My top three favourite apps right now
Three perfectly imperfect apps that are my current favorites to use
Photo by Ryland Dean on Unsplash
Every once in a while, I get the urge to try something new on my computer, which most often results in me switching out most of my productivity apps, such as my calendar, e-mail client, and more. A few apps usually survive this purge, but this year, my calendar app and browser did not. I also found a new PKM system. So, let’s dive into these three apps and why they are my favorites to use right now.
Screenshot from www.amie.so
Amie is a calendar app that also incorporates your to-do list and a basic e-mail client. However, there are many calendar apps with some additional functions, so what prompted me to swap to Amie?
Screenshot from www.amie.so
First and foremost, the design, look and feel of their app. Amie feels joyful. It seems inviting and clean. Whenever I open the calendar app, I am still amazed by how nice the user experience is, which is not in small parts due to the incredible user interface.
However, Amie has much more to offer than just good looks. What really hooks me with Amie is the fact that my to-do list is built into my calendar app. Going further, Amie encourages you to assign specific times when you’ll do these tasks, blocking them on your calendar. This combination is incredibly potent for me and has really helped me get stuff done. It makes it much easier to stick to your to-do’s if there is already a time assigned to actually do them. The to-do list feature is even more amazing because Amie allows integrations from other apps. Hence, if you’re using another to-do list app like Things or Todoist, you can have Amie import your to-do’s from there.
Last, and for me, least, Amie also has an e-mail client built in. Even though the feature is a nice touch, I can’t say I use it all too often. It is useful to reply to your colleagues or smaller mails quickly, but I prefer the full functionality of a complete e-mail client.
This also brings me to Amie’s imperfections. The app was released to the public on January 24, 2024, and sometimes this is notable. In about six weeks of using it, I dealt with two or three outages in their system. This meant I had to check my calendar via another app or online, which is highly suboptimal. Also, despite the fantastic look and feel of the app, it has a higher learning curve than other calendar apps I have tried. There are many features that you only find out about after using Amie for a few weeks or scrolling through their (excellent) website again.
Amie has two plans: a free plan and a pro plan. I am on the pro plan, which costs $15 monthly, which is not a small sum by any measure. However, I firmly believe the pro plan is worth it because you can take full advantage of all of Amie’s capabilities with integrations and e-mail. Furthermore, you support the app’s development, which I feel is really visible with frequent updates and new features.
Verdict: Even though the $15/month is quite steep, I won’t be switching to another calendar app soon. The fantastic design, great features, and availability on Mac and iPhone hooked me on Amie. However, I look forward to the moment when the app is entirely stable and I understand its capabilities even more.
Get amie.
Screenshot from www.mymind.com
Mymind is a personal knowledge management system that leverages the power of AI to help you save knowledge in an easy and unobtrusive way.
Screenshot from www.mymind.com
I have been intrigued by creating a second brain ever since I got into notion and notion templates by better creating. However, friction is my biggest enemy when creating such a system. So when I recently came across Mymind, I was convinced to establish a knowledge base.
Mymind is amazingly simple and intuitive to use. You can save whatever you like—a picture, website, article, book, and more—and the AI algorithm tags the content. With their browser extensions and mobile app, saving something is also extremely convenient. Due to the AI tagging, Mymind has no folders, and whatever you put in is just a quick search away.
So far, the system has mostly been working for me. I believe I’m still figuring out some tricks to feed something into Mymind the best way, but it certainly tags things and makes them accessible again. Furthermore, I can add tags when saving them to Mymind, making entries even easier to find. However, it is not without fault. Mymind’s tagging can be a bit finicky sometimes, as about 5% of entries will be put into the wrong category, or the AI will apply only very few tags. When it works as intended, though, it is pure joy.
Saving all your stuff to an app might be risky, but that is where Myminds’ “Manifesto” comes in. The app promises that there is no tracking, no ads, no social features, and more. It is a very refreshing approach in the current digital landscape. It also leads to the question of how it is financed, to which the answer is a subscription.
They currently have two plans: the student of life for $6.99/month and the mastermind for $12.99/month. The mastermind is also available as a yearly plan, which saves you about $25 a year compared to paying the monthly plan. The plans offer some creature comfort features, but most importantly, they allow you to add unlimited entries to your knowledge base.
Verdict: Even after just using Mymind for about ten days, I already use it as a tool to gain inspiration for projects with stuff I saved. It is the first PKM program that has captivated me for longer than a day, and its privacy focus makes it an easy recommendation for anyone trying to build a PKM.
Get Mymind
Screenshot from www.arc.net
Arc is a chromium-based browser that combines privacy features with a refreshing approach to browsing.
Screenshot from www.arc.net
I’ve been using Safari as my default browser for the past five years at least. Something about its seamless integration into the Apple ecosystem makes it hard to leave it. However, Chrome is the default at my work, so I found myself in a pickle. After switching back and forth for about half a year, I discovered AArcand was hooked within minutes.
First of all, Arc is a fresh take on how a browser can work. Having a sidebar instead of everything grouped at the top is not revolutionary but highly appreciated for creature comfort. Being able to pin your most visited websites and web applications to the top is a great detail. Customizing color, etc., to your liking is another nice touch. Migrating from both Safari and Chrome is super easy and is a game changer.
Arc is also very joyfully designed, making it a joy to customize and play around with. However, the browser company team went beyond cosmetics to create Arc. For example, splitscreen within the browser, which is incredible and has changed my workflow considerably. Their small built-in AI features are also super cool. Furthermore, their Spaces concept declutters bookmarks and tab groups alike. Spaces allow you to create specific “spaces” within AArctailored to you. I organized mine according to various areas in my life, e.g., general, academic, work, etc. Spaces can share a profile (where your accounts are saved) or use different ones, making them highly useful.
Arc’s performance is also outstanding, and I have not encountered any browser issues so far. However, it is not all sunshine and rainbows, especially coming from such a neatly integrated browser as Safari. Even though the browser company has a companion app for mobile, Arc Mobile, synching between devices is still a bit tedious sometimes.
Verdict: For anyone trying to find an alternative to Chrome, Arc should be a no-brainer. Great performance, great features, and some smart innovations—what more can you ask for from a new browser?
Get Arc
Let me know in the comments which apps are your favorites, and as always,
stay safe,
Raffael
