Working as software developers, we are torn between so many different options for productivity tools, some coming as a default option from work (that we hate), other for personal project and time management (that we love). But the problem with using many different tools is that after some point it’s too hard to keep track of so many things in so many different places. Therefore, the easy answer is, choose one (!) tool and stick to it. But which one to choose then? Here I look at four tools which are hot this year.
Airtable grid view, mobile and desktop. Source: Kasra Kyanzadeh, Medium
Airtable
Think of it as Google sheets with more power - besides text and numbers, you can also input pictures, spreadsheets or other attachments. Plus you can also assign any of those to members of your team. Airtable offers different ways of looking at its tables, called Views. The standard is the grid, but you can switch to form, calendar or gallery. Airtable also offers a Kanban board view, which works just like Trello. What’s nice about Views is that you can have, say, two grid views with different filters set up in them. Say, one view will only show you the “To Do” status records, or things that are waiting for your response, and you don’t have to dig through all cards al the time. Here’s a good explanation of Airtable filters, and using them to create your own mini-CRM tool. Airtable Forms are quite useful when you need to collect records.
Pricing
In Airtable, you get a personal one for free, with unlimited bases and the unlimited number of users. The parameters that you look at is the number of records, attachment space and revision history. You’ll be fine with free version while you’re under 1200 records. Yet, it becomes more expensive once you are ready to start using their Pro version that has Blocks, which becomes necessary after a while - $20 user/month.
Bottom line
Excellent for people who think spreadsheets first as a database management tool. And with an API, it integrates well with GitHub via Zapier. Thus could be a good fit for software developers or admins who like to view all the pull requests in one good-looking table.
“Fear not when you hear people say something like I use this app for my calendar, this another one for project management and another yet for my To-Do lists. This is likely a disaster waiting to happen”
Coda
Does not take much time to learn since it’s very much like Google sheets, yet requires a bit more time to set up than Notion. In the latter, it is a somewhat steeper learning curve, to begin with, but once you know what you’re doing it becomes easier to maintain. Its benefit is a strong community alongside a rather instructive help center, which is crucial when you are starting with a new tool. The API integration is quite impressive and supports Slack, Gmail, gitHub, Jira and Figma, among other tools. An important feature in Coda that can save you a lot of time is automation. It is, essentially a no-code block that allows your docs to send an email or post Slack notifications.
Pricing
In the free plan, you can create up to 50 objects (sections, tables and views, controls, and formulas) and 1000 rows per doc. The quota of automations you get free is “low” - 35 time-base and 100 of row changes per doc, per month. Still, a rather impressive set of capabilities for a free plan.
Bottom line
Perfect for Google Sheets lovers and a great mobile app (yet I still have to do the in-depth cross-testing mobile apps for all four products).
Quip desktop and mobile. Source: fileswin.com
Quip
This tool came out of an idea of replacing your endless emails with a tool that combines it with docs, sheets, tasks and chat in one app. Since it’s provided by Salesforce, you need to be willing to shell out for somewhat hairy user experience. But it does what other tools do, and integrates well with GitHub through Zapier. A great feature is that you can see content collaboration in real-time, giving you a nice Google Doc feeling of being in the thick of it as it happens.
Pricing
Web, desktop and mobile app start from $10/month per user. Definitely, an investment to consider beforehand.
Bottom line
Quip’s popularity might be best explained by the fact that it’s been around for eight years, and is pretty much an industry standard. Having briefly Googled around, I couldn’t find any reasons to start using it in the present when you have less costly alternatives. I’m including it in this review though, as Quip might come as an option from your work, in which case the pleasant experience of using it might outweigh any frustrations you’d have with Salesforce, which it is likely going to be tugged along with.
Notion desktop and mobile. Source: share.tenten.co
Notion
Notion is a tool designed with all-encompassing knowledge management in mind. It shines at creating good looking documentation pages (Blocks). This means that you can compose tables, texts and Kanban boards in the same way as in the other three tools. It also allows adding more content into each record. Keep in mind though that there won’t be a way to move records with extra data into another tool. Sharing looks easier than in AirTable - you simply place blocks in and out of the “shared” section in your file list.
Pricing
Another reason to choose Notion over other tools is that it’s cheaper than other tools. Now it’s even more true, as the free version comes with unlimited objects. For $4 for Notion Personal Pro you’d additionally get unlimited guests and version history. There’s also an API for automations coming up soon in Pro, too. The only reason you’d want to upgrade to Team account is if you need to create workspaces shared with other members of the team ($8 per month per user).
Bottom line
Covers pretty much everything that Airtable, Coda and Quip do. Crucially, it’s a good bang for the buck.
“Any software you stick will have irritating features, but the amount of time you save trying to remember where you saved what is paying you back much more”
Conclusion
Notion by far is the winner since it will allow you to both manage your tasks and organise the data. So if you don’t have any particular system at the moment, this looks like a good place to start. Remember, whichever software you choose, it is not going to be perfect for everything. But the best strategy to keep yourself sane is to choose one and stick to it for as long as you can, two-three years at least, or more. If you do need to change, you need to have a serious reason, like a major work-life event. For example, you go from being a student to a full-time freelancer. Or you undergo a complete career change. Fear not when you hear people say something like I use this app for my calendar, this another one for project management and another yet for my To-Do lists. This is likely a disaster waiting to happen. Every time you need to find something, it’s usually not going to be where you think it is. Who needs to spend ages browsing through all these apps to find it, when you can have just one? Any software you stick will have irritating features, but the amount of time you save trying to remember where you saved what is paying you back much more. Particularly in the long term.
