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How to successfully mix Hi-Fi and Lo-Fi?
Stew | Jun 23 2006
I've tried many methods in my search for the perfect GTD system, but I keep going back and forth on whether to go back to using a digital way of handling my day-to-day actions. As a writer and historian, I've got many involved projects on my list, most of which require extensive amounts of research. Even my smaller personal projects have web pages or other data associated with them. As much as I love using my Moleskine, hPDA, fountain pens, and other lo-fi toys, I can't help but feel as though I'm being held back by being unable to link my research notes directly into my projects. Index cards are top-notch for speed, portability, and trustworthyness, but half the time I can't fit a project onto a single card. For instance, if one of my tasks was "Google Maps: Get directions to the library", I would like to see that map along with my outlined tasks. I've tried everything from tagging files in gmail to Evernote, to using Copernic Desktop Search (I'm in Windows), but the problem still remains that in order to find these files, I have to know exactly how they are associated with the project. Ideally, I'd like to see everything all at once. As a possible solution, I finally opened my copy of OneNote 2003 that came installed on my computer when I bought it a year ago. I've read that this is one of those love-it-or-hate applications. I began several of my project plans into new pages, and experimented with the Note Flags feature to set statuses on invidual tasks (Very easy to maintain contexts). I even got the Note Flag Summary to print out on a 3x5 as an NA list. At this point, I feel as though this may well be the solution I've been looking for. But, I have reservations. For starters, I like paper. I like the fact that it takes me more time and effort to actually write something down rather than type it. It makes that item more important to me in some small way. Paper is portable, reliable, and shareable. Paper won't eat itself or allow you to procrastinate on the internet. And the real kicker - As I was entering data into OneNote last night, I lost my power due to a thunderstorm. Reinforced the idea that paper has the potential to be productive anytime, anywhere. If it weren't for the fact that I have to spend so much time in front of a computer and that paper is limited by how much can fit on a page, I wouldn't be so indecisive as to how next to proceed. Has anyone else dealt with a similar problem, and how did you sucessfully link your digital research materials with your paper-based system? Thanks for any advice. 6 Comments
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 I kind of feel like...Submitted by nyjeff on June 25, 2006 - 6:52am.
I kind of feel like the same struggle has kept me from getting my GTD off the ground. Looking forward to some suggestions. »
 If you haven't read it...Submitted by emory on June 25, 2006 - 8:43am.
If you haven't read it yet, this is my workflow: http://kvet.ch/pages/gtd-whitepaper-emory I don't know how you can do some of it on Windows, because DEVONthink is really what you want to use but there isn't anything like it for Windows. I don't suppose your research budget has room for a MacBook and a copy of DEVONthink does it? :/ I usually apply context to a NA or Project by "sedationtext" (the opposite of hypertext?) metadata like "@DT/ »
 If you haven't read it...Submitted by duus on June 25, 2006 - 8:56am.
emory wrote:
If you haven't read it yet, this is my workflow: Interesting! your whitepaper is in my @RR bookmark list, but i've also been interested in devonthink. it's just moved up the list.... »
For me the key is...Submitted by sonia_simone on June 26, 2006 - 9:13am.
For me the key is to make a decision about each chunk (however you define what those chunks might be) and then stick to a single tool for each. I use paper for capture and for project lists, technology for ticklers, and both (i.e. a Word doc updated & reprinted daily) for NAs. I think it's perfectly legit to use paper for one kind of project and tech for another kind. So you might well use OneNote for your research projects and paper for everything else. One great advantage to tech for complex, labor-intensive projects--the potential for easily creating remote backups. »
When I've struggled with this...Submitted by Paul on June 26, 2006 - 11:48am.
When I've struggled with this it's been because I was trying to use the right tool for the wrong job. I used to really try to overuse the Hipster PDA, trying to keep a lot of lists on it, which should really have gone into my MS Outlook task lists, to take advantage of several factors, namely proximity to my hard landscape (Outlook calendar). The Hipster (now in its current Levenger Ballistic Pocket Briefcase incarnation!) is almost exclusively for portable capture & light portable tasks (like I might print out a DIYPlanner Agendas card, fill it out, & pop it in). I also tend to have a majority of my @home tasks on the Hipster, because I often think of them at work. As totally cool as I think some of the serious index card based systems are - check out Jazzmasterson's work on Flickr - I don't think it would work for me. If you feel like lofi has a place in your system, it very well might. It just might be a smaller (but no less integral) tool in your tool kit. »
If you haven't read it...Submitted by Stew on June 27, 2006 - 4:28pm.
emory wrote:
If you haven't read it yet, this is my workflow: I've been following your whitepaper since draft 15 or 16 :) and it's really helped me take the concepts as DA presents them and apply them in a practical way. Excellent work. Unfortunately, a Mac and DEVONthink will have to remain at @someday for the time being, but it's a serious someday. In the meantime, I'd love to see some equivalent for Windows, but as far as I know there's nothing on the horizon. I may have mentioned it in a previous post, but I am currently using a numbering system for my project cards. This way, I include the numbers on my NA cards to easily "link" to projects for review. I like your idea of expanding such a system to resources outside the cards. sonia_simone wrote:
For me the key is to make a decision about each chunk (however you define what those chunks might be) and then stick to a single tool for each. I use paper for capture and for project lists, technology for ticklers, and both (i.e. a Word doc updated & reprinted daily) for NAs. Part of my problem is just deciding on the tools! :) So many, so little time... Paul wrote:
The Hipster (now in its current Levenger Ballistic Pocket Briefcase incarnation!) is almost exclusively for portable capture & light portable tasks (like I might print out a DIYPlanner Agendas card, fill it out, & pop it in). I also tend to have a majority of my @home tasks on the Hipster, because I often think of them at work. As totally cool as I think some of the serious index card based systems are - check out Jazzmasterson's work on Flickr - I don't think it would work for me Most of what I do on a daily basis involves smaller 3-4 step projects, for which my hipster (in faux-Levenger, <$20 Franklin Covey fashion) is great. The DIYPlanner templates are excellent for quick capture and project planning on the go. I checked out Jazzmasterson's experiment - in theory, this is great (although my other half would kill me), but his system seems awfully high-maintenence and house-consuming. I did find a few ideas which I plan on implementing, for instance, putting my wallet/hipster and keys into my tickler file to force myself to look at it in the morning. For a while I took up Emory's position on tickler files and got rid of mine altogether, but I found it more difficult to track time-sensitive support materials using my calendar alone. Thanks, everyone, for your help! »
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