Google-Workspace
Switching to Proton or similar alternatives is much harder than I thought
Proton has come a long way since I first tried it, but…
The last time I was a Proton subscriber, it was known as ProtonMail, and the calendar feature was still in beta. They have come a long way since then, but for a while, I have been putting off giving it another try. However, the current situation of the world is an invitation to do exactly that.
Based on my early experience, I knew that ProtonMail would work perfectly for me, as I could set up my domain name and the aliases I currently use. That’s why my initial plan was to try the other features first, starting with the calendar. If things go well, I can move away from Google Workspace, which I have been using since 2015.
My first task was to create two calendars: personal and work. Everything went exactly as expected, including the synchronization with the Android app, which, by the way, also offers a minimalist yet useful widget.
Import and export
I don’t remember this option in the menu before, but as I said, it has been a long time since I’ve been there. Anyway, clicking on “Import from Google” revealed three options: Emails, Contacts, and Calendar.
I kept only the Calendar option checked, but I couldn’t go past the Google Authentication page. This issue was probably related to the Obsidian Web View feature (aka, browser) I was using, so it was time to switch to Google Chrome. Problem saved, the connection was established and everything looked fine until… Well, my Google Calendar database was apparently too big for the free account storage, and the process was aborted.
Fine, I moved on to trying the import feature on my contacts, which ended up highlighting another problem I now remember having had in the past.
Although it is possible to start a call from a contact inside the ProtonMail app, there’s no Contacts app for Android. And as far as I could understand, the alternative is to import the contacts from the ProtonMail app to the Android address book. But since this will not keep both apps in sync, it will forever be an inconvenience, as new contacts will have to always be added to both apps. If you know of other options, please let me know in the comments below.
Proton Alternative
A friend suggested Infomaniak, which has a different approach to the above. The kSync app synchronizes Contacts and Appointments with the Google apps we already use on Android. I ran some tests and it works!
Although I haven’t tried it yet, I noticed that there’s also a way to synchronize emails, calendars, and contacts with the corresponding Mac apps. Another point in favor of them is the fact that there’s a videoconferencing tool. Not to mention that it is a cheaper option when compared to Proton. At least I thought so.
But one detail that I cannot stop thinking about is who came up with the Infomaniak name.
Another aesthetic detail to consider is the user interface. It’s not intuitive, and even the dark mode has too much color to it. Proton feels much more comfortable to use.
Too Good to be True?
They are also a Swiss-based company and offer a 30-day free trial, which I enrolled in to fully try the service. And that’s when I faced a major roadblock.
After spending hours on this, I think I finally got it. To have a custom domain, one has to also pay for the “Custom Brand” service. There’s even a “Custom Brand + kSuite” offer for 6.21€ per user/month.
Anyway, I contacted support to make sure my understanding is correct and will update this post when they reach back to me. After all, there’s a 3.99€ per month Proton offer that covers everything I need. Well, not exactly everything. I need videoconferencing, and I’m still puzzled by the annoying Contacts app problem.
PS. Believe it or not, the above is how I spent the majority of this Sunday.
I use Evernote, Obsidian, and others. Why isn't one app good enough?
Not all applications in my Toolbox are incorporated into my personal workflows.
There are two groups of apps in my Toolbox. First, there are the ones I use in my workflows and to help my clients. The second group consists of apps that I don’t use. They are options for my clients that are regularly selected from the numerous tests and experiments I’m constantly doing. Occasionally, they are also featured on my YouTube channel.
The Mighty Trio
For example, Trello, which I don’t personally use, is one of my preferred options when it comes to helping companies build workflows. My clients usually don’t have much time and don’t want to spend it with settings. They appreciate how simple and intuitive it is to understand and use Trello.
In other words, the team doesn’t waste time during the implementation of the new process or, after that, in production. Furthermore, it typically takes me only five online sessions to assist small business in establishing their workflows, acquiring knowledge of Agile and Kanban principles, and applying them to Trello.
The same is true for Evernote. I am constantly approached by CEOs and managers, who are overwhelmed with the amount of time they are wasting with all the possible configurations apps like Notion offer.
The fundamental components of Evernote, namely notes and notebooks, require minimal effort to understand and use. Then there’s the outstanding search. Give busy people a way to quickly find information, even in a messy environment, and they’ll be forever grateful.
Its simplicity is still unmatched today. That’s why I still use Evernote for many things, especially the ones related to the calendar, even though I’ve been using Obsidian a lot. More on that soon.
Its powerful search is also very much appreciated. For instance, if someone contacts me, and I’m not sure if we’ve met before, I’ll search for their email address on Evernote looking for notes related to past interactions. This is something I frequently do and it’s magical.
More recently, I moved my tasks back to Evernote to try two new features. The full-screen view and tasks on the calendar.
Then there’s Google Workspace, which is equally easy to use and intuitive. But that doesn’t make it less powerful. The real-time collaboration it offers is unparalleled and almost unbreakable. When you add in the fact that documents can be linked to Evernote, Trello, and so many other services, it’s a truly unique product. Sometimes it even works as a bridge between apps.
Many of my clients, from different industries, adopt a variation of a workflow that starts with outlines on an Evernote note and resources clipped into a notebook. When the time comes, a Google Doc is created and linked to that note. These two simple steps ensure that the research material, outline, and draft of the final document are all easily accessible.
Eventually, the document reaches a stage where more team members are required to collaborate on it, and it is now shared on a Trello board. Other times, it is shared on Slack, instead of Trello. And that’s fine because the document is always the same. No matter where it is, everyone will be able to work on it while Google’s real-time editing will be doing its magic.
It’s also a matter of taste. Like many of my clients, I simply cannot stand all the buttons and so many settings on Microsoft products. I’ve been a happy Workspace user since 2015 and have no intention of leaving anytime soon.
These apps are formidable, as they are all intuitive and work seamlessly together. I can’t remember how many companies I helped with this trio.
Obsidian
Some of you may recall the series of videos I made about moving the files I had in Evernote to Google Drive. That idea came from Obsidian, which I started using long before Evernote was acquired by Bending Spoons.
My written content has many media elements. Sometimes it is a thumbnail like the one you see in this article, other times it’s a clip that I plan to use in a future video. Sure, all these files can be added to Evernote, but there’s no easy way to work on them out of the note.
The thumbnail in this article, for instance, was initially created on Pixelmator before being converted to a JPG. And that is an ideal use case for Obsidian, which keeps notes and all files in our computer files system. We can access and use them from Obsidian or from the computer file system. It doesn’t matter. In other words, I can include the thumbnail in a note, like the one I created for this article, and, at the same time, edit it using whatever app I wish.
While we are discussing this topic, I have always had the desire to post directly from Evernote, but I was never able to find the proper solution. That’s not the case anymore. For a while now, all my articles and short posts start their lives as a note on Obsidian, which brings us to another tool I love.
Micro.blog is now my hub from where I manage all my online presence. It’s a great tool and there are many videos about it on my channel.
Another interesting workflow is the draft of my next book, which I can write on Obsidian and synchronize with Scrivener. Again, that’s only possible because of how Obsidian notes and files are stored on our computers.
I believe you got the point. I’m using Obsidian for all file-related workflows.
Workflow as a Concept
Since English is not my primary language, I frequently require assistance from technology. LanguageTool is my grammar and spelling tool of choice, particularly because it’s a European company with a strong privacy policy. Sadly, there is no Android app available, but that’s okay since most of the time I’m writing on a computer. Which brings us to a workflow I established for my writing.
As you can see in this video, LanguageTool saves temporary or permanent texts. When I have an idea, I create a permanent text, work on it for days, weeks, months or for as long as it takes, then I paste it to Obsidian, format it, and publish it on my blog from there. The last step is adjusting the text saving format to temporary, which will automatically delete it from LanguageTool after a few days.
That’s what I call a Workflow as a Concept. You don’t need to use a Kanban board or an app to plan and keep track of all the stages. If the process is clear to you, a simple temporary-permanent text setting will suffice.
Hardware
I recently started using a Supernote, and similar to what I described above, it is now part of a Workflow as a Concept. I don’t know why it happens, but very time I come back from a run, I have this storm of ideas that I have to write down.
Writing all of that on my computer or phone was never a viable option. There’s too much friction. What I do now is grab the Supernote and take notes with tags that will help me filter that information in the future. Sometimes it’s just an outline, other times it’s a sentence or two.
I’m in love with how simple and efficient this is and will soon talk about it on the Supernote series on my YouTube channel.
And talking about running, my watch of choice is a Garmin Instinct 2. I stand for all the reasons I listed in the 2-year-old video below. The only complaint I have is something I found out much latter. Its battery is not replaceable. And although it’s still averaging 20 days in between charges, a sealed device is something that makes no sense in today’s world.
There are, of course, more software like Firefox, Signal, Final Cut, Apple Motion and others, but this article is already too long, and I’d say the above are the ones that really make my workflow flow.
Google Tasks is just too convenient not to use
I had already moved my Evernote tasks to Obsidian with the help of the Tasks plugin, but I found out that Google Tasks was a better fit for my needs.
Even though I don’t like tasks, if you check out my videos about Evernote Tasks, you’ll see that I had a system in place for birthdays, bills, and other paperwork for my company. For everything else, I always use Kanban boards.
Similar to many other journeys I shared with you in the past, this one is also about experimenting and finding the best option for my specific needs. As I always say, it’s more important to [[vladcampos.com/Timeline/Blog/2020s/2024/2024-01-10 • There’s no such thing as the perfect App or a magical template|create a good system that works for you than to try to find a magical app]].
Did you know?
Although the Android and iOS apps were available from the very beginning, it used to be that the task drawer (1) was the only way to interact with your to-dos in a browser. That changed a while ago. You can also use Tasks as standalone application by clicking the icon at the top of the screen (2) or visiting tasks.google.com.
All the features are identical, but the dedicated page is more visual. You can reorder lists or move tasks to different positions in a list or to different lists. It behaves more like a Kanban board, but that’s not the reason I switched to Google Tasks.
Another important piece of information to keep in mind is that it doesn’t matter how many lists you create or delete; the first one provided by Google will always be the default list. You can rename or reorder it, but there’s no way to delete the default list. More on that latter.
Why have I switched?
There are many reasons. Let’s start with the fact that I have Google Assistant devices all over my home and office, and that makes it super easy for me to create tasks hands-free. There is a caveat, though. All tasks created this way will be saved in the default list. And because of this detail, I had to make a small modification to my system. We’ll get there.
Another convenient feature is seeing my tasks on the Hub Max. It recognizes my face when I look at it and shows my upcoming calendar entries and tasks. And that’s not all. I can even use the touchscreen to see more tasks and mark them as completed.
Then there is my Android phone, where I can also interact with the assistant using voice commands, even when I’m jogging. And, of course, I can use the widget to see what tasks are coming up.
These features are too convenient to ignore.
My system
I only have two lists. The first one is called Activities and it’s all about recurring dates. To understand it, I invite you to watch the video below, even if you are not an Evernote user. That’s the exact system that I have transferred to Obsidian and am currently using on Google Tasks. Including the emojis 😉.
Regarding the other list, it is the default list, even though it is ordered as the second one in my system. Everything I need to buy, from groceries to items for woodworking and other similar projects, goes on that list. It must be the default list because, more often than not, I ask Google Assistant to add items there.
I don’t know why, but at the time of writing this article, there’s no way to make another list the default one. I have learned this the hard way, but you don’t need to. Plan ahead and figure out what kind of tasks you’ll be asking the Assistant to add more often. That should help you with your default list.
Activities is the list I want to always keep an eye on, and that’s why it’s the first one. Every time I open the calendar, I see it. As for the other one, I only need it when I’m shopping and can easily open Google Tasks on my phone to check the items.
But what if I told you that I never open the Tasks app on my phone? Each list has its own widget, which allows me to view the tasks, mark them as completed, and even create new ones. Again, Google Tasks is too convenient to ignore.
One thing I’m always trying to do is remove potential complications from my systems. In the past, I tried splitting shopping items into a grocery list and a projects list, but that only added more friction to the system, as I had a third list to deal with. Since I rarely have a lot of items to buy, my human brain is capable enough to easily tell what is what on the Shopping list.
Naturally, the number of items that have been completed on this that will increase exponentially, but that’s okay because they go to a collapsed space when marked as completed. However, if you really want a spotless list, the ‘Delete all completed tasks’ option will delete only the completed items on that list. So I can easily clean up my Shopping list without messing with my Activities list.
That’s it. As I said before, I manage everything else using Kanban boards because they give me a much better view of the status of each project. But that’s a story for another day.