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Interesting to see this super sophisticated setup. I have basically given up trying to track my life like this, it always ends up that I spend more time fooling

by extr 5y ago

Interesting to see this super sophisticated setup. I have basically given up trying to track my life like this, it always ends up that I spend more time fooling around getting "organized' than actually doing the work I'm tracking. Doesn't seem like a problem the author here has. Tracking personal projects, blog posts, collaboration, media store, etc. I'd be happy if I could consistently do one of those things lol

ycumbinator 5y ago
Agreed. I just tell myself that we sent a man to the moon using computers less powerful than the average smartphone. Sometimes having constraints isn't always a bad thing. But to each their own.
kerabatsos 5y ago
This person is extraordinarily motivated. Seems like it works for them - but it would be quite a commitment to do it even half as much.
- jb1991 5y ago
  Indeed, and then your entire commitment is tied to a single company.
  - IceWreck 5y ago
    This is why you use something like bookstack. My personal wiki resembles the one in the article. I used to use Dokuwiki, but then I switched to Bookstack. Making an export/import script was easy. Everything is selfhosted so you don't have to depend on a third party company. And I take daily automated backups ofc.
- codazoda 5y ago
  It doesn’t have to be hard. I started by writing down one thing that I had learned and that I might need to do again, but not soon enough that I was likely to remember. I think my first document was a bulleted list of 5 items or so. That first page or two is often the hardest to get started on. Then I added another page, and another. Now I have hundreds of documents in my own notes and hundreds more in my notes at work. I do similar things using Trello (for todo’s), Markdown files (for more complete info), Ponder (my own browser based scratch pad), and a notebook for Stray Thoughts (for capturing thoughts at bedtime or throughout the day).
focom 5y ago
Yes I agree. I often time result to using a single .txt file with vim. And keep track of article in bookmarks folders.
noir_lord 5y ago
I've tried a bunch of these and the one thing that has stuck (ironically since I've had the device for years and barely used it) is Notability and an ipad/pencil. Having infinite digital paper - maps the one thing that worked for me A4 5mm Square Paper and a pen.
- matwood 5y ago
  I've settled on something similar and just use Apple Notes. I find note taking to be a lot like a camera, use the thing you have on you. For me this means it must be easy to take a note from any device at any time. I know it's locked into Apple, etc..., but being able to draw notes on the iPad, quick type notes from my iPhone, or type (and search) across all of those from my Mac is what finally made it 'stick' for me. Notion looks interesting, but too flexible can often be a problem. The danger is it's easy to slip into the thought that organizing equates to getting things done.
  - noir_lord 5y ago
    Nice thing is the iPad has thumb recognition on the home button, so I just placing thumb turns it on and notability is already on screen. It’s really close to the utility of paper with few of the downsides, the one thing I miss is resistance when using the pencil, I keep thinking about a remarkable 2 because they apparently have a closer to paper feeling but they cost as much as a new iPad does and the iPad is a more capable device generally.
DerekBickerton 5y ago
> I spend more time fooling around getting "organized' than actually doing the work Some people like an 'exobrain' that they can browse when feeling creative. Many productive people have some sort of journaling system, whether it's post-it notes stuck to their fridge, or even a basic TODO list on their phone. I would be lost without the Notes app on iOS. Typically I write notes when I'm falling asleep and my mind races. For some reason my best ideas happen at night, not when I've had my coffee in the morning when apparently people are at their 'peak'. But then I can execute on those notes I wrote last night when I'm full of energy so it's a win.
tlogan 5y ago
Yes! The problem with all these systems that certain people lose focus by using them. And focus is the key to success. Yes, some successful people use these systems. But there is a single variable that is common for all successful people: focus. When I was using Evernote I was not able to finish a single thing... blog posts, call for coffee, read something, etc.
false-mirror 5y ago
The productive write the most about productivity, it turns out. I'll say that for me, I hopped across note and productivity apps until I switched to emacs/org-mode. It has not made me wildly more productive, but it has (or can have) any feature other programs offer, so there is no productivity FOMO when I learn about new programs.
- curiousgal 5y ago
  See, in my opinion, the issue with every org-mode suggestion is that it assumes productivity is only tied to being sitting down on your computer. Would I really need to grab my laptop to note that I did grocery or cleaned my house?

by extr 5y ago

ycumbinator 5y ago

Agreed. I just tell myself that we sent a man to the moon using computers less powerful than the average smartphone. Sometimes having constraints isn't always a bad thing. But to each their own.

kerabatsos 5y ago

This person is extraordinarily motivated. Seems like it works for them - but it would be quite a commitment to do it even half as much.

jb1991 5y ago
Indeed, and then your entire commitment is tied to a single company.
- IceWreck 5y ago
  This is why you use something like bookstack. My personal wiki resembles the one in the article. I used to use Dokuwiki, but then I switched to Bookstack. Making an export/import script was easy. Everything is selfhosted so you don't have to depend on a third party company. And I take daily automated backups ofc.
codazoda 5y ago
It doesn’t have to be hard. I started by writing down one thing that I had learned and that I might need to do again, but not soon enough that I was likely to remember. I think my first document was a bulleted list of 5 items or so. That first page or two is often the hardest to get started on. Then I added another page, and another. Now I have hundreds of documents in my own notes and hundreds more in my notes at work. I do similar things using Trello (for todo’s), Markdown files (for more complete info), Ponder (my own browser based scratch pad), and a notebook for Stray Thoughts (for capturing thoughts at bedtime or throughout the day).

focom 5y ago

Yes I agree. I often time result to using a single .txt file with vim. And keep track of article in bookmarks folders.

noir_lord 5y ago

I've tried a bunch of these and the one thing that has stuck (ironically since I've had the device for years and barely used it) is Notability and an ipad/pencil. Having infinite digital paper - maps the one thing that worked for me A4 5mm Square Paper and a pen.

matwood 5y ago
I've settled on something similar and just use Apple Notes. I find note taking to be a lot like a camera, use the thing you have on you. For me this means it must be easy to take a note from any device at any time. I know it's locked into Apple, etc..., but being able to draw notes on the iPad, quick type notes from my iPhone, or type (and search) across all of those from my Mac is what finally made it 'stick' for me. Notion looks interesting, but too flexible can often be a problem. The danger is it's easy to slip into the thought that organizing equates to getting things done.
- noir_lord 5y ago
  Nice thing is the iPad has thumb recognition on the home button, so I just placing thumb turns it on and notability is already on screen. It’s really close to the utility of paper with few of the downsides, the one thing I miss is resistance when using the pencil, I keep thinking about a remarkable 2 because they apparently have a closer to paper feeling but they cost as much as a new iPad does and the iPad is a more capable device generally.

DerekBickerton 5y ago

> I spend more time fooling around getting "organized' than actually doing the work Some people like an 'exobrain' that they can browse when feeling creative. Many productive people have some sort of journaling system, whether it's post-it notes stuck to their fridge, or even a basic TODO list on their phone. I would be lost without the Notes app on iOS. Typically I write notes when I'm falling asleep and my mind races. For some reason my best ideas happen at night, not when I've had my coffee in the morning when apparently people are at their 'peak'. But then I can execute on those notes I wrote last night when I'm full of energy so it's a win.

tlogan 5y ago

Yes! The problem with all these systems that certain people lose focus by using them. And focus is the key to success. Yes, some successful people use these systems. But there is a single variable that is common for all successful people: focus. When I was using Evernote I was not able to finish a single thing... blog posts, call for coffee, read something, etc.

false-mirror 5y ago

The productive write the most about productivity, it turns out. I'll say that for me, I hopped across note and productivity apps until I switched to emacs/org-mode. It has not made me wildly more productive, but it has (or can have) any feature other programs offer, so there is no productivity FOMO when I learn about new programs.

curiousgal 5y ago
See, in my opinion, the issue with every org-mode suggestion is that it assumes productivity is only tied to being sitting down on your computer. Would I really need to grab my laptop to note that I did grocery or cleaned my house?