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Beginning to see the light with org-mode
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Posted by Jack Baty
Oct 22, 2015 at 08:56 PM
Like many here, I’ve used just about every possible combination of software and systems to manage my “workflow”. It’s fun!
I am a long-time Vim user but had always been envious of my colleagues using Org Mode. I’d tried Emacs a number of times but just couldn’t get passed the key commands and the configuration’s learning curve.
I few months ago I discovered Spacemacs (https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs). That got me over the hump, since it uses Vim keybindings and most commands have a SPACE-key counterpart, which I like.
I thought it would be a short-lived experiment, but I’ve become completely addicted to Org Mode. It does everything, and what it doesn’t do I can _make_ it do. Learning the intricacies of the Agenda view has been life-changing. Sounds hyperbolic but it really is great if you have the patience.
Org Mode isn’t for everyone. It’s geeky, not pretty, and far from user-friendly. It’s been worth the effort for me.
Posted by jaslar
Oct 23, 2015 at 04:54 PM
Old but hilarious page about being seduced by emacs.
http://mph.puddingbowl.org/2010/02/org-mode-in-your-pocket-is-a-gnu-shaped-devil/
Posted by zoe
Oct 28, 2015 at 03:56 PM
A great video explanation from Jay Dixit about “Emacs/Org-Mode for Writers,” with a nice shout-out to this forum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtieBc3KptU
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Oct 29, 2015 at 03:10 PM
My response to his initial inquiry made his presentation. Unfortunately, he didn’t find it very useful.
The presentation makes it clear (as have all the Org-Mode fans here), that Emacs/Org-Mode is super powerful. Sadly, watching him use it, it still looked like all the stuff that streams across computer screens in a TV episode whenever a hacker is breaking into the some secret government agency. They pound out the keys, a swirl of alpha numeric stuff rips across the monitor, and the hacker says, “See that? They’re planning something called operation Org-Mode.” Or something like that. I guess, what I’m saying, is that Scrivener’s screen, which he didn’t like, makes a lot more sense to me that Org-Mode. That’s not a comment about the app. It’s comment about me.
Anyway, thanks for sharing this. It is interesting.
Steve Z.
zoe wrote:
A great video explanation from Jay Dixit about “Emacs/Org-Mode for
>Writers,” with a nice shout-out to this forum:
>
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtieBc3KptU
Posted by Dr Andus
Oct 29, 2015 at 06:50 PM
zoe wrote:
>A great video explanation from Jay Dixit about “Emacs/Org-Mode for
>Writers,” with a nice shout-out to this forum:
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtieBc3KptU
Thanks for that! It was an interesting case study about how this forum has helped someone to find the answer to their problem.
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
>Scrivener’s screen, which he didn’t
>like, makes a lot more sense to me that Org-Mode.
It probably comes down to what suits one’s temperament and how many different tools one wants to use.
Org-Mode seems to combine an outliner, word processor, calendar, task and project manager and who knows what else, while Scrivener is mainly and primarily an outlining and writing application.
I had a similar experience with Scrivener as Jay. Even though it does have a distraction-free feature, somehow I also found it too busy for me.
The distraction-free writing aspect of Org-Mode does appeal to me (though I’m not ready to invest my time to learn it yet).
But in contrast to Jay I’m happy to use multiple software, so I can outline in one (e.g. Gingko), have tasks in another (WorkFlowy), store data in another (CT), and write in yet another (WriteMonkey).
BTW, Jay complains in the video that WorkFlowy doesn’t have keyboard shortcuts. That’s not quite correct. While it’s probably nothing on the scale of Org-Mode, WorkFlowy has all kinds of keyboard shortcuts to navigate it and move stuff around. I’m not even sure you need to use a mouse at all.