I've noticed that the info I care about (messages, tasks, notes, code, whatever), is spreading to quite a few documents, apps and systems - both local to the device I'm using, and remote. (Maybe in a web system - which may or may not be sync'd / cached on my local device.)
And it's increasingly common, when I'm looking for something, that I can't immediately recall which system it's in, so where to start looking.
Which of course means I now have to put aside what I was trying to do, to focus instead, on how to find the info. And then remember what I was trying to do in the first place, to resume that task - hopefully…
This kind of context-switching sometimes does result in losing the primary task. It's certainly a waste of time and energy.
So, since I use Quicksilver extensively, I started to see this new issue, as a nail, for my Quicksilver hammer…
In the back of my head, I had a recollection that, while I'd always found Spotlight limited and cumbersome, it did a great job indexing the content of apps like Notes and Reminders - two of the systems I wanted to be able to reach into.
People who use Spotlight, may be inclined to observe how well it works for them, and how mystified they are, that some of us don't use it. It's possible, that those of us not using it, have a good reason - there may also be some inertia…
Thinking of Spotlight prompted another memory, that Quicksilver might… yes; it does have a Spotlight plugin - however I got confusing results: It was not showing content (which I knew was there) from Notes or Reminders… It seems to be limited to showing results in a Finder window (vs. the main Spotlight window) - which apparently does not show "Other" content such as Notes or Reminders. :/
I do virtually all searches (including across the web) from Quicksilver. And while I'd prefer to avoid the cognitive cost of deciding how/where to search, then launching a separate search system, and only then specifying what I wanted to find (this is backwards, for most humans) Spotlight does appear to be a better tool, for finding content.
Quicksilver is oriented more to files - and performing actions - than finding content. (Perhaps someone will point out that this too is a misunderstanding. :) )
Another plus for Spotlight: It's available (by default) on iOS as well as macOS, so as I move among those devices, Spotlight is right there.
Time to at least consider, that there are different kinds of nails, and different hammers - some of which, we thought we knew.
