I am a writer (fiction and blog). I use an OmniOutliner Pro document to capture pretty much everything. It may not be the most efficient system, but it works for me. I am actually going to blog about this document in the near future, but here is a quick run down of my “big” sections under which everything is captured:

• Short Story Ideas
• Nonfiction Ideas
• Novel Ideas
• Character Ideas/Traits/Descriptions
• Themes That Are Important To Me
• In Progress (what I’m currently writing…there are usually 2 or 3 items here)
• Stuff I’ve written (long writing [not short blog posts] go hear with draft #’s to help “version” them and the appropriate text file is embedded [usually a Scrivener file]).
• Books and Other Purchases I’d Like to Make

Works for me. What I REALLY like is the ability to sort of track these major projects from “idea” to “in progress” to “written.” I use Remember the Milk to get me through my to-do’s…the OmniOutliner document is just where I brainstorm and track the big movements.

Personally, I would never trust ideas and so forth to loose text files. Sounds like a great way to never find them again.

I've used a variety of different software for storing this kind of thing, and as a result of my constant shareware trials, I'm currently using a few different applications for this task:

Journler for story fragments, random thoughts, and other creative bits and pieces (off the computer this stuff goes in my trusty moleskine).

Notae for my shareware registrations, CD keys, and so forth.

WebnoteHappy for URLs that I'd like to visit/read/post to Ma.gnolia in the near future.

MarsEdit for blog post ideas.

Tasks and so forth go into Things, because OmniFocus doesn't do it for me.

For projects where I'm trying to brainstorm a bunch of ideas out at the same time, I use OmniOutliner.

I'm currently evaluating Yojimbo as a possible replacement for Notae. I imagine Together or EagleFiler would work just as well.

If I could start from scratch, I think that I would try to find a single application that would permit me to do some very slight organization (probably through tags) of each idea/thought/fragment immediately when I created it (at least for the generalized stuff; tasks would still go into Things, for example). I love the idea of just tossing ideas and so forth someplace for later reference, but the problem is finding them again. I think the mark of a good system here is that it's very easy to get the text down and it's very easy to add the slightest amount of organization possible so that you can still find things.

Good luck finding a system that works for you!

OmniOutliner and other outliners are great for organizing data — but I’m looking at something to capture ideas when I have them. I go through it every few days or couple of weeks to organize.

Before anything, Merlin, will it be possible to see your MacWorld presentation video somewhere, or maybe just the audio?

I also had problems dealing with the numerous text files involved in a GTD sytem… since I’m on windows, I do not have acces to superb progams such as omnifocus. I switched my GTD system to index cards and I still use text files for reference stuff or for temporary ideas that popup in my head. I rely on the indexing software to deal with those.

A wiki might be an easy and scalable solution:

• you can build up ideas a page at a time
• everything can be built into a web of related nodes/ideas
• you can quickly publish a new entry or indicate that a sub-idea needs fleshing out by making a concept into an internal link.

Though I think the biggest reason to try using a wiki for this type of thought management is really just down to how simple it is to get to writing ASAP without adjusting to an application’s workflow requirements/limitations.

I have one large text file called “notes” where I shove all ideas, links, and other ephemera.

It occasionally gives me anxiety looking at such a disorganized jumble of words, but I like having just one dumping ground. The process of looking over these ideas to start composing reminds me of flipping through my Moleskine (where offline ideas go); I might find an old idea I’d forgotten about, an idea that suddenly has fresh appeal.

This only works on a loose creative level; if I were trying to accomplish anything more than a blog entry, an essay, or a story, I’d be lost with this system. For now, though, “notes” it is.

(If only someone could come up with a way for my “notes” file to drop old ticket stubs in my lap when I opened it, the way my Moleskine does. That would be inspirational.)

I’ve been playing with Microsoft’s OneNote and it’s really cool for stuff like that. You can keep all your stuff as organized or disorganized as you like and then go through and tag things with custom tags to pull out what you need.

Yeah, I know it’s Microsoft and everything, but it’s still cool.

I have been using the One Text File model for six to eight months for most everything I do. I now use Apple’s Address Book, which I export to vcard and put right next to my text file, and I use Apple’s iCal for time-sensitive tasks and appointments.

I imposed a bit of formatting so that I can have a program parse the file and give me reports on it. All I have written is a basic parser and then a reporter that will print out my tasks based on Next/Waiting/Maybe, context, and project. I want some more automated reports, but I have only half-formed ideas of what they should be.

My full organizational system also requires a set of notecards (with me all the time), a 43-folders set of file folders, a paper inbox, and a paper “transcribe” box. I seem to be good to go all the time. I just add in some manual labor to purge my inbox and review all of my tasks (but currently not my journal or documents, huge gap, must remedy).

It works for me, but it is not for everyone. At this point, I am unwilling to try out Omnifocus because… well… I am pretty comfortable with my system.

• My inspiration: Living in one text file
• A todo list format: Todo.txt
• My One Text File Writeup

MAC ONLY: I don't have a strict naming system, but I have lots of folders. I made this applescript for instantly adding a text file to the front-most folder.

It creates a new file in that location, names it and saves it so all you have to do is type.

I put it in my toolbar, but you can also activate it via quicksilver. I would love new ideas on it. scot@jugglegood.com

download here --- http://scriptbuilders.net/files/todohere1.0.html

Also, I use Yojimbo for standalone jokes that I write

I tried the text file for information, but I like keeping my information separate and more organized. I’ve been using TiddlyWiki, a self contained html file that is a wiki. It supports tagging though, so I can tag a single post as multiple things and link it back. The reason is that I’ll want to go back and review only certain types of ideas, and I like being able to pull out just those kinds of idea.

For my to-do list I am currently using ToodleDo.com

O.k., o.k., it doesn’t always go THAT smoothly, but my system (devised after much research, many downloaded trial versions, some $$, and much experimentation) revolves around Journler and To Do Tracker widget by Monkey Business Labs with some help from Mail, MailTags, NoteTaker, iCal, a good, clean pad of paper and the old noggin.

Basically, I try to drop everything into an “In box” folder in Journler; as I’m creating the item, I’m tagging it with a Category (one of the five areas on my “most important things to me” list [see zen habits]), a timeline Tag (which gives a guide as to whether this needs to be done now, within 24 hrs, this week, this month, or eventually) - I can add a due date if needed, and I can apply a Label if it is an Action or To Be Read or Waiting or Follow Up or Reference, etc.

The item can be filed away in the appropriate Project folder or Task sub folder, and if it’s tagged properly, will appear on Smart Folders I have set up for Action, To do in the next 24 hrs., To do this Week, etc. It will also show up in the Smart Folders set up for the 5 areas, in case I just want to do things today that bring Balance into my life for instance.

Then the “to be done” tasks I quickly enter in the To Do Tracker widget - a great, quick list maker, with very satisfying check boxes (I’m a big fan of checking things off of lists).

Speaking of which: Comment on 43 Folders article ✓

I have a lot of text files (406 at last count) I use for quotes, ideas, article or book summaries, reference info, passwords, checklists etc. I use Yojimbo which makes it real easy to search them and syncs nicely on .mac.

Once upon a time I had tons of notepad’s cluttering my desktop and then I started using Todoist. Now all my lists are in one place, all labeled and tidy and accessible from any computer I use. Handy and color coordinated.

“Ideas lists” go really well with online notebooks, such as Google Notebook or Zoho Notebook. You get the benefits of plain text combined with a degree of organisation (section headers, tags, labels), other features (e.g. export to a Google Doc, collaboration and sharing if needed), plus they’re platform-independent and accessible from anywhere with net access.

I’m a Mac user now, but I delayed switching from Windows until I could find software (I settled on OmniOutliner & StickyBrain, originally) that could replace my favorite program: InfoSelect (find it @ Miclog.com). If I would have been limited to 1 program on a Windows machine, InfoSelect would have been it.

For life I’m using ToDoPlus on my Palm since I nearly always have my Palm with me.

But for my job which essentially requires that I’m always sitting (sometimes virtually) at my computer at the office, I’ve started using a single text file managed in Vim.

The file is slightly structured.

Essentially everything I do is a project. (in the GTD sense of something that isn’t atomic. something that has to be broken down into tasks.) So I start off with a line that says:

PROJECT: create a doodad to fix the thing

If I know what the next action is for it I’ll add a line that says:

DO: get Joe to explain what's wrong with the thing

Note that I indent all the lines of a project block except for the PROJECT line and then use the folding feature in Vim to hide the details.

When I finish a task I change DO to DONE.

If I have some context about the project that I need to remember I’ll tag that with INFO. I use WAIT with a phrase telling “what for” when the project is stalled on external input.

So a project in progress might look like this:

PROJECT: create a doodad to fix the thing
    DO: write a plain text routine
    DO: have Sue review it
    DO: integrate the routine into the gui
    INFO: the thing doesn't cope with plain text
    INFO: change request #23456
    ----
    DONE: get Joe to explain the problem

When I finish a project I add a bare DONE at the top of its list and move the whole block to the bottom of the file.

I find that this all provides just enough context so I can come back to a project after having set it aside and get right back to work.

I’ve been meaning to add some magic to put timestamps on things, but haven’t gotten around to it.

I have one other text file that’s just a reference file with host names I can’t remember and command lines that won’t stick in my brain and other such stuff.

i am a big fan of collecting everything into a single file. (actually i like two files at work where i prefer to have my personal ideas separated from the get go).

a single file really makes sense to me as a collection tool because it’s more than an inbox.

as an inbox, the file must definitely be processed (and whatever difficulties exist in doing that are an independent problem). however, unlike an inbox, even the things unprocessed can be useful.

a single file has the added advantage that a particular item can be retrieved non-sequentially (by a search) even before processing takes place. this is important because processing and the weekly review can lag desired action in any system. this may seem sloppy, and you’re part right.

my biggest gripe with this system is that trouble begins to brew because the system loses its clean edges. the single file becomes a reference, a mini context/action list, and a collection device. this can work for a while, but i think one ends up creating sections, moving stuff around, and growing the file so large it becomes cumbersome and full of junk. it’s far too large a project to solve on a weekly basis and i am not enough of a believer to think that habits can solve this problem.

instead, i think the one-file system can be improved, with a little bit of magic. … but i have not yet done it. my idea: everything that enters the single file should be recorded like a ledger—a permanent record that serves as later reference.

simultaneously, the file should have a dual nature, so that portions may be deleted and removed/checked off, expanded, processed into the real system: contexts/actions/projects/20k/…

the kicker is that portions unprocessed by a certain time should become stale, and “purged” from the file. it’s not gone (everything is forever in the ledger anyway), but it’s moved out of the file to a dated unprocessed section. these sections were not important enough to be converted, so they’re moved out of the way automatically.

i think this could be done in plain text, and a program could just delineate “thought sections” by delimiters or a couple EOLN markers. each section would be in ledger and time stamped, and sections that “come due to expire” can appear on a daily report, and be deferred once before no longer archived and no longer tracked.

independent of the ledger & automated clearing, i do find myself creating new “percolation” text files after i recognize a theme of a number of related ideas that emerge, but have not manifested themselves into an action. (examples: quotes, words i’m collecting for some reason; resources on a topic (e.g., for a book i might write); music-to-obtain queue; possible gifts for others; shit i want).

these lists are not different than david allen suggests, but i didn’t know where to put them until i framed them as “percolation collections” (meaning buckets without specific actions yet). they differ from the main input file in that they are collected thematically (once a theme is evident).

Beep! Plugging my own work here, so take this with a grain of salt. If you want to use text files for your todo’s, but you feel a bit lost when the text files get big, try out my app TaskPaper. It was designed for that exact scenario.

Great little program. Tabbed note feature (like Firefox tabs). I use the 43 folders idea and simply update my tab names (file names) when appropriate.

http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm

Great post Mitch - how to handle ideas and idea lists within GTD is always tricky for me. Here is my proposal for a system to capture and process ideas.

I will apologize in advance for the length of this comment. I know most people will not read it. That is cool.

OK: Ideas occupy kind of limbo for me in GTD. They are undeveloped projects (or potential projects), and so don’t go into my projects list. But they aren’t reference material either - an article I liked or a bill I’ve paid. Those things require a prompt from the outside world for me to pull it out. A text file of ideas in your Someday Maybe list is the most obvious container for these things.

OK BUT: you’re talking about how to capture and then organize the ideas within that Someday Maybe container.

First the capture: I walk around with a thin, paper notebook - something that can fit in my pocket if I don’t have a bag. This thing is like my wallet - I never go anywhere without it. This notebook captures my ideas wherever I am. I actually try and write these ideas down on it even when I’m at my computer - my opinion being that the less ways I capture ideas, the better.

OK GREAT: but the main part of dealing with idea lists is in how I process them once they are written down. Because idea lists are potential projects, I need a system for turning them into projects with either definable actions or, at the very least, a definable time frame (for all those folks for whom creating next actions for, say, a fiction project, is unhelpful).

HERE IS THAT SYSTEM: A set of four folders that sits next to my tickler file. (You can totally recreate this in some computerized form, but I like real folders). Rather than a set of ideas and lists organized by subject or context, I propose a set of files organized around the freshness of the idea: ideas from last week; ideas from last month; ideas from the last six months; ideas from the last year.

WHICH IS TO SAY: you have an idea for something (an article, a blog post, whatever), you write it down. At the end of the day, you rip that idea from your note pad and drop it in your “Ideas from Last Week” folder. Then, each week, force yourself to do a review. Go through each idea and decide if:

A. This is a great idea that I want to work on now (in which case you push it onto your active projects list)

B. This is a terrible idea that I want to forget (in which case, throw it out)

C. This is a good idea that I want to maybe work on later (in which case, you move it to your “Ideas from Last Month” folder)

NOW: do that same routine monthly for the Monthly folder, biannually for the six months folder, etc. This accomplishes two things:

1. It forces you to touch base with your ideas in the same way you should be touching base with your projects. There is no getting around it - there is no silver bullet application that will keep you on your game like a good old-fashioned review does.

2. It allows potential projects to stew without completely taking them off the stove. Hiding ideas in some idea file in Yojimbo or whatever that you have to remember to look at makes it far less likely that you will ever return to an idea or let it turn into something.

After a year, if you haven’t acted on an idea, but you still don’t want to forget it, then maybe file it away; or extend the set of folders to periods of lesser freshness.

Though it’s not really marketed for the use you mention, it seems to me MacJournal would be perfect for what you need.

It allows a moderate level of hierarchical organization (without it getting out of hand, as it can with OmniOutliner), supports tagging, and lets you send a journal entry to your blog with a couple of clicks.

Check it out: http://www.marinersoftware.com/sitepage.php?page=85