wrong, and in context it
         | should be clear. But, I read this like "Never, using emacs, did
         | I experience increased productivity".
         | 
         | It reminds me of that trope, "Couldn't care less".
        
           | pchristensen wrote:
           | I believe OP meant it as "I was never more productive than
           | when I used emacs."
        
             | fuzzybear3965 wrote:
             | Yeah, I agree. That's what I tried to say.
        
       | butwhywhyoh wrote:
       | From the quick demos on the website this seems like something I
       | would absolutely love.
       | 
       | However, after signing up, I'm presented with a big, blank, white
       | document and have no clue where to begin or how things are
       | supposed to link together. I closed it in less than 1 minute.
        
         | jakoblorz wrote:
         | The same here - I think templates would be a good fit!
        
       | inferense wrote:
       | Interesting approach! Building an "all-in-one" workflow tool is
       | difficult because as the feature list grows the app becomes
       | bloated with user-facing features in form of buttons, dropdowns
       | etc.
       | 
       | It's cool to see a new design approach where user gets just about
       | what they need at the time.
       | 
       | I'm building yet another workflow tool but with NLP doing the
       | heavy lifting for the user. https://acreom.com
       | 
       | Excited to see where this all goes.
        
       | afandian wrote:
       | I would like to try this out on Android but the link goes to
       | Google Play and I don't link my phone to a Google account.
       | 
       | Any chance of an APK download?
        
       | tibbon wrote:
       | 99% of my incoming work happens in a combination of Slack, an
       | SCM, Zoom and Jira. Maybe 1% of the time I get a task in from
       | email (do this training, etc).
       | 
       | Overall it's a cool idea, but I wasn't able to quickly determine
       | if any/all of those things had support for task import.
       | 
       | Of course, I can just type in the tasks and schedule them that
       | way too.
       | 
       | (I'm an SRE, not a founder or PM, so my workflow is likely a
       | little different than most)
        
         | mritchie712 wrote:
         | You're right, spoking on email falls flat for me too.
        
       | AnEro wrote:
       | That cost hurts
       | 
       | Still prefer Dendron, I get to own my data if it dies (please
       | keep funding them ycombinator). Plus it looks like its going this
       | direction already with api's that are local first for people to
       | build it in if they don't.
        
       | satvikpendem wrote:
       | Lots of competitors in this space it seems. I had a similar idea,
       | a todo list + calendar app listed below, but it's interesting to
       | see ideas converging on the idea of timeboxing your tasks.
       | 
       | Ever since Cal Newport wrote Deep Work, it seems like everyone
       | wants to get on the deep work productivity train. I wonder who
       | will win eventually though.
       | 
       | - www.getartemis.app (disclosure, my app)
       | 
       | - www.akiflow.com
       | 
       | - www.oltra.io
       | 
       | - www.levelteams.com
        
         | mmcclure wrote:
         | I've been using Sunsama for the last few months and have really
         | enjoyed it, I was somewhat surprised not to find it in a cmd+f
         | on these comments.
        
         | michaelje wrote:
         | +1 oltra - I've been using it recently for focus blocks and
         | organizing my day for impact.
         | 
         | How would you say your product compares or differs for the
         | average(or ideal) user?
        
           | satvikpendem wrote:
           | I know the founder of Oltra, cool guy. My product is actually
           | mobile first because I found that I liked having it on my
           | phone when I'm out and about. It's still in the building
           | stages though, I've been documenting it on Twitter [0] this
           | month, trying to finish the MVP before the end of the month.
           | 
           | [0]
           | https://twitter.com/satvikpendem/status/1433247453222944768
        
         | nixpulvis wrote:
         | As someone in dire need of a solution like these, can you help
         | me understand how they might fill my requirements?
         | 
         | 1. Completely offline use 2. No separate accounts 3. Stable
         | interface 4. Straightforward payment model
         | 
         | I'm really looking for a next-generation Thunderbird, not some
         | weird ML or smart task aggregator.
         | 
         | Honestly, just make iLife 2.0 while your at it. Just don't hold
         | my hardware hostage this time please.
        
           | erichurkman wrote:
           | https://agenda.com fit the bill for me. Offline use (though
           | can only sync today through iCloud and Dropbox, I think,
           | which sucks - but you can sync folders manually), pulls
           | calendar from your system integration, simple payment. You
           | can link your daily agenda items/notes to calendar invites.
           | 
           | Though it does not connect to email, at least today, which
           | was OK for my use cases.
        
             | nixpulvis wrote:
             | I should mention I am running Wayland, and would like to
             | continue to do so, ideally on my phone as well one day.
        
         | djbeadle wrote:
         | Slight typo in the parent comment should be www.getartemis.app,
         | an extra "w" snuck in. I have now knowledge of the product but
         | was curious to see it.
        
           | satvikpendem wrote:
           | Fixed thanks
        
           | soperj wrote:
           | Ironic that an extra "w" snuck into your post :) "I have now
           | knowledge"
        
         | atestu wrote:
         | Looks like Level is dead fyi
         | 
         | https://www.derrickreimer.com/essays/2019/05/17/im-walking-a...
        
           | satvikpendem wrote:
           | Indeed, I included it to show that even though everyone might
           | seem like they're clamoring for deep work products, the
           | reality is that sometimes people just don't care enough.
           | Level's founder Derrick Reimer had a hypothesis that people
           | hated Slack (and particularly its interrupting notifications)
           | that he wanted to make a product that was async. Turns out
           | people don't actually care enough to change their entire
           | communications workflow.
        
           | joelrunyon wrote:
           | he's working on savvycal.com now - similar space.
        
         | madrox wrote:
         | In my experience, productivity apps have more in common with
         | lifestyle brands than, say, email. In that way, there's no
         | winning any more than one brand can effectively own a space.
         | 
         | If I were CEO of one of these products, I'd quickly diversify
         | into other areas in order to differentiate, add value to
         | subscriptions, and better cater to a particular audience. How
         | I'd do that would depend on the lifestyle brand I'm trying to
         | establish. I've heard this called the law of division in
         | marketing.[1]
         | 
         | 1: https://ericsink.com/laws/Law_10.html
        
       | one_comment wrote:
       | Is that org-mode for Android?
        
       | smnrchrds wrote:
       | I am seeing "deep work" used more and more often, with many apps
       | promising to help you achieve it. Is deep work the new GTD?
        
         | satvikpendem wrote:
         | Have you read the eponymous book by Cal Newport? That's where
         | these tools being labeled for "deep work" are coming from. It's
         | a great book, I'd highly recommend it. Overall though I don't
         | think you necessarily need a tool for deep work, but it can
         | help.
        
           | smnrchrds wrote:
           | I have not read the book, but I am aware of it. That's why I
           | think it is so similar to GTD: started as a book, became very
           | popular with the tech community leading to a few tools being
           | made for it, became a common sight on HN front page, (we have
           | not gotten here yet with deep work) became clear it was not a
           | silver bullet and lost its lustre, vanished from front page,
           | some people still use it.
        
         | Shank wrote:
         | Deep Work is all about large blocks of time allocated to highly
         | creative/in-depth work. GTD is more of a way of handling tasks
         | that are obvious and known in a methodical way. Deep Work is
         | probably more applicable to software developers or other
         | creative fields than it is to say, someone like a secretary
         | that has to manage a huge influx of tasks that fly in from all
         | directions, most of which are trivial to handle, but can be
         | "paralyzing" when not handled.
        
       | ljm wrote:
       | I wanted to try out the Linux app on Ubuntu (downloaded the .deb
       | file), see how it compared to Obsidian (which is sadly a little
       | awkward in terms of sync and config).
       | 
       | Unfortunately the desktop version is unusable - it automatically
       | maximises itself and then gets stuck in a loop, constantly trying
       | to resize. Trying to make the window smaller makes it go
       | similarly crazy and it will just revert to filling the screen
       | again.
       | 
       | That's unfortunately a non-starter.
        
       | T3RMINATED wrote:
       | Basically ASANA?
        
       | steve_adams_86 wrote:
       | I started an account, but felt it wasn't very compelling to
       | actually get started using it. I've synchronized my email and
       | calendar, but it isn't jumping out at me how this will be
       | superior to my current workflow (I use Things and Calendar on
       | MacOS/iOS, and they integrate very dumbly but well enough).
       | 
       | At the risk of sounding dumb, what is this supposed to offer that
       | my workflow doesn't have? I see it can support contacts and files
       | as well, but I'm not sure if/why I'd need that. I have all of
       | that on MacOS/iOS already, so when I add contacts or references
       | to files it'll come from iCloud or whatever. That's fine for me.
       | Is this for people with more disparate and less integrated
       | systems? Am I missing out on something?
       | 
       | The main appeal to me is having task lists working more like
       | documents; Things doesn't support this and it's fairly inflexible
       | in that regard. I do wish I could plan projects and take notes a
       | little more freely in there. But I'd also worry that having this
       | freedom might be a distraction, too.
        
         | deergomoo wrote:
         | Things did add markdown support in the notes field of tasks
         | recently, which might help you out a little bit.
         | 
         | It's still inflexible compared to something that's primarily
         | document-based, but it's a better than plain text at least.
        
       | Wronnay wrote:
       | Shit... I had something similar in my side project ToDo List...
       | 
       | It always happens, that some other guy had the same idea and
       | already realized it before I started :-D
        
       | hkon wrote:
       | I don't get it. Is it a calendar? If you want to have no
       | distractions. The phone has an off button.
        
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       (page generated 2021-09-07 23:00 UTC)