org-mode and productivity

Question

I've already seen several times the org-mode application between applications for productivity, information processing, planning, note-taking etc.

I wonder what are the advantages of this application, what unique features does it bring to the user?

Has it some advantage to organize life in plain text? The mastering of this tool takes a lot of time. Will it be worth it?

Answer 1

I use org-mode a lot.

But you can really use the setup you want. I tried to use todo lists inside org-mode but I prefer other dedicated tools for my todos (like Omnifocus). Mainly for the easier capture tools and sync options those dedicated tools have.

But I use org-mode all the time to take notes on projects, books, ideas, write articles etc. I am quicker with org-mode because of all the emacs shortcuts and tools I already use while programming.

Answer 2

So my take on this is that this is the ideal bit of kit for those people who live their lives inside emacs - personally I'm cult of vim rather than church of emacs and I've got a lot of my project review stuff running as macros in there. But I think the point I might make here is the importance of small steps. It's my position that it is very hard to start using any system effectively from the get go - my impression of org-mode is that it would very much suit programmery types who already spent a lot of time in emacs and already use a text file todo list- for those people it gives some powerful new features and adoption is very easy - for other people the entry bar might be a little high…

Answer 3

I was a Vim user for 4 years now but org-mode caused me to change. Here's why:

• It's a text file !

No proprietary hooplah, No special (bloated) software needed to open and the ability to view it on practically ANY device with a screen. Did I mention it's cross-platform?

• It's small !

Not so much of a new point but an addition to the above. Because these are plain text files, their sizes are incredibly small. I can write all my notes of all my semesters of school in <1MB. Plus, I can use Dropbox or even better, Github (or BitBucket if you want to keep it private) for syncing with home and office computers.

• It supports LaTeX

If you are taking notes and it includes formulas and you are using some tool built for generic project planning/note taking; best of luck with formula writing.

• The sheer number of output modes available

C-c, C-e and you have options to export as PDF, HTML, Calender and what not ! If I write out mathematical notes, I can create a nice PDF for my use and a nice HTML (including the nice LaTeX markup for others to see)

• The breadth of use/Versatility

You want to take math notes? It can do it. You want to schedule meetings, set deadlines, create TODO lists, do some GTD, maybe even some pomodoro. Whatever it is. org-mode can do it.

• The community

Have a problem? I can assure you that you won't have it an hour later if you look into the documentation or the mailing lists. The community is just too awesome. (Although this seem biased, I wish to reiterate that I used {and still use to a large extent} Vim for coding)

• It's fast.

It's text based, it's emacs, it's fast. I read a joke somewhere that you can start emacs in org-mode and begin taking notes before your friend can say "Evernote". I personally love using it in emacs -nw in TTY mode so I work on one screen and there are no distractions and believe me, it's superfast.

• It's hard. But it's worth it.

After all, it's emacs. And no one can deny that emacs is pretty much raw infinite power in your hand. You can get started with org-mode in less than 10 commands and you'll do fine but if you invest in learning more, you'll never regret it.

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Some things which are NOT true about emacs org-mode:

• It is made for programmers.

Programmers have an easier time if they already use emacs. A person using Vim but has been coding for 50 years will have as much trouble learning it as a computer n00b. Certain things are off-putting for n00bs (especially who are used to nice GUI interfaces of iOS devices) but again, it's worth it. {Side note: It was more irritating to learn emacs after vim since I kept hitting ESC, :w every 2 minute only to find weird things happening}

• The era of text editors is over.

Not by a long shot. org-mode is 100% Open Source and Free. Even if the world stopped using text-editor altogether (I don't see this happening unless a Genocide of all *NIX users takes place), you can gladly keep using it. Also, org-mode isn't an unstable piece of open source software which has bugs every other day. It's VERY robust and for all things that normal people would do, it's practically unbreakable.

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Side Note: For people suggesting Vim's org-mode (VimOrganizer or vim org-mode), my experiences with them have not been great and there are many other reasons but that's beyond the scope of this answer.