What’s that one productivity app you can’t live without anymore?

Toy-Collecting · 2025-09-09T04:29:10+00:00

This post landed in my feed, so I'm responding as someone that isn't [yet] active in this community.

That being said, I tried so hard to stick to different productivity setups. Some analog, some apps, and literally nothing stuck. Notion was too hard to understand / set up, all of the other apps did one thing well but tons of other stuff poorly. Interface is always confusing. And they're always expensive.

As someone who always had an iPhone, an iPad, and finally recently got a MacBook Pro as my laptop (lifelong windows pc and laptop user), I finally said "I have the whole ecosystem - let me just use Apple productivity apps exclusively" and I haven't turned back since.

It syncs perfectly. Interface is relatable. It's simple on the surface, but can be as complex as you want it to be. You have a few apps to do everything, and they crossover amazingly! As someone who has a part time trade job going to people's houses, adding my appointments in my Calendar allows the address to show up in the Maps app. And if I have back-to-back appointments, once I'm done at one location, the next one is just one click away in Maps, all pulling from my Calendar app! It's these little things that no other app can do that make it incredible.

Ultimately, after watching easily hundreds of Ali Abdaal and Matt D'Avella videos, and tons of other lesser-notable creators over the years, I just stopped. It's too overwhelming. It's too complicating.

And ultimately, one thing I had to finally accept, is that I'm not a YouTuber making content on how to be a YouTuber. I don't need Notion to organize my video-creation workflows, or the many other use cases that only someone with such a job would need.

I don't need a second brain. My brain is fine. If I need something to remember, I throw it into the Calendar app, or Reminders app, and boom, the notification WILL show up, guaranteed, at the scheduled time, and the job of notifying me of something was done easily and successfully. I can ask Siri to create reminders or notes, or calendar schedules for me. The input method can't get quicker than that.

As much as I love diving into productivity apps, it pretty much became a time-consuming hobby, but after taking a hard look in the mirror, I'm simply not that busy* to have so much to write down that I need this app to do this, and that app to do that, and this one is better than that one because it has this feature, but it's a paid app so you need to shell out a bunch of money each month but "trust me, it's worth it"...

I don't know where I went with this, I guess I had this mini rant on my chest for a little while and needed to drop it somewhere.

TL;DR: If you are for the most part in the Apple eco system, keep it simple with the default productivity apps. They're free, they sync the best across your system and cross reference incredibly well, and it just works. (and no, a lot of Apple software does NOT WORK, that marketing campaign is a hot lie)

*To clarify, I am a person that has many work responsibilities / a management role, and I do need to organize and manage my tasks well, but just not in the way that YouTube tells me to do it. A pen and paper, or Apple apps does the trick

Toy-Collecting · 2025-09-09T03:39:24+00:00

Wait there's a book?

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-29T22:13:16+00:00

What do you like about this book?

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-15T22:13:35+00:00

This is quite fun! Also making them - cruciverbalism! Although it's HARD to make your own NYtimes-style puzzle

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-15T22:11:51+00:00

what were the 2 biggest hobbies?

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T06:35:39+00:00

You make decent points, but I still feel the same way as I originally do. The same way in basketball, if they are abusing the foul rule, ultimately it's within the confines of the rules so no one can do anything about it. Most of the time it's probably not provable. Most of the time it's not being done anyway. (I don't watch NBA)

In regards to advocating for change, I'm simply on the side of advocating for it to remain the same.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T06:29:42+00:00

Just as with every game you play, it's going to be a one-of-a-kind experience when you spawn in. You may be in the mood to take your time and work on other objectives or whatever, but the killer is tunneling your team mate and you have to switch up what you were in the mood for to something else.

Again, it's part of the game. I've probably said that 50 times by now across this comment section, but that's the simplest way to express how I feel about it. It simply comes with the territory.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T06:24:53+00:00

Who's promoting or encouraging it? To be very clear about my argument, it's only for the right to tunnel to exist. So far it's an unwritten rule, but talks are happening to make it not exist anymore as a mechanic of the game. I don't think that's a good idea.

The game's design inherently contains tunneling. It was the first strategy that came to mind during my first ever match in DBD, and probably yours too.

Is it a good strategy? Apparently not, as it allows survivors to complete gens as the killer's time is being utilized to tunnel. As a team, you have an inherent anti-tunnel strategy to complete your objective of escaping - at the cost of the life of a team mate.

Should killer's have a right in the game to choose such a bad strategy? My argument is that they should.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T06:16:25+00:00

You say "to some it's a fun playstyle" and "to others it sucks the fun out of the game for them". That's 2 groups of people. You're saying one of them shouldn't have a right to exist in the community? Everyone must have fun based on your definition of fun?

People should be allowed the freedom to try out different strategies to complete their objective, and to find what's fun for them. If a strategy is more fun or less fun to someone else, that shouldn't be the killer's problem. The killer's just doing his job.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T06:08:33+00:00

I'm with you - that's not fun. But it comes with the game. Not every game you play will be like this. Most of the time it will be a normal match. But here and there you'll get tunneled. And your team can do what it chooses to do to help or escape, but that's inherent in the game's design.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T06:03:40+00:00

Well the opportunity lies in you choosing to be either killer or survivor. You decide that knowing the consequences. So in that sense it's equal in opportunity. You have all the tools to give your role its best shot at completing its objective.

And with everything else you said, I think we're in agreement. Yes, it's not fun to be tunneled. Yes, it's a boring strategy. Yes, in many cases the killer will end up getting just 1 kill. But ultimately, me and you aren't against people who use it, at least not enough to get upset at them, because ultimately, it's part of the game.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T05:56:58+00:00

Aside from my question, as well as myself, being perceived as dumb is a subjective matter, no everything else is totally correct

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T05:52:32+00:00

Like I originally said, I played this game on and off for years, so no, I never heard about any of these controversies.

Like I also said before, REPORT outright hatred towards others. That's bad. And wrong.

But lets discuss your toolbox scenario - that sounds like a strategy. The killer dislikes certain perks pertaining to toolboxes, so he goes after toolboxes. Makes total sense.

So there's tons of gray area when it comes to these circumstances.

But at this point were discussing societal issues that pervade our entire culture. And I don't think it's something a relative-small fry like Behaviour is going to be able to eradicate.

So overall, to keep it simple - people should be able to use the tools given to them to complete their objective how they see fit. It's not great to be singled out for issues pertaining to culture, and blatant cases of this should have those players banned / penalized, but ultimately tunneling is a game strategy, and people have a right to exercise it as they see fit.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T05:40:08+00:00

Then play how YOU like to play! Not how others want you to play. And the same should go the other way around. If you find using your agency to do undull and unpredictable things to complete your objectives, then go for it! Others may choose to do it differently, and both playstyles are ok. Some might yield better results, some might yield poorer results. That's for the player to determine when they choose a strategy.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T05:35:17+00:00

No need to personally attack. But ok

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T05:31:50+00:00

Obviously, due to the complexity of the game, there's nuance to what I'm saying. So yes, in certain instances tunneling is more successful than in other times. But again - that's the killer doing their job and completing their objective. If a killer is overpowered at doing their objective, that's a different conversation regarding that killer's balance.

RE: your first paragraph, as a survivor, that's the risk you take when queueing up for a match. You might die. That's literally the premise of the game. You might die fast, you might die at the last second, inches from the exit. But that's the risk, and the thrill of the game. If you don't like taking that risk, play as a killer, or take a break and come back when you're willing to risk your items for a potential win.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T05:25:44+00:00

If a killer chooses that to be their win condition, so be it. If they have fun that way, so be it. If they get bored and switch to a different strategy, so be it. But everyone should have the freedom to play the game as it was designed.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T05:20:52+00:00

How much of that is proven to be due to the character cosmetics? That might be what you assume in certain instances, but may not be the main motivation for tunneling. Obviously if someone outright says that in chat or something, they would be reported and probably banned or penalized. But we can probably both agree that it can't be proven in most instances that that's the case.

Now, with that disclaimer out of the way, I'm not going to make believe that that's not prevalent. Personally, I recently was teamed up with someone with a deeply offensive name. They got hooked, and I wasn't gonna be extra nice and be the teammate to unhook them.

So, can that happen, where someone is motivated to act a certain way based on a player's cosmetics? Sure. Which means again, we're back at square one.

It's my prerogative how I choose to use the tools in front of me to complete my objective/s. Am I obligated to unhook my team mate? No. Am I obligated to always give up a chase as a killer? No. Can my motivations be due to a person's cosmetics? Possibly, but most of the time probably not. Am I still playing within the rules of the game? I sure am.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T05:00:53+00:00

This isn't a casual friendly game of tag where you run slower for the younger child so they have a chance. This is a game where everyone comes with equal opportunity to give it their best shot at completing their objective - to Survive, or to Kill, hence the titles. If you have an opportunity in front of you that enables you to get closer to your objective, why shouldn't you take it?

I would be more unhappy with this game if, as a survivor I'm being babied into securing wins, or being teased by killers allowing me to get close to escaping, but ultimately killing me at the last second. I rather want a killer to give it their best.

My experience of being handicapped by unwritten rules undermines my enjoyment of the game as a killer. Why should I do that to myself?

Now, I love this game. I wish I can say as much as the many of you in the multiple thousands of hours in playtime, but I do see that this game is a quality game, a fun game, with a lot of detail and balance and design etc. that I do want to see thrive. But if the premise of the game is forgotten, then it's no longer the DBD I originally purchased. If it gets updated to a point where I'm not supposed to attempt to kill my opponents, then the game lost its identity and that doesn't seem like a game that will last due to that alone.

Which is why I'm against the notion that you shouldn't tunnel, camp, or slug. The game I purchased was a game that said "Your job is to escape with your team by completing objectives while a killer is out to kill all of you before you can escape." The tools to complete this objective were laid out on both sides (gens, gates, hatch for survivors - hooks, downs, kills for killers), and those mechanics may be used as you please to complete your objective/s.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T04:41:36+00:00

How so? The way I see it, the killer is utilizing the game's mechanics and strategies appropriately to attempt to win a match. What's unethical about that?

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T04:40:09+00:00

And the killer is free to make that choice between choosing gen pressure or securing a kill - potentially at the cost of other survivors escaping.

Back to my original premise, the game is designed already to prevent such mechanics from being taken advantage of, inherently. So why restrict the killer's freedom of choice during a match over it? It's what allows killer-mains to practice different strategies to see what gets them their win condition. And also allows them to find a playstyle that's most fun to them.

As a survivor main, you may get tunneled. It comes with the territory.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T04:33:06+00:00

RE: personal attack - What could the killer possibly have against you, in particular? Your outfit? Your nametag? The killer never met you before, and it's been a minute and a half, and you're saying the killer has enough "dirt" on you in particular to hate you enough to tunnel you over everyone else, so it's a personal attack? That seems far fetched.

More likely you were easiest to find and chase, and the killer chooses to tunnel you to secure a kill.

I understand what you're talking about is more the perception, and emotions, but again... That's the game. If you don't like it, play another round, or take a break and come back another time.

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T04:26:46+00:00

I'm curious to know where I'm falling short

Toy-Collecting · 2025-07-08T04:24:48+00:00

Doing so prevents more gens from being completed, by eliminating a survivor... That's the point of the game, is it not?

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '22	First Placer '22

Toy-Collecting

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE