note taking
Is plain text best?
Derek Sivers [https://sive.rs/plaintext] and Patrick Rhone [https://www.patrickrhone.net/11399-2/], two of my favorite writers, have just posted about how the simple text file is the most stable, malleable format for storing your thoughts and work. This is probably the most widely accepted truth among nerds
Take Note
I love this time of year, because as new OSs and devices debut, people who never think about their processes look at what’s new and reconsider how they do…everything. This is where I live year-round. (I’m an overly-analytical person with ADHD, which means I’m extremely detailed
Can Your Desk Help You Organize Your Thoughts?
This is my new desk. I call my “ADHD desk,” as that was my internal justification for buying something so massive it made a 27” monitor look like an iPad on a stick. So, what’s the big deal? I can write directly on it! No more excuses for not
Reading Is An Action
And it takes time. So, why do treat our reading (of RSS, social media, email, books, etc.) in the same way we treat non-active parts of our life? An aside: I’ve given up giving lifehack-y, productivity tips. As lucrative as they have been for some, I’ve aged out
Write for a life.
My useful pinned reminder in Notes:

The Arguments Folder
My son was scrolling through my notes app recently and saw a folder with a skull and crossbones icon. He saw the fear in my eyes and asked me what was in this dark, scary folder. Are you an over-thinker like me? If you are, you know there are some

Collect Your Testimonials
We all have those moments when we feel like imposters, like we aren’t qualified for our work or lifestyles. Anxiety amplifies this. It’s a quick trip from there to procrastination and depression. I keep a “testimonials” folder for these moments, where I save the very occasional accolade I
Which Note Taking App Should I Use?
Everyone takes and uses notes in in their own way. It’s very personal. No one way works for everyone. In fact, readers who only use paper should skip this article altogether. I admire your lifestyle and hope to have it some day, but for now I rely on the
Marie Curie's Notebook
A look inside a notebook, on experiments from 1899-1902, still radioactive today (and will be 1500 years from today). This reminds me that paper notebooks are still the best format for archiving notes, and handwriting adds humanity to everything — including data collection. (via The Nobel Prize [https://twitter.com/nobelprize/

Chris Hardwick on Scheduling and Note Taking
The Evernote podcast [https://blog.evernote.com/blog/2017/11/14/how-chris-hardwick-keeps-life-nerdy-and-funny-with-evernote/] recently interviewed Chris Hardwick about his productivity habits. How did he go from unknown stand-up comic to the guy who seems to be the go-to nerd representative on TV? First, he puts a priority on scheduling and organizing