Hugh wrote:

One analogue tool I've used is to be found here:
https://davidseah.com/node/the-emergent-task-planner/ - though I sense
that this might be too fussy for some.

This is quite interesting, actually. I sort of came up with something similar just using my notebook.

Having experimented with using a notebook for time blocking and post-it notes to represent tasks, I have narrowed down the nature of the problem I have been having.

Firstly, the lack of strict time blocking was certainly a problem. The key issue was that I was using Google Calendar to block time, and it's just all too easy to extend the time for the current task when I'm overrunning and move the upcoming tasks further down the timeline, which then results in tasks rolling over the next day and starting to accumulate and cause pressure.

Basically the strength of digital media is its greatest weakness, i.e. its easy and infinite expandability.

The other problem was the lack of the physical representation of tasks. This prevented me from focusing on one thing at a time, as I was always looking at huge, ever-expanding digital lists of todos.

So what I'm thinking now is that every major task that takes longer than an hour to do (especially longer projects) needs to be represented by its own index card. Then I can just focus on "destroying" that card by getting the task done, and not move on to the next task until then.

Shuffling the cards allows for prioritisation. I can also use the cards for working out the problem or tracking the time it took to complete, etc.

I'm just realising that there are two conflicting demands here: the need to follow strict time blocking, and the need to focus on one thing at a time, until it gets done.

I guess this tension refers to two different activities: those that others want me to do (which is not my priority, other then getting them done as quickly as possible or delegating them or ignoring them), and those that I want to do, my long-term reading and writing projects, where focusing on one thing at a time is beneficial.

I'll try this out and report back. Thanks everyone for all the great advice and links. I'm still working my way through it all.

Dr Andus wrote:

I'm just realising that there are two conflicting demands here: the need
to follow strict time blocking, and the need to focus on one thing at a
time, until it gets done.

Some additional points from my own (often negative) experience:

1. A critical factor is one's ability to realistically estimate the time that 'one thing' will take to get done. This will determine the synergy or conflict of the two demands.

2. Focusing on one thing at a time until it gets done assumes one has the discipline --and helpful work environment-- to bypass interruptions.

3. Breaks are not always an inconvenience. For more complex work they offer the mind space to see things from different angles. I've found that 'sleeping over' key decisions is critical to reaching a satisfactory result.

On that last point, I very much appreciate Neil Fiore's concept of the Unschedule, i.e. blocking time off one's calendar for non work-related activities, from real-life social interaction to washing the dishes.

If this is the issue it seems that the Pomodoro technique would be the best solution. Some task managers have one built in. Check out TickTick.

https://guide.ticktick.com/pomotimer.html

Great thread.

I do use the Pomodoro method (20 minute sprints) for tasks I do not like, and a method called 50-20-50 (=50 minutes work, 20 minutes break away from the computer, 50 minutes work) for writing.
But I do begin to understand the charm of physical or analogue cards. As Dr. Andus said "digital tasks" tend to - kind of - stretch. Physical cards have a fixed size (OK, you could cut a piece off or stick another card to the one that represents a task). And only a limited number of fixed-size cards fits in one's calendar.

Interesting. Funnily enough, the new reMarkable tablet has just fallen in price from its previously eye-watering EUR 700 or so to a still eye-watering but slightly more reasonable EUR 499 (including tablet, marker/stylus, and replacement tips for latter).

The reMarkable would appear to have significant potential as a kind of hybrid digital/analog approach - it comes with 50 built-in templates (and will soon allow users to create their own, or so they promise), and I would imagine you could draw your own bullet-point-style templates in any case, or import them as PDF files. Combined with a competent handwriting recognition app (they're still working on their own app), it would represent a potentially impressive bridge between two very disparate worlds.

Of course one could go with Wacom's Bamboo Slate approach; although the latter's Inkspace software has come in for some heavy criticism, there appear to be plenty of users who are perfectly happy with what it does. But the reMarkable tablet is remarkably cool...

More on reMarkable here: www.remarkable.com; more on Wacom Bamboo Slate here: https://www.wacom.com/en-gb/products/smartpads/bamboo-slate

Worth pointing out in particular, especially to those who feel the reMarkable is ridiculously restricted, is the fact that it offers layers for annotations/drawing. If you stop and think about it, this is a very powerful feature, even if you're not interested in the tablet for purely artistic reasons.

The downside? It's all in shades of grey... (but not just 50 ;-))

I guess this is the time to admit that I am the humble owner of a reMarkable tablet since November. My verdict:

- What it does (notetaking), it does very well.
- I previously used a Galaxy Note tablet for notetaking; after using the reMarkable I'm not going back.
- The price is indeed eye-watering for a single-function device, but to my defence (towards my more thrifty self) I am becoming increasingly sensitive to active screens; I believe I literally cannot think in front of a bright monitor anymore (actually, I'm not so sure I ever could)

P.S. With reMarkable, I no longer carry a paper notebook around, but I do carry a paper day-per-page calendar along with the Post-Its of the day...

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

- I previously used a Galaxy Note tablet for notetaking; after using the reMarkable I'm not going back.

Alexander, did you try the Android app named Write by StylusLabs ? It is a real word processor for handwriting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWyxTKa2tZ0

I've been in contact with the author and coming "soon" is combined handwriting + keyboard entries.

It is the only such app that I know of that uses the SVG standard ink format.

When combined with a sync service (such as dropbox), the content is visible on all devices and can be edited on Android and Windows
Details here:
http://www.sqlnotes.net/drupal5/index.php?q=node/3457

Pierre

Franz Grieser wrote:

But I do begin to understand the charm of physical or analogue cards.
"digital tasks" tend to - kind of - stretch. Physical
cards have a fixed size

Exactly. I have tried to use Gingko for this, and even though I love working in Gingko, the content of each card can expand infinitely, and you can keep adding infinite number of cards, so in the end it all turns into clutter and divides attention (despite the fact that it's possible to zoom into a single card, but still).

I have to humbly admit that I'm very much considering a reMarkable, not just for note taking but also for sketching and reading (I have around 2,000 e-books, not to mention wads of reference texts in PDF format). I agree about the screen issue - the thought of working on something like my Kindle fills me with pleasure.

I'm very interested that you've got one, Alexander. How's the battery life?

Bill, I note the Ars Technica review of the reMarkable. (https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/12/remarkable-tablet-review-the-high-price-of-getting-that-paper-feeling/

Thanks, Hugh. Yes, I've been reading lots of reviews trying to get a feel for this unusual hybrid. There are plenty of very good YouTube videos, too, giving what appears to be a fairly realistic impression of what it feels like to use a reMarkable (especially in terms of latency). It's a lot of money to spend on something so niche, especially when a little more (okay, quite a lot more, now that the reMarkable price has been dropped) would get you an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. But the e-paper concept appeals to me enormously, and watching people do advanced "pencil" sketches on it makes shivers go down my spine... I love sketching in pencil! And the existence of multiple layers makes the editing of drawings much, much easier. What I don't know but could easily find out (actually, perhaps Alexander could tell me?) is if one can import other drawings/images into a specific layer? i.e. overlay multiple drawings?

Yours in temptation,
Bill

I'd definitely be interested in your comments/experiences on the Remarkable as a PDF reader. There isn't really a lot of detail on the website about how the software works.

In particular, are highlights made to a PDF stored back in the PDF itself, or are they stored in some kind of sidecar file? If the latter, do you have to manually export the highlights?

Is the resolution high enough so that 8 or 9 pt footnotes are readable without zooming? Also, I've read different things about the reading interface. For PDFs, is there a view that just displays the page with no interface elements, or are some sidebars always visible?

Casting my mind back what feels like decades but is actually only about 10 years, and there was the iRex Digital Reader, which was a device somewhat bulkier than the ReMarkable but did basically the same thing. I had one and loved the idea of being able to read using e-ink, and to write on a paper-like surface. My work flow does not include enough pdfs to have made it a real necessity - it remained much quicker to use real pen and paper, and lugging those around were also less of a hassle - so it was just something I wanted to try out. I dropped it and the screen cracked, which cost an absolute fortune to replace, but my main concern is that the ReMarkable, ten years later, still has similar limited and clunky software. One would have thought that things would have moved on by now. Seeing that, and with my iRex experience, strangely, I have no desire to buy or even try the current incarnation of the ReMarkable, which, given my CRIMPing tendencies, says enough :-)

iRex, by the way, went bankrupt in 2010 ....

Interesting discussion, and probably costly for me.

I am at an age where I find it easier to print some kinds of documents (e.g., academic papers) and work from paper copies. I’ve considered Sony’s 13.3” (letter size = 8.5x11) e-paper reader, but always felt that Sony’s restrictive firmware made it too much of an expensive one-trick pony.

Following up on the comments here about the Remarkable, I found out that Onyx, which has long made not-quite-there (IMHO) e-ink devices, has a new version of their 13.3” Boox Max tablet that runs a full version of Android 6.0 and sports a new capacitive screen, so that it remains usable without its stylus. It also supports Bluetooth and audio. It is certainly not as portable as Remarkable, but that really isn’t my main purpose for this kind of device.

It’s available now on Amazon for $799 (ouch!), and I ordered one today.

https://www.amazon.com/BOOX-reader-Dual-Touch-Display-Interface/dp/B077GVLMJN/

There seems to be noticeable latency and flickering in the Ars Technica reviewer's video.

Does anyone have an idea if the eInk technology can be upgraded or improved by software, or only by hardware updates? It's an interesting product -- though for me it's more of a cliff-jump CRIMP than a prudent-exploration CRIMP.

Hugh wrote:

Bill, I note the Ars Technica review of the reMarkable.
(https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/12/remarkable-tablet-review-the-high-price-of-getting-that-paper-feeling/

Paul Korm wrote:

There seems to be noticeable latency and flickering in the Ars Technica reviewer's video.

There is currently such a great selection of thin and light Android, IOS and Windows tablets, with beautiful IPS color displays, long battery life, stylus, similar pricing, etc, that I fail to see any reasons to choose a black and white e-ink device...
I guess until you've tried it, you don't see its usefulness, and I admit, I've never tried these devices.


Pierre

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=remarkable+vs+onyx

Pierre Paul Landry wrote:

There is currently such a great selection of thin and light Android, IOS
and Windows tablets, with beautiful IPS color displays, long battery
life, stylus, similar pricing, etc, that I fail to see any reasons to
choose a black and white e-ink device...
I guess until you've tried it, you don't see its usefulness, and I
admit, I've never tried these devices.

E-ink provides an experience more like reading print on paper than from a screen, and like print, is best suited for static page views and bright lighting. It is also much easier on the eyes.

For most people, one tablet serves all needs. I spend a lot of time reading and prefer separate devices for different situations. Mostly I use a couple of Android tablets with high-res OLED screens, but I also have a Kindle Paperwhite, and when it is a valid option, I use it to reduce eye strain.

I've been tempted by secondary e-ink displays for phones that connect via bluetooth. It is a good solution for me, as I'd prefer to read on an eInk screen, but want to avoid interacting too much with it.

Here is a good example:
https://oaxis.com/en/products/inkcase-i7/

The reviews seem OK. Hopefully than can improve the tech.

Here
https://www.amazon.com/stores/node/8380390011?_encoding=UTF8&field-lbr_brands_browse-bin=Oaxis&ref_=w_bl_hsx_s_wi_web_8380390011

xtabber wrote:

Pierre Paul Landry wrote:

>There is currently such a great selection of thin and light Android,
IOS
>and Windows tablets, with beautiful IPS color displays, long battery
>life, stylus, similar pricing, etc, that I fail to see any reasons to
>choose a black and white e-ink device...
>I guess until you've tried it, you don't see its usefulness, and I
>admit, I've never tried these devices.

E-ink provides an experience more like reading print on paper than from
a screen, and like print, is best suited for static page views and
bright lighting. It is also much easier on the eyes.

For most people, one tablet serves all needs. I spend a lot of time
reading and prefer separate devices for different situations. Mostly I
use a couple of Android tablets with high-res OLED screens, but I also
have a Kindle Paperwhite, and when it is a valid option, I use it to
reduce eye strain.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=folding+screen+phones

MadaboutDana wrote:

I'm very interested that you've got one, Alexander. How's the battery life?

Fine for real-life use, but not as impressive as I would expect; switching off the wi-fi, it lasts me a few days with moderate writing. If one is used to regular e-readers they'll be disappointed.

Pierre Paul Landry wrote:

Alexander, did you try the Android app named Write by StylusLabs ? It is
a real word processor for handwriting:

Indeed, very good. Great to hear about the integration with Infoqube!

Chris Thompson wrote:

I'd definitely be interested in your comments/experiences on the
Remarkable as a PDF reader. There isn't really a lot of detail on the
website about how the software works.

I have not tried it as such; I will, and report back.