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Organizing NAs and textlets/ideas that aren't NAs

I've been flirting with GTD for some time now, but my incipient stress-related breakdown has made me more serious. (Of course there's nothing attractive about desperation when dating or when working.) What's stressing me is keeping tabs of 2 current writing projects (research done, with deadlines), 3-4 incubating writing projects (much research done, no deadlines), 2 incubating research projects (research about to begin), as well as the usual gamut of tasks associated with my job. I'm generally satisfied with my level of organization, but have trouble keeping tabs of the bits and pieces that are generated out of order --draft sentences/parargraphs for sections that I'm not working on yet, references that may be relevant and that I want to look up and read, ideas that I want to pursue further. In the past, I've tried to integrate these text snippets into draft document files, either as highlighted sections, or marking them otherwise, but I feel that I just have too much going on now to continue to manage this way. I find that GTD has helped me manage different aspects of my work/home life quite well, but not the writing/researching part, which not coincidentally is what causes me the most stress. I just don't feel that I can keep all the little bits in my active memory -- too many bits, too many other commitments. Does anyone have tips for adapting GTD for writers/academics?

Bell's picture

A wiki sounds great for...

A wiki sounds great for you because of the automatic linking. Another program that you may want to look at is Jer's Novel Writer. It's a beta, but quite stable. There is a built in database for characters, settings, and information. The well-thought-out margin notes may be helpful to you as well. Good luck.

http://jerssoftwarehut.com/AboutJNW.shtml

 
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