Hello, I'm the author of this article, and just wanted to add something here: for anyone who finds the Bullet Journal method overwhelming, there's another system called Strikethru that might appeal more. It's still based on pen and paper, but is designed to be a bit less complex and doesn't use an index at all.
And here are a couple of blog posts I've written about my own process that might be useful. I generally use a mixture of ideas from Bullet Journal and Strikethru.
Great concept. Tempting, but the digital version I set up saves a bit of drudgework with the pen and could be a little more private. [0]
I like the bullet signifiers. I split events and tasks into calendar and todo list, but the bullets could work in a long, timestamped single file. Perhaps using # to comment out lines that are complete. Might make more sense than the archiving I do by moving to the bottom of the todo list. Actually, my calendar events comment out the done lines, so perhaps the todo really should too. Anyway, good share.
Nice, but IMO it falls, as the Bullet Journal, into the category of beauty over result. I just think that simpler, less structured systems provide comparable results in terms of getting things done, while wasting less effort on the nonessential aspect of system.
As for alternatives, my favourite is t (http://stevelosh.com/projects/t/). Truth be told, it may be way too simple. But yet again, complexity needs to be justified.
As a side note, remember that you can do for organizing tasks an argument similar to xkcd's on automation:
Suspect we're singing from same hymn sheet. Not sure if you read the linked blog post but the idea was to cut complexity and to push back against the creation of endless to-dos into a pit of unending pain. A no-cruft list, with some kanban features, but zero-code was the plan.
t is not more simple than a plain text file. It invariably contains hundreds of lines of code and encourages you to throw tasks into an invisible task-pit.
So yeah, I think it's a case of whatever works for the individual, but pruning and preening an organisational system, constant reviewing and decision-making about the list itself; that's not what I had in mind.
From a workflow perspective, this is basically a practical tickler system (but also integrates notes/collections). Ticklers can be very helpful for removing anxiety about things falling through the cracks, but requires staying in the habit or they become useless. Another once popular system was 43 folders.
imo, the major innovation of GTD and related systems is the inclusion of context beyond do/due dates - specifically the notion of resource availability and alignment towards explicit long-term goals. Done right, this can bring clarity to 'next action' in a way that decreases the incremental cognitive load to select a task to complete - hypothetically making it easier to act in a state of flow and stay in the habit.
Everyone's different, and if any system works for a while thats a win. If you talk to a productivity coach / trainer they will probably share experience that the GTD-type systems have the best impact on busy professionals long-term. When someone figures out how to remove the cognitive overhead of both organization and task selection in a contextual todo-list, I believe its going to change the way many people work.
I personally just use Google Tasks for deadlines, Google Keep for shopping lists, etc., and a private Google Doc for notes (like a private blog/journal). And of course there are kanban board tools like Trello for collaborative productivity/projects.
Everyone needs their own system, it'll work for some, but not for others. I find I actually need analogue feedback for my system to work. I need to physically cross things off.
For example I tried a workflow on computer like you and it wasn't satisfying, crossing off tasks wasn't rewarding enough. Clicking a little tick box is not as psychologically rewarding as crossing off on a list with a pen.
So now I use a small pad that each day I write a list of things to do on, and cross them off. Then throw away the list at the end of the day. I can plan ahead a little bit by flipping pages, or defer a task using the same method.
For keeping track of everything and for planning, I use Asana, set up in a getting things done style (using projects for inbox, next actions, projects, someday/maybe).
So a combination of digital and analogue.
The other great thing is that because I make a new task list everyday I'm more realistic about what I can get done. If I have a bad day, I can reflect why before I throw it in the bin, and then I'm over it, it's done. It's liberating to me, because failing to do things previously upset me and long to do lists haunted me. Plus I can slip little chores in without putting them in Asana.
It's the first system I've managed to stick to in a decade and it's working great for me. The only thing I haven't solved is the work/life split. Having all of them on the same Asana/to do list feels wrong, but I don't want to manage two sets of Asana/lists.
Back to the critiques, one of your critiques didn't even bother to try the technique, personally I find that disgusting, trashing someone else's work without even trying it.
The charm of pen and paper is simplicity and restriction. It is simple to implement this /bullet journal/ in a plain text file, but then... you want to add a timestamp; you want to add more markups; you want to add links; you want to add tags; you want to add code snippets; you start to move around your file aimelessly for an hour;... You whole text file life scheme blows up in front of you and you don't even know what hits you.
Think of why people like type writers? Simplicity and restriction! You are forced to focus on writing down what's on your mind.
Is there a solution on our over powered computers? Yes. Use ed, the text editor!
I'm in love with todo.txt (http://todotxt.com/) as my preferred level of features vs. simplicity.
I have two desktop "clients" (one of them is an app with a Pomodoro client implemented, and the second one is GNOME extension), they cooperate with each other nicely using two files (one is called todo.txt and the second one is done.txt, where the tasks I have finished get archived), I sync those two files via ownCloud and I can access my to-do list on my phone.
I always have those files with me, and, since they're nothing more than text files, I can do whatever I want with them.
Interesting. But it seems as if there's only one official iOS app available. If we're using an open format like text files, wouldn't it be useful to be able to change apps/clients easily? Similar to a feed reader - I use Feedbin as the backend to collect and manage my feeds. However as a client I often switch between Reeder, Unread or Mr. Reader.
I'd like to see something like Feedbin for Todos/GTD - how portable is the data if the official apps seem to be the only ones using the Todotxt data?
No such problem with Android. Several apps and some other apps support todo.txt for some features (pomodoros, for example). Maybe some kind of cultural difference?
What mobile client does support sync via OwnClown? I am stucked with DropBox that is pretty annoing piece of untrustworthy software so I must spend time snadboxing it :/
In many ways, pen & paper is less restricted. You can draw whatever shapes you want, use large & small print, annotate things, draw lines between items, circle/underline/callout however you like, mash stuff in the margins...
I have tried to use a dozen of 'digital' tools for tracking tasks and taking notes. Bullet journal is the first analog thing I tried and it remains in my daily routine for 3 months now.
I have problem understanding the efforts to reimplement the concept in various software systems (Evernote, org-mode, etc.). Why confine yourself in the limited computer system?
I think my laptop's heaviness helps :P If I want to write something outdoors I remember to pick up my notebook if I remember how clumsy my laptop is. At home, it is always by my hand.
I use an A5 size notebook by a Japanese vendor, the brand is Stalogy. It has ~185 thin sheets and weighs only ~100g. The paper is quite good, light and sturdy. If you use a fountain pen or ball pen, the marks won't smear the other side of the page. Highlighters can be seen from the back but you won't mistaken the marks for those on this side. Haven't tried watercolor though.
The covers may become a bit wrinkled if they are wet, but inner pages are not much affected by water if you press them flat when drying. I find this out after I spilled some water in my bag. Luckily no electronic gadgets were in it then.
Since I use this system, I always have my notebook with me when I'm working (I always have a laptop backpack with me, too, and it goes in there). When I'm not working, I don't use this system.
After half a year I stopped doing most things he showed, except for the monthly review. That rocks. And checkboxes. And a few important pages that I keep referring to that can be found through the index. I track days that I took off on the calendar and otherwise never used that for anything.
The main benefits are
1. Writing things down means you are away for a few seconds from the machine full of distractions (made at great expense by powerful companies for the sole purpose of distracting you), and the physical act of writing helps concentration too.
2. Using this method, I actually keep a decent log of what I'm doing. I never did with any digital method, not for more than a couple of days.
I really like it, I have been basically using a much dumber "system" (I guess everyone tend to come up with something similar intuitively, when the need of having a minimum of organization arise) where I just list the task for the day in a notebook page in order of priority, strike the ones that I manage to finish and carry the rest to the next day.
It is inefficient and limited, but the advantage of having a physical list sitting in front of you that can be effortlessly updated and referenced as a glance trumps most more "advanced" methods using a computer. This seems like a smart extension of that very basic method.
Like diets, the best productivity systems are the ones are those you are able to keep indefinitely without too much effort, the moment that organizing the task organizer becomes a task itself, the less likely you are to stick with it, IME.
I've been using a bullet journal inspired system for a while now. Picked up the numbered pages, mostly sticking to one topic per page and maintaining the index for the particularly interesting pages. Also there's the note-taking tic of writing everything as single-line bullet points which makes it easier to do quick stream-of-consciousness capture. The notebook is filled chronologically, each page gets a date marked on the margin. The note pages are useful for thinking aloud about problems even if I never read them again later.
Instead of the planning calendar, I've got a daily done things calendar. Each month gets a dedicated page, and the page gets a one-line summary of what I accomplished that day. This builds up a long-term log of what I've been doing with minimal daily effort. Didn't really figure out the more complex calendar systems in bullet journal and I use a digital calendar to track appointments. The journal is more of a thinking tool than a time management tool.
The final bit is TODO lists inspired by the autofocus system. All active TODO items must live on a single notebook page. Once the page is full, open items must either be abandoned or migrated to the next TODO page. This keeps the list from going stale and works very well with analog notebook pages. I can get an immediate view of the current work situation by just looking at the live TODO page.
I really wish I could start and stick to something like this. I once worked in a newsroom with a reporter who had the best/simplest list for story ideas. He just used a legal pad and wrote new ideas on each line. He then had a system of symbols to signify importance, status, etc. I've strived for something like that since then, but I have not been successful at sticking to it.
I tried to hack together my own personal stack overflow or Q&A system using a directory of text files and Sublime Text (any other text editor that has regular expression searching also work). Basically, each fact or note that I wanted to be able to retrieve would be stored as semi-structured text that is easy to search using regular expressions. For example, when I was first learning web development, I saved a note like this in my note file:
{
[how do you create a simple image button in html and css]
-> style:
.simple-button {
background-image: url(...),
background-repeat: no-repeat,
background-position: center,
background-size: 100% 100%,
width: 100px,
height: 100px,
display: inline-flex
}
<div class = 'simple-button'></div>
}
I had a directory called "knowledgebase" which had numerous files with similarly structured notes. In order to find the note above using keywords, I would just do a search of the knowledgebase directory in Sublime Text using the regular expression:
^\{\s*\[.+button.+css.*\]
At first I was pretty excited about the method because it actually saved me a few times when I needed to find some boilerplate Linux bash scripts and vim keyboard shortcuts. Unfortunately, the small bit of initial success left me wanting to add more features to the extent that I was never satisfied with the notation for structuring questions and answers. First I used the system for simple notes and Q&A. Then the notation had to support hierarchical notes, like a tree. Eventually, decided I was going to write a program to parse these Q&A files and expose them as a mobile application that I could search via voice. This seemed like a pretty good idea until I decided that what I really needed was to not only be able to search notes by voice but also create them. The whole project kept growing until eventually I dropped the whole note taking thing and turned my attention to the general problem of NLP for question answering.
If I had simply been satisfied with the original, simple process and stuck to it these last couple of years, I'd have a pretty comprehensive and useful knowledgebase by now. I realize that I'm too lazy to keep such a system up to date but hopefully I can adopt something similar as a commenting convention in my source files to make code fragments searchable.
Yes I've got a similar system setup, you only loose the offline feel. Using a tablet with handwriting recognition is still slower then the typing it manually, also moving tasks to the next day or week is easy with org-mode. I now have a little index card for fast note, task and event capture. An e-reader with orgzly to edit the org file for the day and a list of MITs on my pebble watch ready to be checked off
P
I already have calendars and agendas where I can write. I do not see how using a plain notebook and writing a calendar by hand every month is going to improve my productivity.
I am sure this method has its benefits and, looking at some comments, it is helping many people. But I think that all these manual tasks like the calendar, writing the page numbers, or keeping an index distract me and do not let me to see what really is the added value of this method.
I've used in the past and it's actually no distraction at all, it's something you do on the 1st day of the month and forget about it, doesn't take more than 20 minutes in total for a whole year (to number pages, write the calendar and all).
Surely it doesn't distract at all from the core of keeping tabs on what you're doing and in the day-to-day usage.
I always find myself hoping that someone will come up with an e-ink notepad of some kind with multiple pages. If you've ever used a BoogieBoard, you get what I'm looking at. The killer for me, and the reason I never use a paper notepad is because it can't be cleanly erased.
Have you tried FriXion pens? They erase more cleanly than a pencil. Of course, "erase" is a relative term here, since the ink reappears if you put your notebook in the freezer. But unless you're worried about someone resurrecting your erased items it might work for you.
I've heard horror stories where someone wrote an exam with one of those pens, it was stored in the professor's car where it got hot in the sun, and the ink disappeared since the ink 'erases' via heat from the rubber eraser.
Recently I decided to do something about my handwriting, and I went from barely-legible scrawls to being able to write in any of a dozen fonts in the space of a few weeks (less than an hour practice a day). If you want to fix your handwriting, start by slowing down, and try to write just a few sentences in a nice, consistent style.
Think of it not as writing, but as doodling, just with letters being your doodles. Once you've played around like that for a few hours, look up some penmanship resources and try to mimic some writing styles. If you really get into it, try some calligraphy, it's a lot of fun. People regularly comment and compliment my handwriting now. (But if I go back to top-speed, it becomes a scrawl again.)
I like Wunderlist. I just pop everything I need to do into that and it is nice and simple. I could probably use it better but tbh just having a central list of everything I need to do is pretty helpful.
Sometimes I find over complicating your todo list just means you end up spending more time on your todo list, time you could spend on actually doing items in the list.
Also the pomodoro technique is pretty good for smaller tasks. Obviously not everything can be broken down to work with it perfectly but for about 80% of tasks it does work well imho.
So every time you want to note something important you have to add it to the index? Denormalization at its finest, I suppose. The index reminds me of a page table.
The index is really only for things you want to find again later, like important meeting notes. For your every day task lists you can leave those out of the index.
If the process of indexing doesn't appeal, however, you might prefer the Strikethru system I mentioned in my other comment.
Most things I note just go into the notes for that day, and only the month is in the index. Bigger things (meeting notes, or drawings from a brainstorm session, or some project you are planning) get pages of their own and thus a place in the index.
But I've drifted from the original system somewhat.
I don't quite follow. The system is: write down what's happening that day (todos, events, meeting notes), and then if it's something you want to reference later, add it to the index? That's it?
Love the index technic! Every notebook that I use rapidly becomes unbrowsable. Go find those notes you took on the phone with a client last week in the middle of all the scribbling.
Because eventually you have more things to do than be easily remembered. Carrying them around in your head is both fallible and stressful. Diarizing a to-do for three months in the future and not worrying about until the day it comes up is a much more robust system than relying on your memory.
Here's the official Strikethru site: http://striketh.ru/#welcome
And here are a couple of blog posts I've written about my own process that might be useful. I generally use a mixture of ideas from Bullet Journal and Strikethru.
http://blog.bellebethcooper.com/strikethru-notebook.html
https://exist.io/blog/strikethru/
And finally, I wrote another article recently that looked at both these systems, as well as some other less-developed analogue methods that you might find useful: https://foundrmag.com/analog-methods-for-getting-things-done...