How do I keep a day job and a side project in the same tool?
As separate projects in the same notebook, or separate workspaces if you want a harder wall between them. Each carries its own milestones, tasks, notes and time. Side projects have no client, and that's fine — leave the field empty. Nothing forces the two kinds of work into the same shape.
Can I see where my hours actually went?
Yes, and it's usually the uncomfortable part. The weekly grid shows per-project totals, so the gap between the side project you say is your priority and the four hours it actually got is visible rather than vague. Deep-work hours are logged alongside mood and energy.
Does it work if the side project earns nothing yet?
That's the normal case. The whole personal notebook — projects, tasks, time, docs, boards, mind-map, journal, habits, goals — is free forever for one person. You only pay when you start working with clients, which is the point at which the tool starts paying for itself.
What stops it becoming another thing to maintain?
Deliberate restraint. No streaks, no badges, no red dots, no nudges to come back. If Inkwell asks for your attention, something actually happened. The advice in the handbook is to spend one week putting only today's tasks in it — if it hasn't earned its place by Friday, you've lost a week rather than a weekend.
Who this isn't for
If you're a software team shipping product together, a proper issue tracker will serve you better — Inkwell has no cycles, no triage queue and no Git integration. This is a tool for one person holding several kinds of work, not for several people holding one.
Where to go next
The whole personal notebook is free forever for one person, with no card — see what's free and what's paid. The handbook covers how any of it actually works, and how we protect your data covers the part nobody asks about until it matters.
Compared to what you might be using
- Inkwell vs Linear — Linear is built for software teams shipping product. Inkwell is built for one person with a mixed week.
- Inkwell vs Notion — Notion is a better wiki. Inkwell is a better week — it tracks the hours and raises the invoice.
- Inkwell vs Obsidian — Obsidian gives you the files and the plugins. Inkwell gives you the system already assembled.
Other ways people use Inkwell
- For freelancers — Projects, tracked hours, invoices and a portal per client — in one place instead of five.
- For daily life — Habits, mood, energy and goals — the part of the week that isn't work, taken as seriously.
- For journaling — A journal that's encrypted twice, never fed to the AI, and sits next to the work it's about.
- For time tracking — A timer that knows which project it's for — and whose total is there when you invoice.