3 ms·

May I recommend Zotero [0] to you? "Your personal research assistant Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share researc

by iam-TJ 6y ago

May I recommend Zotero [0] to you? "Your personal research assistant Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share research." Like you I am an avaricious multi-tasker over extended periods of time and was heading towards the same state you appear to have reached. I realised it was not optimal and did some research and discovered Zotero. I use it personally and require it at my businesses. It adds several wonderful abilities - best is the ability to share and collaborate on research at will. [0] https://www.zotero.org/ https://www.zotero.org/

wutbrodo 6y ago
> Like you I am an avaricious multi-tasker over extended periods of time and was heading towards the same state you appear to have reached. > I realised it was not optimal I will take a look, thank you! Would you mind briefly elaborating on what you found suboptimal about the workspace/window/tab hierarchy for organizing your tasks? So far it's working very well for me, and the low friction is a really important part of it. Though it's completely possible that I have blind spots around my pain points, or am about to run into a wall. Thanks in advance for your thoughts?
- iam-TJ 6y ago
  My issues with tabs, even with extensions that organise them: * sheer mental challenge of quickly relocating related tabs and the context for why they were kept and relationships between them * inability to easily add WIP notes and commentary * difficulty of sharing tabs and context with others * possibility of losing them if power lost unexpectedly (during extended suspend for example) or accidentally close a single window instead of doing File > Quit * moving between different devices and different browsers * efficiency; affect on the browser and system of keeping tabs open for long periods of time (without quitting browser) I don't use workspaces for the same reason I don't like tabbing between applications on the same monitor. I use multiple monitors so I only need to move my eyes to switch focus.
  - wutbrodo 6y ago
    This all makes sense, thank you. The friction-free aspect of browser windows is still pretty critical to my workflow, but I'll look into whether it makes sense to grow the habit of "migrating" a task to Zotero when it gets heavy-duty enough.
    - iam-TJ 6y ago
      I first discovered Zotero via the Mozilla add-ons search whilst looking for an extension to help me. Using the Firefox/Chromium connector puts it a context-click away: Zotero Connector > Save To Zotero > "Web Page with Snapshot" / "Web Page without Snapshot" So I can both maintain the tab workflow whilst 'tracking' progress with Zotero application itself.
  - catchmeifyoucan 6y ago
    This describes Amna quite well. I think you'd love it! It's still early, but a lot fo the things you mention, we're working on. https://getamna.com https://getamna.com It's designed like a todo list which is a layer out to keep that context
    - iam-TJ 6y ago
      The promo looks slick but there are two blockers for me: 1. Not FOSS (Hard requirement *) 2. Basic/Free version doesn't claim Firefox connector * I insist all my businesses use only FOSS for core functionality and we have on-premise capability (no 'cloud'). As well as putting us in control of our own destiny (we have the talent) we can add specific functionality at-will and do contribute that back to projects as well as buying support contracts or making regular donations.
      - catchmeifyoucan 6y ago
        Thanks for calling it out! Open Source is a consideration, but we're not there just yet with it. You still have 'On' Premise with Amna. All data is stored on your machine.

by iam-TJ 6y ago

wutbrodo 6y ago

> Like you I am an avaricious multi-tasker over extended periods of time and was heading towards the same state you appear to have reached. > I realised it was not optimal I will take a look, thank you! Would you mind briefly elaborating on what you found suboptimal about the workspace/window/tab hierarchy for organizing your tasks? So far it's working very well for me, and the low friction is a really important part of it. Though it's completely possible that I have blind spots around my pain points, or am about to run into a wall. Thanks in advance for your thoughts?

iam-TJ 6y ago
My issues with tabs, even with extensions that organise them: * sheer mental challenge of quickly relocating related tabs and the context for why they were kept and relationships between them * inability to easily add WIP notes and commentary * difficulty of sharing tabs and context with others * possibility of losing them if power lost unexpectedly (during extended suspend for example) or accidentally close a single window instead of doing File > Quit * moving between different devices and different browsers * efficiency; affect on the browser and system of keeping tabs open for long periods of time (without quitting browser) I don't use workspaces for the same reason I don't like tabbing between applications on the same monitor. I use multiple monitors so I only need to move my eyes to switch focus.
- wutbrodo 6y ago
  This all makes sense, thank you. The friction-free aspect of browser windows is still pretty critical to my workflow, but I'll look into whether it makes sense to grow the habit of "migrating" a task to Zotero when it gets heavy-duty enough.
  - iam-TJ 6y ago
    I first discovered Zotero via the Mozilla add-ons search whilst looking for an extension to help me. Using the Firefox/Chromium connector puts it a context-click away: Zotero Connector > Save To Zotero > "Web Page with Snapshot" / "Web Page without Snapshot" So I can both maintain the tab workflow whilst 'tracking' progress with Zotero application itself.
- catchmeifyoucan 6y ago
  This describes Amna quite well. I think you'd love it! It's still early, but a lot fo the things you mention, we're working on. https://getamna.com https://getamna.com It's designed like a todo list which is a layer out to keep that context
  - iam-TJ 6y ago
    The promo looks slick but there are two blockers for me: 1. Not FOSS (Hard requirement *) 2. Basic/Free version doesn't claim Firefox connector * I insist all my businesses use only FOSS for core functionality and we have on-premise capability (no 'cloud'). As well as putting us in control of our own destiny (we have the talent) we can add specific functionality at-will and do contribute that back to projects as well as buying support contracts or making regular donations.
    - catchmeifyoucan 6y ago
      Thanks for calling it out! Open Source is a consideration, but we're not there just yet with it. You still have 'On' Premise with Amna. All data is stored on your machine.