The Productivity Stack I Actually Use as a Tech Blogger (After Testing 20+ Tools)

Muneeb Tariq — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 09:10:03 +0000

I run a productivity tools blog called Toollan, which means I've had a legitimate excuse to obsessively test every task manager, note-taking app, and focus tool I could get my hands on over the past year.

The embarrassing truth: I was less productive during the months I spent testing everything than I am now with a much simpler stack. There's a lesson in that.

This isn't a "here are 50 tools you should try" post. It's the honest answer to the question I get asked most: what do you actually use every day?

The Stack

Task Management: Notion (with one specific setup)

I know the Notion vs Trello vs ClickUp debate is endless. Here's my actual take after testing all three seriously:

Trello wins for simplicity. If your workflow is genuinely "cards moving through stages," Trello is faster to set up and easier for non-technical collaborators to use without training. I covered this in my Notion vs Trello comparison if you want the full breakdown.

ClickUp wins for feature depth. Built-in time tracking, Gantt views, custom automations — if you need those things, ClickUp's free plan is genuinely hard to beat. Detailed thoughts in my ClickUp vs Notion review.

Notion wins for flexibility. I use it because I want tasks, notes, and project documentation in one place with everything linked together. The setup time is real, but the payoff over months of use is worth it.

My current Notion setup:

One Tasks database with Board, Table, and filtered "Today" views
One Projects database linked to Tasks
One Notes database with bidirectional linking
A Home dashboard that surfaces Today's tasks automatically

I wrote the full setup guide at Toollan: How to Set Up a Notion Workspace.

Time Tracking: Toggl Track

No strong opinions here — Toggl Track just works. One-click timer, project tagging, clean weekly reports. For freelancers billing by the hour it's the most frictionless option I've tested. Free plan covers individual use completely.

I briefly tested Clockify as an alternative. Also solid. Also free. Pick either one and stop thinking about it.

Focus: Freedom + Forest (not simultaneously)

Freedom runs on a schedule — 9-11am every day, blocking social media and news sites across my laptop and phone simultaneously. The cross-device blocking is what makes it actually work. A laptop-only blocker just means you pick up your phone instead.

Forest I use only for specific tasks I'm avoiding. The gamified timer (you plant a tree, it dies if you leave the app) is gimmicky but genuinely effective for breaking the starting-resistance on tasks you've been putting off. Free version is fine.

I don't run both at the same time — that would be overkill. Freedom handles the background environment, Forest handles the specific moments of resistance.

Writing: Grammarly + Hemingway Editor

Grammarly runs passively via browser extension everywhere I write — WordPress, Notion, email. I barely notice it until it catches something. Worth paying for the premium version if you write professionally.

Hemingway Editor I use as a final pass before publishing anything important. It specifically catches overly complex sentences and passive voice that Grammarly misses. The web version is free. I compared it alongside ProWritingAid in my Grammarly vs ProWritingAid post if you want a deeper comparison.

AI: ChatGPT for drafting, Notion AI for processing existing notes

I've written about this comparison in detail — Notion AI vs ChatGPT — but the short version:

ChatGPT for anything that requires quality output: drafting, brainstorming, complex rewrites
Notion AI for anything that involves content already in my Notion workspace: summarizing meeting notes, extracting action items, generating outlines from rough notes

The tab-switching cost of going from Notion to ChatGPT is real but worth it for the output quality difference on tasks that matter.

Calendar: Google Calendar (used differently than most people use it)

I use Google Calendar exclusively for two things:

Time blocking — every piece of focused work gets a block, treated the same as a meeting
Hard stops — I have a "Laptop Closed" block at 6pm every day that's treated as non-negotiable

If it's not on the calendar, it doesn't get done. If there's no end time on the day, the day has no end.

Full breakdown of my Google Calendar system: How to Use Google Calendar to Boost Productivity.

What I Dropped (And Why)

Evernote — used it for five years, dropped it when the free tier became too restrictive. The web clipper is still the best in the industry, but Notion covers 90% of what I needed it for. Full comparison: Evernote vs Notion.

Obsidian — genuinely excellent for personal knowledge management and note linking, but I found I wasn't actually using the graph view as much as I expected. Currently using it only for personal reading notes, not work. My Obsidian vs Notion comparison covers the real differences.

Multiple to-do list apps — at one point I had Todoist, TickTick, and Microsoft To Do all installed. Consolidating everything into Notion's task database was one of the best simplifications I made.

The Actual Lesson

The most productive period of my year wasn't when I had the most sophisticated system. It was after I simplified to six tools and stopped tweaking.

Every tool you add is something you have to maintain, update, and make decisions about. The cognitive overhead is real. Six tools used consistently will outperform twelve tools used sporadically every time.

Pick the simplest stack that covers your actual needs. Use it for a month without changing anything. Then decide what, if anything, to add.

I write detailed, honest reviews of productivity tools at Toollan.com — task managers, note-taking apps, focus tools, and everything in between. No affiliate pressure, just hands-on testing.

If you found this useful, I'd love to hear what's in your actual stack in the comments.

DEV Community: Muneeb Tariq