Courtesy of Graham from the "informal poll" thread on task managers:

As for my setup: my diary and dated tasks are on paper (Filofax Heritage A5, for those interested), using inserts that I design and print myself (so that they exactly suit my way of working – another added efficiency bonus).
My undated and repeating tasks are in a highly underrated program called Sciral Consistency. The knowledge I collect and disseminate is in ConnectedText, and project-related knowledge is split between The Brain (because I can easily synchronise that with other computers) and notebooks (the paper variety). My archive knowledge is in OneNote. I carry around an A7 notebook for any ideas of tasks I need to do whilst on the move. I have a whole host of other software I’d like to use (Everdo, Hyperplan, Goalscape…), but I need to get them to work in my way instead of vice versa, so they’re on the reserve bench.

What struck me about this paragraph was Graham's delineation of the apps he uses and their function in his personal setup/system. This is something that all good CRIMPers use far too much time on, but I am curious.

What do you consider to be the essential functions of Your System and what apps do you use to fulfill each such function?

To get this started, I think of the following functions and associated apps as part of my system:

1. Brainstorming :: iThoughtsX or other mindmapping software
2. Random Notetaking :: Drafts (iOS and Mac beta)
3. Scheduling :: Calendars via Fantastical 2
4. Task Management :: Hybrid System consisting of a bullet journal plus OmniFocus 3
5. Thought Processing :: see Brainstorming OR something like Tinderbox
6. Knowledge Archive :: combination of DEVONthink Pro Office and something i haven't settled on yet for raw text (possibly The Archive or Drafts for Mac or Ulysses or Day One...ah heck, I don't know--this remains a struggle)
7. Project Knowledge :: DTPO or Tinderbox

In general, many of this can be hybridized to include paper notebook. For example, I'm working on hybridizing my journaling system to include my bullet journal and Day One (but see my problem with archival text knowledge).

So, who else wants to share their System like this?

Interesting question. Because I work on a Windows PC at the office and a MacBook for my personal life, my response is a bit more complicated. I decided to use Airtable to answer. I also added a category of Database. If you're interested, you should be able to view my table here:

https://airtable.com/shrUIuOVdnwfqcs7D

Steve Z.

Thanks for sharing! I like that you added Database. I also use Airtable for that category.

Does anyone agree or disagree strongly (or even slightly) with the functions/app categories? I didn't mean to set forth my personal opinion as the end-all-be-all, but if people like it, that makes me happy too!

I like the categories. I specially like the differentiation between Knowledge versus project.

For the first time in over a month, I accidentally left my Bullet Journal at home, and I was lost without it.

After having to deal with innumerable digital files at work, I reinstituted DevonThink Office into my daily app list. I haven't gotten enough nerve to try Tinderbox for the 20th time.

I use Blotter to keep a monthly calendar displayed on my desktop.

I have iMindMap installed and running at all time. Like it much better than Curio for simple mind maps. Every now and then, I try Scapple, but it is a bit too Spartan for me.

Last but not least, and the most used app right now for me is the beta version of Aquaminds Notetaker 4.0. The more I use it, the less I use anything else.

Nice topic. My tweaks of the original list.

1. Brainstorming :: iThoughtsX and/or Curio (on Windows: MindManager)
2a. Random Notetaking :: Bear (sometimes Curiota -- but not much)
2b. Intentional Notetaking :: Agenda
3. Scheduling :: Fantastical 2 and DropTask (feeds Google -> Fantastical)
4. Task Management :: OmniFocus 3 and DropTask
5. Thought Processing :: TheBrain 10 and Curio and Tinderbox
6. Knowledge Archive :: DEVONthink Pro Office and Evernote
7. Project Knowledge :: I'm not sure what this category means vs. "Knowledge Archive"

8. Mail: Apple Mail (macOS) and Outlook (Windows 10)
9. Writing: Word (mainly Windows 10); Ulysses (sometimes)

Oooh, I like your tweak even more. My intent, of course, is to help me with an intentional app simplification as I adopt more and more of a hybrid approach. For the first time in a LONG time I attended a meeting with nothing but my bullet journal. No, I couldn't transcribe the meeting as I often do, but I think I got more out of that meeting and never once did I lose my focus and check Twitter, my email, this forum, etc. during the meeting. It's a good thing.

Now I have to figure out where to put my archival notes!

Paul Korm wrote:

Nice topic. My tweaks of the original list.

1. Brainstorming :: iThoughtsX and/or Curio (on Windows: MindManager)
2a. Random Notetaking :: Bear (sometimes Curiota -- but not much)
2b. Intentional Notetaking :: Agenda
3. Scheduling :: Fantastical 2 and DropTask (feeds Google ->
Fantastical)
4. Task Management :: OmniFocus 3 and DropTask
5. Thought Processing :: TheBrain 10 and Curio and Tinderbox
6. Knowledge Archive :: DEVONthink Pro Office and Evernote
7. Project Knowledge :: I'm not sure what this category means vs.
"Knowledge Archive"

8. Mail: Apple Mail (macOS) and Outlook (Windows 10)
9. Writing: Word (mainly Windows 10); Ulysses (sometimes)

It occurred to me that the apps I use at work *don’t* get used st home. I use Agenda at home to keep a diary of my audo recording routines. My home info tends to be more diary-like, though I do use Airtable for tracking which ink is in which fountain pen, and Airtable keeps track of audio plugins (the least-used ones don’t get updates).

Fun topic, Jake. :)

1. Brainstorming : Good ol' fashioned whiteboard, GoodNotes, Workflowy (happy)*
2a. Random Notetaking : Bullet Journal, GoodNotes (happy)
2b. Intentional Notetaking : Tinderbox (happy)
3. Scheduling : Fantastical (wish for something more elegant/spacious/accommodating of time blocking)
4. Task Management : Omnifocus 3 w/Bullet Journal for capture and TaskPaper for weekly planning (imperfect, but works well enough)
5. Thought Processing : Tinderbox, Morning Pages
6. Knowledge Archive : DevonThink
7. Project Knowledge : Project Memos in Google Docs, Task Paper, in some ways OF3 (could use a better system here)

8. Mail: MailMate (very happy)
9a. Writing: Currently unhappy and searching (considering Scrivener, Ulysses, Mellel, have used... everything)
9b. Editing: Hemingway (happy)
10. Reference: Paperpile (considering Bookends despite Pp's elegance b/c #9)

11. Reading: DevonThink To Go (happy cause of sync to DTPO, but like GoodNotes and LiquidText a lot, too)
12. Grading: Annotated GoodNotes PDFs uploaded to Canvas (can't stand Canvas of course, but otherwise happy w/this)

* Anyone else wish CMapTools wasn't so darn... pixelated? Darn retina displays.

1. Brainstorming :: Squid or Google Keep with a stylus on a 2-in-1 Chromebook, VUE
2. Random Notetaking :: Google Keep (Windows, Chromebook, iOS) or paper notebook
3. Scheduling :: Google Calendar
4. Task Management :: Google Calendar, Google Keep, WorkFlowy, Google Sheets
5. Thought Processing :: Google Keep, WorkFlowy, ConnectedText, VUE, Freeplane
6. Knowledge Archive :: WorkFlowy, ConnectedText, Google Drive
7. Project Knowledge :: TeamGantt, TheBrain web client, ConnectedText, Gingko
8. Writing :: WriteMonkey, Caret (on Chromebook)
9. Reading & annotating PDFs :: Kami (Chromebook)
10. Outlining :: WorkFlowy, Natara Bonsai

1. Brainstorming - index cards (paper), piece of paper for clustering or doodling, Scapple, Mindmanager (Windows), Xmind Zen (MacOS), Textmaker (Windows/Mac)
2a. Random Notetaking - Simplenote for capturing notes on the road and syncing between Windows/MacOS/iOS, Cintanotes Pro for pre-sorting notes from Simplenote before they go into Evernote or NotebooksApp or are processed in Textmaker/Word
2b. Intentional notetaking - NotebooksApp (Windows/MacOS/iOS)
2c. Saving web clips - Evernote, Devonthink Pro
3. Scheduling - Outlook calendar
4. Task Management - Excel file
5. Thought Processing - Textmaker, iaWriter (Windows), Ulysses, NotebooksApp (Win/Mac), Mindmanager
6. Knowledge Archive - Evernote, Devonthink Pro, file system
7. Project Knowledge (=project journal) - NotebooksApp

8. Structuring large writing projects/books - Scrivener 3 (MacOS)

I plan to look into InfoQube again when vs 9.112 is released - the Card View looks interesting and might replace Scapple (which I find a bit too clumsy). If I get to grips with IQ, I might also use it for (2) and (6), maybe also (5).

Beck wrote:

* Anyone else wish CMapTools wasn't so darn... pixelated? Darn retina
displays.

No such problem on my aging FHD laptop monitor but I always preferred VUE to CMapTools anyway for the simple reason that I find it annoying that CMapTools forces the user to label arrows. They really should have an option to be able to turn that off.

Dr Andus wrote:

CMapTools forces the user to label arrows.

That's the very thing I love about it! I wish every concept mapping software had an option to turn this on.

Also, I found its keybindings intuitive.

1. Brainstorming :: Tinderbox and MindNode
2. Notetaking :: Notability (for iOS) and Keep It (because Keep It works with the macOS file system better than some others)
3. Scheduling :: Fantastical
4. Task Management :: OmniFocus and Fantastical
5. Thought Processing :: MindNode and OmniOutliner
6. Knowledge Archive :: DevonThink Pro Office and DevonThink To Go, plus in the macOS file system: Yep (for tagging), and Hazel (for renaming and filing)
7. Project Knowledge :: DevonThink Pro Office and Scrivener 3
8. Writing :: Ulysses 3 (for shorter long-form), Scrivener 3 (for longer long-form), and Nisus Writer Pro as an MS Word surrogate (for short-form, and for smartening up the long-form output of Scrivener and Ulysses)

Plus pen or pencil and paper or index cards.

Paul Korm wrote:

3. Scheduling :: Fantastical 2 and DropTask (feeds Google ->
Fantastical)
4. Task Management :: OmniFocus 3 and DropTask

Paul, have you written (or can you say more) about how you use Drop Task in combo w/Fantastical & Omnifocus?

Beck,

You are using Morning Pages [the app], or Morning Pages [the practice]?

Jeff

Beck wrote:

Fun topic, Jake. :)

1. Brainstorming : Good ol' fashioned whiteboard, GoodNotes, Workflowy
(happy)*
2a. Random Notetaking : Bullet Journal, GoodNotes (happy)
2b. Intentional Notetaking : Tinderbox (happy)
3. Scheduling : Fantastical (wish for something more
elegant/spacious/accommodating of time blocking)
4. Task Management : Omnifocus 3 w/Bullet Journal for capture and
TaskPaper for weekly planning (imperfect, but works well enough)
5. Thought Processing : Tinderbox, Morning Pages
6. Knowledge Archive : DevonThink
7. Project Knowledge : Project Memos in Google Docs, Task Paper, in some
ways OF3 (could use a better system here)

8. Mail: MailMate (very happy)
9a. Writing: Currently unhappy and searching (considering Scrivener,
Ulysses, Mellel, have used... everything)
9b. Editing: Hemingway (happy)
10. Reference: Paperpile (considering Bookends despite Pp's elegance b/c
#9)

11. Reading: DevonThink To Go (happy cause of sync to DTPO, but like
GoodNotes and LiquidText a lot, too)
12. Grading: Annotated GoodNotes PDFs uploaded to Canvas (can't stand
Canvas of course, but otherwise happy w/this)

* Anyone else wish CMapTools wasn't so darn... pixelated? Darn retina
displays.

Jeffery Smith wrote:

You are using Morning Pages [the app], or Morning Pages [the practice]?

Good question! I'm using the practice. I've used 750words.com before, but have determined handwriting is best for me. My go to paper is Clairefontaine Triomphe (lined) and has been for many years, but just this week I started experimenting with writing them on GoodNotes 5 since their writing stationery template is much improved than v4.

I'll try the handwritten version or may decide to use my FreeWrite keyboard as it has no distractions and I can do it before the office opens at 8:00 AM.

Jeffery Smith wrote:

or may decide to use my FreeWrite

How have you found the FreeWrite? I've been quite disappointed in it, but am open to some sort of shift in expectations that'll get me using mine.

It is a mixture of good and bad. I have found the software in it to be quirky and less than reliable. It definitely excels at freewriting as it is difficult to do any sort of editing. I liked the tactile keyboards of the mid-1980s (IBM PC), but others would find it distracting in the office, so I put those little rubber o-rings on the keys.

For me, it is the closest thing to distraction-free writing. It is too expensive, but all of the competition is either just in Japan, or discontinued.

Beck wrote:

Jeffery Smith wrote:
>or may decide to use my FreeWrite

How have you found the FreeWrite? I've been quite disappointed in it,
but am open to some sort of shift in expectations that'll get me using
mine.

I am curious. Does anyone use a ReMarkable Tablet in their workflow?

I am also curious. The surface is reportedly more paper-like, but some of the reviews of it by users are unflattering. I eventually just got an iPad Pro so I could take advantage of the handwriting recognition apps. There is a German-made paper-like screen cover, but it is virtually impossible to attach without trapping particulate matter between the screen and cover.

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

I am curious. Does anyone use a ReMarkable Tablet in their workflow?

Jeffery Smith wrote:

There is a German-made paper-like screen cover, but it is virtually
impossible to attach without trapping particulate matter between the
screen and cover.

Jeffrey, I think we shop at the same online outfitters. :) I agree w/your assessment of the Paperlike. I've attached my second one and it was even bumpier than the first. And the Freewrite has basically been a disappointment to me. It's pretty and fairly fun to type on though I find the wrist position hard to sustain. It's best in my lap.

The software is buggy and the battery is pitiful. I hold out hope that a software update will one day redeem it, but since they've moved onto a new product, that's probably unrealistic thinking at this point.

The Freewrite Traveler crowd funding was insanely successful, and I'm hoping that all of the money will be used to improve the battery and software. My first Freewrite died within a day of using it (software problems), so I had to return it for another. Like many Chinese-made products these days, the quality control is lacking. My first choice was a KINGJIM Pomera, which appear to be sold in Japan only. I ordered one from ebay only to be told that the item had already been sold. The fellow in Japan continued to advertise the same machine, accepting orders when he apparently didn't have any stock. I did get my money back.

Beck wrote:

Jeffery Smith wrote:
>There is a German-made paper-like screen cover, but it is virtually
>impossible to attach without trapping particulate matter between the
>screen and cover.

Jeffrey, I think we shop at the same online outfitters. :) I agree
w/your assessment of the Paperlike. I've attached my second one and it
was even bumpier than the first. And the Freewrite has basically been a
disappointment to me. It's pretty and fairly fun to type on though I
find the wrist position hard to sustain. It's best in my lap.

The software is buggy and the battery is pitiful. I hold out hope that a
software update will one day redeem it, but since they've moved onto a
new product, that's probably unrealistic thinking at this point.

Beck, I think the visualization aspect of planning anything is more important than lists or checklists. I don’t use calendars, DropTask and OmniFocus 3 as a “system” or (ugh) “workflow”. I prefer to have an eidetic sense of the future. I suppose everyone does this. The future is a sort of gestalt comprising chunks of color, emotion, weight which I can identify with specific actions or personal plans, etc. Calendars are a 2d projection of this. I use Fantastical only because I have a number of Keyboard Maestro macros built for Fantastical that speed up entry on the calendar of specific kinds or colors of blocks. DropTask is fun because it provides various colorful views of actions that need attention — and, via a Google calendar that is shared between DropTask and Fantastical, I can add things to one app that show up in the other. OmniFocus 3 is just a necessary evil — the most boring software I’ve ever used. But, lists of words drive me to distraction, but I’d rather write things down and forget them then try to remember boring obligations. OF will poke me at the right time, otherwise it keeps quiet.

Beck wrote:

Paul Korm wrote:
>3. Scheduling :: Fantastical 2 and DropTask (feeds Google ->
>Fantastical)
>4. Task Management :: OmniFocus 3 and DropTask

Paul, have you written (or can you say more) about how you use Drop Task
in combo w/Fantastical & Omnifocus?