Why I ditched Notion as someone with ADHD (and what I use instead)

Notion has 100 million users, but many people look for a notion alternative that fits ADHD needs best note taking app for ADHD. Over half of Fortune 500 companies rely on it, a reminder that many teams search for a notion alternative that fits ADHD brains Notion vs Obsidian: which fits ADHD brains?. The company is valued at $10 billion, and for some teams a notion alternative can offer a leaner workflow. By any reasonable measure, Notion is a phenomenal success story, but a notion alternative can offer different strengths.

And yet here I am, a 45-year-old with ADHD, writing about why I couldn't make it work with Notion or where a notion alternative might fit.

I remember the exact moment I gave up. It was a Tuesday afternoon, and I had 47 browser tabs open, 12 Notion workspaces across various projects, and I was desperately searching for a note I'd made about a client conversation three weeks earlier. I knew I'd written it down. I'd been diligent. I'd created a beautiful database with custom properties for date, client name, project type, and status, but I still craved a notion alternative. I'd spent an entire Sunday afternoon building this system, only to realise I needed a notion alternative.

The note was there somewhere. Probably in the "Client Notes" database. Or was it in the "Meetings" workspace? Actually, I might have put it in "Quick Capture" first, hoping a notion alternative would present a simpler path later. Or possibly I'd created a linked database view in the project-specific page, and a notion alternative would have avoided the misstep. The possibilities were genuinely endless, and so was my frustration A guide to personal knowledge management for messy thinkers.

This is what decision fatigue looks like before you've even captured a thought What is a web clipper and do you actually need one?. For someone with ADHD, Notion's famous flexibility becomes a kind of prison, and a notion alternative could offer a simpler approach best note taking app for ADHD. Every action requires a decision. Where does this go? What template should I use? Which properties matter? Should this be a page or a database entry?

Here's what this article isn't: another "top 10 Notion alternatives" listicle where I enthusiastically describe 10 tools I've spent 15 minutes with each. I've read those articles. I've tried the tools they recommend. Most of them just give you Notion's complexity with a different logo best second brain app for memory and focus.

Instead, I want to talk honestly about why people are really looking for alternatives, what the different options actually offer, and what I've learned building my own solution after years of failure with every productivity tool on the market.

Why people actually look for Notion alternatives

If you read the official discourse about Notion alternatives, you'll see a lot of discussion about privacy concerns, vendor lock-in, and compliance requirements. These are legitimate reasons. 42% of enterprises cite cloud data security as a top challenge when evaluating a notion alternative. The average data breach costs $4.4 million according to IBM's 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report. Self-hosting has seen a genuine surge in 2025 as organisations seek more control over their data through a notion alternative.

But let's be honest about the real reasons most individuals are searching "Notion alternative" at 11pm on a Wednesday.

The tool is too complex Obsidian alternative. The feature set is overwhelming. There's a paralysis that sets in when you're staring at a blank Notion page and you have to decide whether this should be a table, a board, a gallery, a timeline, or a calendar view, or a notion alternative. And don't get me started on rollups, relations, and formulas.

I once spent three hours building the perfect project database in a notion alternative. Custom properties for priority, status, due date, effort estimate, and category in a notion alternative. Colour-coded labels. A Kanban view and a calendar view and a table view. I felt productive. I felt organised.

I wrote approximately zero words of actual content that day.

For the 4-5% of adults globally who have ADHD, this isn't just inconvenient. It's genuinely debilitating. ADHD affects our ability to process, assimilate, and organise information in a notion alternative. We struggle with task prioritisation and context switching. Research shows that people with ADHD must work longer and harder than their neurotypical peers just to stay on top of basic organisation.

Notion's flexibility, which is its greatest strength for many users, becomes a trap as a notion alternative. Every open-ended choice is another opportunity for distraction. Every customisation option is another rabbit hole. Sometimes the problem isn't that a tool lacks features. It's that it has too many.

The two types of Notion alternatives

When I started seriously researching alternatives, I noticed something interesting. There are fundamentally two different types of tools being offered as "Notion alternatives," and they're solving very different problems.

Type 1: Notion replacements

These tools are trying to match Notion's feature set. Coda, AppFlowy, AFFiNE. They offer the same building blocks: databases, wikis, nested pages, collaborative editing. The pitch is usually "Notion but open-source" or "Notion but self-hosted" or "Notion but cheaper."

If you love what Notion does but have concerns about privacy, cost, or vendor lock-in, these tools are genuinely useful. They're designed for teams and enterprises who want Notion's power with more control.

But here's the problem: if Notion's complexity was your issue, these tools probably won't help. Same flexibility, same decision fatigue, different branding.

Type 2: Different philosophy

The second category includes tools like Obsidian, Logseq, Anytype, and Ultrathink. These aren't trying to be Notion. They're solving a different problem entirely, usually focused on personal knowledge management rather than team collaboration.

The mental model is different. Instead of "workspace where we manage projects," it's "second brain where ideas connect." Instead of "what view should this data have," it's "just capture the thought."

For someone with ADHD who's drowning in Notion's options, this second category is often where the answer lies. Less power, more simplicity. Fewer features, more actual use.

Open-source and privacy-focused alternatives

Let me start with the tools that address the legitimate privacy and control concerns. If you're in an enterprise environment with compliance requirements, or you're simply uncomfortable with your notes living on someone else's servers, these options matter.

AppFlowy

This is probably the best open-source Notion clone. The block editor feels familiar. You get offline-first functionality. It's free and you can self-host.

The trade-offs are real, though. It's less polished than Notion. The community is smaller. Some features that are mature in Notion are still being developed. If you're willing to tolerate some rough edges in exchange for control and cost savings, AppFlowy is worth a serious look.

AFFiNE

AFFiNE combines a visual whiteboard with traditional pages, which is genuinely novel. Local-first architecture. Drawing capabilities built in rather than bolted on.

It's early stage, which means things change quickly and collaboration features are still coming. But if you want a tool that bridges diagramming and documentation, this is interesting.

Anytype

Anytype takes privacy to an extreme. No email required to sign up. Your data is encrypted and graph-based. They've built their entire pitch around anonymity and privacy-first design.

The navigation model is different from what you're used to, which means there's a learning curve. But for someone who's genuinely concerned about data sovereignty, Anytype is one of the most serious options available.

Docmost and BookStack

These are self-hosted wiki platforms. Full data control. Compliance-friendly. Designed for teams who need documentation that stays entirely within their infrastructure.

The downside is that you need technical capability to set them up and maintain them. If you're not comfortable with servers, these aren't for you.

If you want privacy without the technical overhead of self-hosting, it's worth noting that some tools, including Ultrathink, run locally on your device while still offering cloud sync. You get the convenience of accessibility everywhere without your raw notes sitting on someone else's server.

Feature-rich project management alternatives

Perhaps you're looking for a Notion alternative not because it's too complex, but because you need different collaboration features. Let me briefly cover the project management focused options.

Coda

Coda is probably the closest thing to Notion in terms of flexibility. You can build custom workflows, embed automations, and create tools that feel like bespoke software. For teams that need precisely this kind of power, Coda delivers.

ClickUp, Monday.com, and Asana

These are project management tools first and foremost. Task tracking, team coordination, timelines, and assignments. They're excellent at what they do.

What they're not excellent at: personal note-taking, quick capture, knowledge management. If you're searching for a personal tool because Notion felt overwhelming, these will almost certainly feel worse. More dashboards, more views, more team features you'll never use.

Airtable

Airtable is a database-first tool. If you're managing structured data, running business operations, or need spreadsheet-like functionality with a better interface, Airtable is powerful.

For quick capture and unstructured notes, it's the wrong tool entirely. This is a theme you'll notice: most "Notion alternatives" are designed for different use cases, not better versions of the same use case.

Key insight: if you're searching for a personal tool and you landed on one of these, you're probably looking in the wrong category. These tools have more features than Notion, not fewer.

Personal knowledge management alternatives

Now we're getting to the category that actually matters for people like me. Personal knowledge management tools operate on a different mental model than Notion. They're about building a second brain, not managing team projects.

Obsidian

Obsidian is the power user's favourite. Your notes are stored as local markdown files. There's a plugin ecosystem that can do almost anything. The graph view shows connections between ideas.

I tried Obsidian for six months. I installed 23 plugins. I built an elaborate daily notes system with templates and tags and linked references. I had a graph view that looked like a beautiful neural network.

I also spent more time configuring Obsidian than actually using it to think. For someone with ADHD, the DIY nature becomes its own problem. Obsidian can be anything, which means you have to decide what it should be. That decision never quite feels finished.

If you're technical, enjoy customisation, and find satisfaction in building systems, Obsidian might genuinely be perfect for you. But know what you're signing up for.

Logseq

Logseq is an outliner-based tool. Everything is bullet points. Daily notes are built in. Bidirectional linking works beautifully.

It's still in beta, which shows. And the specific workflow, where everything is an outline, isn't for everyone. If you naturally think in bullets and nested lists, Logseq will feel like home. If you don't, it will feel constraining.

Roam Research

Roam was the original "networked thought" tool that sparked this whole category. Bidirectional links and daily notes before they were trendy.

At $15 per month, it's expensive for a note-taking app. The UI feels dated compared to newer competitors. But if you're a researcher or writer with the budget, it remains a solid choice.

Here's the ADHD angle on all of these: they still require discipline and system-building. They're simpler than Notion in some ways, but they assume you have the executive function to maintain a coherent structure over time. For many of us, that assumption doesn't hold.

What I actually use (Ultrathink's approach)

After years of trying everything on this list, and failing at most of it, I built Ultrathink. Not because the world needed another note-taking app, but because my brain needed something that didn't exist.

The problem with "powerful tools" is that setup becomes a form of procrastination. I would spend weekends building systems instead of using them. The more options a tool had, the more time I spent optimising instead of capturing.

What I actually needed was embarrassingly simple:

Capture in under 3 seconds. If it takes longer than that, the thought is gone. ADHD working memory is brutal. Ideas appear and vanish like mist.

No decisions before saving. Where should this go? What category? What tags? I cannot answer these questions while also holding onto a fleeting thought. The answer needs to be "just save it, worry about organisation later."

AI handles organisation automatically. Not because AI is a buzzword, but because manual organisation is exactly the kind of boring, repetitive task that my ADHD brain refuses to do consistently.

Accessible everywhere without friction. A browser extension for when I'm reading. A desktop widget for when I'm thinking. Available instantly, not buried in a tab somewhere.

Actually lightweight. Not another application competing for my attention. Not another set of dashboards to check.

Here's how Ultrathink works in practice:

When I'm reading an article and I see something worth remembering, I highlight it and click the browser extension. Two clicks, done. The text is captured with the source URL automatically.

When I'm in a meeting and a thought strikes, I hit the desktop widget shortcut, type a few words, press enter. The thought is safe.

When I'm walking the dog and an idea for a feature appears out of nowhere, I pull out my phone, open the app, speak or type the idea, and it's captured before my brain moves on to wondering why that squirrel is so fat.

The AI summarises and links these captures automatically. I don't tag anything. I don't file anything. I just capture, and the system builds connections in the background.

Let me give you specific examples from the past week:

I was reading an article about language model architectures and had three ideas for features I want to build. Each one took about three seconds to capture via the browser extension. Total time: maybe 10 seconds. In Notion, I would have spent 10 seconds deciding which database the notes should go in.

I had a client call where they mentioned an issue with their current workflow. I typed a quick note in the desktop widget. Later, when I was planning our roadmap, the AI had already linked that note to our existing feature request about the same topic.

I was walking my dog (yes, this is a recurring theme) and suddenly realised how to solve a bug that had been bothering me for days. I captured it in under 5 seconds. The bug got fixed the next morning. Previous me would have trusted my memory and forgotten it by the time I got home.

I should be clear about what Ultrathink isn't. It's not a Notion replacement. It's not a project management tool. It's not designed for team collaboration. It's a personal knowledge capture tool built specifically for brains that work like mine.

I still use Notion for some things. Client project management, shared documentation, that kind of work. But Ultrathink is where my thinking lives. The random ideas, the connections, the fleeting insights that used to vanish into the ether.

How to choose the right alternative for you

If you've made it this far, you're probably wondering which tool is actually right for your situation. Let me try to make this practical.

Start with why you're leaving Notion:

Too complex / ADHD brain: Look at lighter tools with a capture-first philosophy. Ultrathink is designed for exactly this. Even a simple notes app might serve you better than something with Notion's flexibility.

Privacy and compliance concerns: Open-source, self-hosted options like Anytype, AppFlowy, or Docmost give you full control. Be prepared for more technical setup.

Team collaboration needs: Project management tools like ClickUp, Coda, or Monday.com might be better fits. These have less knowledge management capability but stronger team features.

Want Notion but free: Open-source Notion clones like AppFlowy and AFFiNE give you similar functionality without the subscription.

Personal knowledge management: Second brain tools like Obsidian, Logseq, or Ultrathink focus on individual thought capture and connection rather than team coordination.

Some questions to ask yourself:

Do you need collaboration, or is this tool for personal use? If it's personal, you probably don't need 80% of Notion's features.

Are you willing to self-host and configure things? If not, cross the self-hosted options off your list regardless of their other benefits.

Do you want power and flexibility, or simplicity and speed? Be honest. I spent years pretending I wanted power when what I actually needed was something I would use.

Is this for work projects or personal knowledge? The tools for these use cases are genuinely different, even if marketing makes them sound similar.

Here's a framework that took me years to learn: match the tool to your actual workflow, not your aspirational workflow. I used to pick tools based on what I thought I should be doing, then feel bad when I didn't use them properly. Now I pick tools based on what I actually do, and I use them consistently.

Warning: don't pick the most powerful tool. Pick the one you'll actually use. A simple system you maintain is infinitely more valuable than a complex system you abandon.

The migration question

If you've decided to leave Notion, you're probably thinking about how to get your data out. Let me share some hard-won wisdom.

Most alternatives support importing Notion exports. The technical capability exists. But here's the reality check: migration is painful. It always takes longer than you expect. Things break. Formatting gets weird. Links don't work.

Factor this into your decision. If you have 500 pages in Notion, migrating everything at once is a recipe for frustration. I had over 400 pages when I started moving away, and the process took about three months of gradual work.

My advice: try the new tool alongside Notion first. Don't commit to a full migration until you've used the alternative for at least a few weeks with real work. You need to know it actually fits your brain before you invest the effort.

If you do migrate, do it progressively. Move one workspace or area at a time. Let the old Notion content exist while you build habits in the new tool.

And watch out for the sunk cost fallacy. I stayed with Notion longer than I should have because I'd invested so much time in my setup. All those beautiful databases and templates felt too valuable to abandon. But a system you don't use has zero value, regardless of how long it took to build.

One thing I deliberately built into Ultrathink: it's designed to work alongside other tools, not replace everything. You can use it for quick capture while keeping Notion for project management. You don't have to make an all-or-nothing choice.

Conclusion

Notion is a remarkable tool. 100 million users can't be entirely wrong. For teams that need flexible workspaces, for enterprises that need collaborative documentation, for people whose brains work well with open-ended structure, Notion is genuinely excellent.

But one size doesn't fit all brains.

For those of us with ADHD or information overload, simplicity beats features. The best tool is the one that captures thoughts before they disappear, not the one with the most impressive feature list.

For privacy-conscious users, open-source and self-hosted options are better than they've ever been. You don't have to trust your knowledge to someone else's servers.

For teams who need collaboration more than knowledge management, there are purpose-built project management tools that might serve you better.

Building Ultrathink taught me something I wish I'd learned earlier: 'powerful' and 'useful' aren't the same thing. I spent years chasing powerful tools, and years failing to use them consistently. What I actually needed was something simple enough that my ADHD brain couldn't over-complicate it.

My encouragement to you: try different philosophies, not just different UIs. If Notion isn't the right fit, a notion alternative might align better with how you work. A Notion clone will feel like Notion. A fundamentally different approach might actually change how you work.

The best tool is the one you'll actually use tomorrow, not the one with the longest feature list. Find that tool. It's out there.