The text file is a versatile thing. It's been around since the beginning of computers and is just as powerful today as it was then. It can be read on any platform of your choice by a seemingly endless number of applications. It's easy to move around between folders and even other devices.
It can contain just about anything—your daily thoughts, a task list, your monthly expenses, article drafts, backups of those articles, a love letter, the book you intend to publish...the list goes on. If you run a blog, you can write your articles in Markdown syntax, which is both human-readable and easy to reformat as HTML. There are scripts that can take a simple text file and turn it into something far greater.
The text file has been around this long for a reason, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. It's just about the most future-proof type of file around. It has become indispensable in my workflow, and it can do the same for you. In a world full of incredible apps, people often forget about the building blocks that got us this far, which is the point of this piece. Consider it a reminder that even the simplest tools can often be the most powerful.
Go ahead, open up your text editor of choice. The possibilities are endless.
