PIMs, PIMs everywhere...so where did I put that info?

Posted by Stephen Zeoli
May 6, 2013 at 02:05 PM

I for one will be rooting for you to succeed in your quest to pare down your PIMs, Cassius. This is something I’d love to be able to do, but it seems impossible. Oh, not paring down—as I’ve done that. I mean paring down to one or two and sticking with them.

Sometimes I long for a simple solution, and I’ll focus on an app like that (e.g. Yojimbo on the Mac). But then the short-comings of the simple version become evident and I swing back to the more sophisticated soltuion (e.g. DevonThink on the Mac). And then I like the versatile solution (e.g. Tinderbox on the Mac). And then I like the visual solution (e.g. TheBrain, Mac or PC). And then I want the universal system (e.g. Evernote, everywhere). And then I fall for the organic solution (e.g. ConnectedText on the PC). And by now I would kill for the simple solution, (this time, e.g. NotationalVelocity on the Mac). And the cycle begins again.

In truth, I’ve settled on a workable system on my Windows PC for my day job. TheBrain is mission central, where I gather most of my project and day-related information. Zoot is my catch all, especially for mildly structured data. And for notes I think I may need on my MacBook or iPad, I go to Evernote. Work is the place I need the most sanity, which may be why it’s the place that has the most stability in terms of my info workflow.

The MacBook is more like my sandbox, where I dabble in so many different apps (though Tinderbox and Scrivener and some combination of Yojimbo and DevonThink are essentials, with TheBrain and Evernote important as well).

That’s why they call it CRIMPing, I guess.

Steve Z.