Every Tool You Use Will Be Discontinued
Over ten years this is not a risk but a schedule. What it means for how you choose and what you do before it happens.
Tools and formats
Over ten years, tool death is not a risk but a schedule. The data outlives the tool, which is why the format matters more.
6 notes
Owning Your Data
The difference between having access to a record and controlling it, and the arrangements that make a long record genuinely yours.
Export Formats That Outlive Software
What a good export contains, what commonly goes missing from one, and how to check before you need it.
Tool Migration Without Losing Years
Moving a multi-year record to a new tool. The sequence that preserves history, and the shortcuts that quietly destroy it.
Syncing Across Devices
Multiple devices is how a single record becomes several partial ones. The failure is gradual and the damage is discovered late.
When to Change Tools and When Not To
Every migration costs history and risk. The reasons that justify it, the ones that do not, and why the urge usually arrives at a predictable moment.
These notes are about keeping a personal record for years rather than for a fortnight: durability beats accuracy, and a rough record kept for five years answers questions a perfect record of one month cannot. Tool guides are included as practical comparisons, while the underlying method remains independent of any single product. Nothing here is legal, tax or medical advice: requirements differ by jurisdiction and situation.