Index Cards

Office Supply Fetish: Nerdy History of Tabs & Index Cards

Merlin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:17:14 -0400

Here's a fascinating history of a small but influential idea that's touched the lives of every librarian, accountant, office supply fetishist, and web surfer: **the tab**.

The original tab signaled an information storage revolution and helped enable everything from management consulting to electronic data processing.

The tab's story begins in the Middle Ages, when the only cards were gambling paraphernalia. Starting in the late 14th century, scribes began to leave pieces of leather at the edges of manuscripts for ready reference. But with the introduction of page numbering in the Renaissance, they went out of fashion.

Apparently, the modern index card really hit its stride after file cards -- and the "randomly accessible, infinitely modifiable arrangement of data" they afforded -- became the province of a company founded by Melvil Dewey (yes, that Dewey):

His cards were made to last, made from linen recycled from the shirt factories of Troy, NY. His card cabinets were so sturdy that I have found at least one set still in use, in excellent order. Dewey also standardized the dimension of the catalogue card, at three inches by five inches, or rather 75 millimeters by 125 millimeters. (He was a tireless advocate of the metric system.)

And for this magical mashup of index cards and the little popup dividers that separate and organize them, we can apparently thank the ingenuity of one James Gunn.

The tab was the idea of a young man named James Newton Gunn (1867–1927), who started using file cards to achieve savings in cost accounting while working for a manufacturer of portable forges. After further experience as a railroad cashier, Gunn developed a new way to access the contents of a set of index cards, separating them with other cards distinguished by projections marked with letters of the alphabet, dates, or other information.

I'd love to see James Burke do a whole series just on information, media, and the physical inventions that brought us to where we are. I'm a total dork for stuff like this.

”Office Supply Fetish: Nerdy History of Tabs & Index Cards” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on July 15, 2008. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Active Voice's free Hipster PDA templates

Merlin — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:11:12 -0500

Active Voice Writing & Editorial Services in Baltimore -- Downloads

Cool-looking collection of CC-licensed Hipster PDA templates include iconic "capture notes," research notes, and (here's a new one for me) a "yarn sorting card." Neat stuff.

Simply drag and drop them to your desktop, or right-click and "save as." Templates are formatted as .png graphics and can be printed as-is or inserted into a formatted document. They can be resized to fit everything from a 3x5 card to a daily organizer to an 8.5x11 sheet.

Kvet.ch features an excellent article on how to print D*I*Y Planner HPDA cards (see the end of this page) directly to 3x5 cards for Mac users. The technique should also work nicely with the templates offered here.

”Active Voice's free Hipster PDA templates” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on February 20, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Introducing the Hipster Shuffle

Merlin — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 21:50:58 -0500

Restless Dreaming » Hipster Shuffle

The crickets. Awesome.

[ via Daring Fireball ]

”Introducing the Hipster Shuffle” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on January 29, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Crossword-maker Merl Reagle on index cards

Merlin — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 09:27:30 -0500

YouTube - The Hipster PDA in Wordplay

In the Will Shortz crossword puzzle documentary, Wordplay, Merl Reagle discusses how he uses index cards to collect and track ideas on the go.

[ via: The Hipster PDA in Wordplay - Lifehacker ]

I love two things in particular about this.

First, I like how Merl Reagle has embraced ubiquitous capture as a way to systematically gather all the disparate drizzles of inspiration that constitute his job's research. Can you imagine how to wrangle the intellectual raw materials for a task like making crossword puzzles? Yikes.

So, just as much, I like how this illustrates the opportunity (and challenge) that more and more people face today: defining what your own job is_. While we're not all employed in a field that's as unique as puzzle-making, most of share Mr. Reagle's need to decide _how we do what we do. And one of the affordances for that process that a lot of folks are using is -- you guessed it -- portable paper.

Thus, crossword puzzle maker now joins my running list of "Black Box Careers."

”Crossword-maker Merl Reagle on index cards” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on December 19, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Bandwagon: Links not to miss, 2006-11-27

Merlin — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 09:41:34 -0500

A few links that have been pretty popular on other sites, which I'd be remiss not to mention in passing here:

Hacking Email: 99 Email Security and Productivity Tips - Shovelsful of email usefulness here.
- What's to like here: the faceted approach, which suggests that there are many ways to look at email -- put differently, that there may be a lot of people out there who don't see this medium the way you do. Gosh, but that's a good lesson to pick up.
3 Tips to Maximize iPod Battery Life :: Bright Delight - My own iPod battery life is a subject of much consternation in our household. It seems to allow us fewer and fewer Battlestar Galacticas-per-charge (BGPC) all the time.
- What's to like here: The volume limit tip is new to me. Would like to see some numbers on how much this contributes to battery life, but it seems like a smart enough idea.
Pile of Indexcards - Selection - Wow. I thought I was really into index cards.
- What's to like here: Exhaustively nerdy, illustrated exegesis is sure to contain ideas that will rekindle your affection for the modest three by five. Fun stuff.
10 OS X Apps You Might Not Know About But Should -
- What's to like here: Some new-to-me gems (GarageSale, Connoisseur), plus any list with ChronoSync is okay by me.

”Bandwagon: Links not to miss, 2006-11-27” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on November 27, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Ask 43F: Handling notes in scattered places

Merlin — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 11:45:35 -0400

Shiran Pasternak writes to ask:

I'm overwhelmed by various note-taking tools you've recommended in the past (so it's your fault). I use, fairly arbitrarily, either TextMate, OmniOutliner Professional (purchased for kGTD, of course), and Notational Velocity...

My main problem is how to retrieve the notes, given that they exist in these scattered applications. Should I then migrate all my notes and use just one of these (or another I may have missed)? Or, should I use a combination of the tools? If so, can you offer heuristics for when to use each note-taking application, and also, if possible, some ideas for how and when to retrieve notes?

This is a really good question -- especially given how many people are suffering from the first-world problem of having way too many cool Mac apps to choose from for this kind of work. The short answer is to slim down the number of tools you're frequently using, but to then be sure you also do something smart and repeatable with everything you've captured. The longer explanation...

Most of us eventually get pretty good at capturing the informational detritus in our lives -- we have innumerable ways to park ideas, track bugs, create to-dos, and so on. In addition to the apps Shiran mentions, there's also the limitless possibilities of index cards, white boards, web applications, et cetera, on and on. The primary hang-up, in my experience, comes from using so many of these "collection buckets" that it becomes time-consuming and confusing to find, process, and do something with all that stuff in a frictionless way. All the capture in the world is useless unless there's an equally intuitive way to then do something with it.

So, first of all, try to limit the number of tools you entrust to data capture. I'm not saying you should just try to forget about something if you don't have your favorite capture device handy, but at the same time, try not to scatter your stuff among silos that a) don't talk to each other, b) you don't frequently check, process, and empty to zero. Candidly, this is what I like about my combination of text files, kGTD, and The Hipster PDA -- I never have to think twice about where something goes.

If I'm at the computer and need to capture basic ideas and reference stuff, it gets Quicksilvered into a text file
If I'm at the computer and need to track a task, I add it to Kinkless
Anything else anywhere else goes into the HPDA (for processing back at home base)

Your mileage (and devices) may vary, but I encourage you to aggressively thin the herd of whizzy gadgets and apps you use down to the one or two that work best for you. And most definitely don't tear ass to every new bauble that pops up on del.icio.us that promises to revolutionize your brain and your life.

Which brings us to the all-important second point: you must empty and process all your collection buckets on a regular basis. Or you will go insane. I promise. Only you can decide what "regular" needs to be, but, chances are, if you're not sure where something is right now (i.e. which bucket you left it in), it's because you aren't processing and reviewing often enough. A text file, in my case, is often the final destination for a piece of information, so that's not a problem, but leaving tasks, ideas, and notes in untended baskets can be almost as stress-inducing as not capturing them at all. Process the crap out of everything once, empty the basket, then review the processed results as often as necessary. Having fewer of these buckets, as above, makes this emptying a less trying experience.

And, finally, remember that reference materials in particular (like notes, future plans, and other non-actionable items) are only as useful as your ability to locate them when they really matter. Like I've said before, when thinking about where something goes, try to envision the time when you'll need to find it in the future. Where will you be when you need it? What tools and access will you have? What name will you search for? Are there other materials that need to always live with this item? For the retrieval, then -- depending on how you answered all those questions -- the answer might be Spotlight, Google Desktop, incremental searching -- or even just flipping to an A-Z cabinet of file folders. It just depends. But you'll be much better suited to figuring this out once you've chosen your favorite capture, processing, and parking methods and stuck with them. Otherwise there's not really one answer. And that's probably the problem.

Capturing, by itself, will always give you a short and satisfying burst of stress reduction, but it doesn't absolve you of the need to make sure those captured items then get quickly placed into the spots where the really need to live. By minimizing your collection points, processing and reviewing regularly, and using smart planning for storing it in the right place, you can build a leak-free system that runs like a Swiss watch.

”Ask 43F: Handling notes in scattered places” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on September 12, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Michael Angeles: Hipster PDA gear

Merlin — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 05:51:21 -0400

The evolving configuration of my LowFi PDA | urlgreyhot

Michael Angeles on his super-slim lofi setup and a very cool-sounding pen:

I now carry around the Fischer Space Pen I got for Christmas a few years ago, a Nick(it) wallet I got for free in the goody bag from MAD Museum's Mad About Dance event, and a small stack of index cards.

Problem is that I often take the pen out and throw it in a bag or something so I find myself on a subway train with an idea, but nothing to write with. Tina pointed to the Inka Pen, which looks perfect.

If I attach it to my keys, I'll never be without it. Sweetness.

Ooooo...Daddy like. Anybody else tried this Inka Pen? Looks like a very clever design. (See also: Gizmodo: The Inka Pen Lets You Write Underwater)

”Michael Angeles: Hipster PDA gear” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on August 31, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

43F Podcast: The Sticky Hipster (and the Case of the Missing Toilet Paper)

Merlin — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 20:25:43 -0400

The Sticky Hipster (and the Case of the Missing Toilet Paper)

Ubiquitous index cards; you'll look completely insane, but feel really relaxed. Just as God intended. (3:10)

More at Odeo.com...

”43F Podcast: The Sticky Hipster (and the Case of the Missing Toilet Paper)” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on April 11, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Applescript to "sync" iCal to your Hipster PDA

Merlin — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 07:41:41 -0400

mccamon.org

Mike McCamon offers a clever way to get just his task list from iCal printed onto index cards for his Hipster PDA. Applescript to the rescue:

Then I went to print. Crap. I can't print just the Task list - I have to take the Calendar too. Enter AppleScript. With a little copy and pasting from code I found around the web I came up with a script to print only the Tasks of a selected Calendar. I also modified that script to print me all my Next Actions from all my Calendars.

Haven't tried it yet (not an iCal user, myself), but given the number of folks linking to Mike, I suspect it must work.

Also, +1 for the excellent disclaimer, Mike; I can see we share a personal liability.

[ via Sync Your HipsterPDA to Your Mac - Lifehacker ]

”Applescript to "sync" iCal to your Hipster PDA” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on October 27, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

HPDA pix

Merlin — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 17:38:35 -0400

Wow. From such humble beginnings.

There's now 350 photos on Flickr with the "hipster pda" tag. See also "clusters" and high level of "interestingness."

”HPDA pix” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on October 18, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"