Obsidian is a notes app that stores everything as plain text files on your own device. People love it for linked notes and a huge library of community plugins. Many also use it for tasks, with checkboxes in daily notes and plugins that gather them into lists. For thinking and writing in linked notes, it is a solid choice.
Next Moves Lab asks nothing of you up front. There are no folders, templates or queries to build. You write down what is on your mind, and it hands back one task to do now, the reason it was picked, and a small first step.
The short version
- Obsidian is a solid pick if your notes are the center of your work and you enjoy shaping your own setup.
- Next Moves Lab is the better fit if your daily notes have turned into a long list of open checkboxes, and you want something to decide what comes first.
Side by side
Price
- Obsidian
- Free for personal use; Sync from $4 a month billed yearly
- Next Moves Lab
- $9.99 a month, 30-day money-back guarantee
Setup
- Obsidian
- Folders, templates, plugins and queries
- Next Moves Lab
- None; write down what is on your mind
Who decides the order
- Obsidian
- You, through your queries and notes
- Next Moves Lab
- It does, and shows you the reason
What you see
- Obsidian
- Checkboxes across your notes
- Next Moves Lab
- One task and a small first step; the rest waits in Later
Rules for your day
- Obsidian
- Built into your own system, if you build them
- Next Moves Lab
- Set once, like "no calls before 10", and followed every day
Follow-ups
- Obsidian
- You add them
- Next Moves Lab
- Suggested from what you finished; tap Yes or No
Unfinished tasks
- Obsidian
- Stay in the notes they came from
- Next Moves Lab
- Wait in Later until they make sense; only you remove one
When Obsidian is a solid choice
- Your work is mostly thinking and writing. Linked notes are Obsidian's real strength.
- You want your files on your own device. Obsidian keeps plain text files you control.
- You enjoy building your own workflow. Plugins let you shape it almost any way you like.
Where Next Moves Lab wins
- Nothing to maintain. There is no task setup to build, and nothing to fix when a plugin or a query changes. You add tasks in plain words and it does the rest.
- It decides, not just gathers. A query can collect your checkboxes into one list. Next Moves Lab looks at that list and hands you one task, with the reason it won, such as a deadline, your goal for the week, or a client waiting. You can swap the pick.
- Starting is easy. Each pick comes with a first step of a couple of minutes.
- Your week has a point. Set one goal for the week, and tasks that move it rank first.
- Today fits the day you have. Tell it your time and energy, and it sizes today to fit. At most three tasks are in play; nothing turns red and there are no overdue counts.
- Follow-ups come to you. Finish an invoice or a quote and it suggests the follow-up. You tap Yes or No. It never sends anything for you.
Using both
This is a natural pair. Keep Obsidian for notes and thinking. Copy the open tasks that matter this week into Next Moves Lab, and let it decide the order.
Common questions
Does it replace my notes?
No. It is only for deciding what to do next. Keep your notes where they are.
Do I need to tag or format my tasks?
No. Paste them in plain text, the way they sit in your notes, and it turns each line into a task.