outloud personal reflection:
I much prefer using simpler tools dedicated to specific tasks (todo, calendar, notes, pictures, websites, etc)
> I chuck random things into this so I can pull them out of my active memory and come back to them later.
I feel like maybe this is the heart of it, having a personal cache to make a temporary mess in until you have time to clean it up later. I could see that being useful - though id want to move everything out of that place and not organize things within it
Single app has worked better for me. I am at 4 months of journaling and planning every day (I have used notion for a few years). When I was using desecrate apps I would go 1-3 weeks before system would fall apart.
For me the main pros are: Ability to move and copy elements from tickler to daily plan so easily. Ability to link todo's to documentation. Ability to take notes in a way that works with how I think, and ability to take handle incoming thoughts as fast as they need to be documented.
Main cons are: only "date time" construct in databases, I would prefer a "time" construct. Offline. Data portability.
> I feel like maybe this is the heart of it, having a personal cache to make a temporary mess in until you have time to clean it up later. I could see that being useful - though id want to move everything out of that place and not organize things within it
Cal Newport has a `working_memory.txt` file on every one of his desktops that he chucks random information into and then processes it at the end of the day. Maybe a system like that could be more your jam.
I might one day work up the courage to use [https://bangle.io/](https://bangle.io/) + github. Feels like owning my data + a bit more flexibility could be nice, but that seems like a lot of work.
I have a WORKSPACE folder I dump multiple .txt files into and then go through them later to organize. Ill post a path in the .txt if its related to a specific file or just a shortcut to the file instead of a .txt
It's kind of like a to-do, but I also have a todo list for more traditional checklist items that I am pretty good about checking.
>Data portability.
anything without this is a non-starter for me personally. I need to be able to import and export with the tools I use. the only exception I make for that is my todo list, because well I dont really care about the history. everything i put in it is meant to be deleted after i do the thing
Daily planner
- Every morning I do gratitude, "single most important task", and quick retro on the previous day.
- Schedule out my day giving every 15-minute block of time a goal. While being burnt out I would beat myself up for "not knowing what I am doing with my life". Having a schedule allows me to say "I should be doing x, I don't have to, but that is what I planned to do with this time" it calms some of that negative self-talk.
- Space for me to document random thoughts so they don't use active memory/thought process
Personal Wiki
- I have struggled with too many tabs open, or too many bookmarks in the past. To keep that at bay I have been trying this personal wiki approach for about a year.
- I have a few top-level pages for major categories of my life like bikes, household maintenance, fitness, computers, and programming. then I populate it with different types of content like pages, notes, and databases. These are things like car maintenance schedules, checklists for cleaning, and links/formulas I need to pay quarterly taxes.
Ticker file
- Single database with a few attributes. One attribute is the "review date" that I filter by.
- I chuck random things into this so I can pull them out of my active memory and come back to them later.