What Emacs, Org Mode, and an old Blackberry taught me as a Gen Z

How did I get started with Emacs?

Overwhelmed during my internship

I was at the beginning of my internship at the start of the year. At that time, I was very stressed and overwhelmed for many different reasons. But then one day, I missed a very important appointment. As strange as it sounds, I was really devastated because I knew that with a little more organization in my life, I could have avoided this situation. Then I remembered that many people swear by Emacs “Org Mode” for personal management.

Started right away with Org Mode

To get started, I checked out the Emacs playlist from DistroTube to get started, focusing on his Org Mode video. It was really the first time I truly understood note taking. Before Org Mode, I had tried countless programs and tools, and it was always the same thing. After setting it up and customizing it with all the tools and plugins, I didn't know how to proceed. How should I write a note? Should I use folders? Which plugin should I use when?

Caveat: While using Emacs, I interpreted Emacs philosophy and approach as follows: Emacs is a very powerful tool that can be used to do many different things. Yes, you can use it for many things. Some say Emacs is an operating system, others say Emacs is so powerful that the only thing it lacks is a good text editor. But I can say that if you really commit some time to Emacs, it's the last tool that will ever get in your way. I've also learned a lot of new things through the Emacs community. Lots of new and really effective approaches to PMS, lots of different blog posts where people share their experiences on various topics related to Emacs, and much more. I also find the Emacs community to be very thoughtful and super friendly. I really enjoy being here and reading all the different posts.

Org Mode is a walled garden. And I love it

Org Mode is really powerful, I think you have to have used it to understand how powerful it is. Unfortunately, support outside of Emacs is very limited. I have tried many different approaches to further edit my Org Notes, but the tools and apps that exist did not appeal to me and, above all, they do not support legacy devices.

Utilizing “everything is just a simple text file”

A few months ago, I bought a Blackberry Classic with the intention of using it as a kind of “PDA” because I like typing on a keyboard. The devices hardly support any Android apps anymore, there are hardly any native apps left, and many modern websites don't even load due to JavaScript bloat. But what works surprisingly well are simple HTML files, and there is still a version of Conversations (XMPP) that works, even with notifications. So I took to heart the philosophy I learned from Emacs and Org Mode to utilize the advantages of protocols that have been proven over decades.

Current state on org-web

I am aware that there is already a project called org-web. However, it has not been actively developed for years. If anyone has a better name, feel free to suggest it to me :).

The following features are currently supported.

  • Get the status of the current agenda at a certain interval via XMPP

It is possible to enable and disable this feature.

  • Receive reminders as notifications for schedules.

Inspired by Thunderbird, where you receive a reminder 15 minutes before an appointment in your calendar.

  • Set an active time when you want to receive notifications

e.g. 08:00-22:00

  • Call up the current agenda via Org Web
  • Call up all existing Org files.
  • Edit and add headings/subheadings
  • First class support for git (automatic pull/push)
  • First class support for denote
  • Focus on HTML/CSS
  • Authentication system with a token

  • Will more features follow?

    Yes, definitely. The whole project is very opinionated based on my personal workflow. However, I would like to expand the whole project in the future. For example, the ability to create a wiki or publish Org Notes as a kind of blog post, and much more.

Tips and tricks for newcomers

In recent days, newcomers have increasingly asked whether they should use Emacs, whether they should use Obsidian instead, whether they should use Emacs with or without vim bindings, or whether Doom Emacs is good for beginners. I can only recommend starting with Emacs and seeing if it's right for you. Just like Neovim today, where the community has made it much more than a text editor, the same is true for Emacs. There are many great projects like Doom Emacs, Spacemacs, etc. that are tailored to us newbies. You can use Emacs with or without VIM bindings. It is possible to keep Emacs minimalistic or customize it to the fullest. Anything is possible! The important thing is to try it out. I know Elisp can look very strange at first. Also, not everyone wants to read through pages and pages of documentation. For example, I love consuming video content (with real meaning and substance!). For this, I can recommend Systemcrafters. He covers pretty much every topic and package you can do with Emacs. His videos are very comprehensive and go into great detail. I still enjoy watching his videos to get new inspiration and ideas. If you've gotten started with Emacs and you like tinkering, I can also recommend the user alphapapa. He has many cool and interesting packages that extend the functionality of Emacs and Org Mode.

I would be very happy to receive any questions or suggestions.

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