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2019 reflection question
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Posted by Tomasz Raburski
Jan 1, 2020 at 05:29 PM
I rely mostly on ConnectedText and Resophnotes for notes management, Workflowy for outlining and Scrivener and SublimeText for writing.
I need also a two pane outliner, for collecting more structured notes (web scrappings, tables, files). I have a license of Rightnote, but was not satisfied how it worked on my computer, so I bought Myinfo this year, which I like much better, and a new version is on the horizon.
I tried Infoqube once again, and this time I finally was able to create a working, meaningful database. However, using it on everyday basis will require a major change in my work habits and too much work.
The biggest change in my software environment was shifting from Mendeley to Zotero. I discovered also AgentRansack - finally, a desktop search application, that’s fast and working on my machine.
Posted by Ken
Jan 1, 2020 at 07:27 PM
jaslar wrote:
Fellow CRIMPers,
>
>My question is not, or not chiefly, which tools did you use this past
>year, but what new thing did you discover in 2019 through USING that
>tool? That is, are we just shuffling our data around, or did any of us
>actually learn something from our software spelunking, something
>meaningful?
Great questions. I find CRIMPing to be a dual-edged sword. On the one hand, every switch has some productivity cost, whether that be a learning curve or time for migration. And this is why pen and paper is sometimes needed in my life. Keep it simple and focus on getting tasks done. If you don’t ever do the actual task, then you never move forward. Then again, this antidote only goes so far, especially if you are finding tasks piling up at a rapid rate. So, finding something that works and is as frictionless as possible is something that I always keep in mind and use to limit my desire to CRIMP at any deep level.
But, CRIMPing and exploring/testing new software, which I usually explore as what I am using still has some issues (i.e. friction) also pushes me to re-evaluate how I manage my tasks and information. A lot of the new software offers new features and tools, and that can open up new ways to look at how I manage my work. I recently decided to give ClickUp a spin after a long evaluation process. It offers a number of way that I can set it up to handle my projects and tasks, and that has caused me to reflect if how I am currently working could be changed or improved. Granted, one could say that this is just shuffling of the data, but the time I spent considering the options does cause me to reflect a bit more on my processes, and that is not always a bad thing. I do think there is a balance between refining and re-evaluating/improving my skills, and finding that balance is important, just like when CRIMPing. Sometimes we need to challenge ourselves with new thoughts and other times we just need to work on improving what we already know. I heard it once referred to as “a beginner’s mind”, and I like it at times as it keeps me fresh and from getting too set in my ways and thoughts.
—Ken
Posted by Amontillado
Jan 2, 2020 at 02:34 AM
I’m happier with my writing environment than I’ve ever been, I think.
Devonthink handles my large document libraries. I’ve got one that’s about 8500 documents in a hundred or so groups with about 400 tags.
Curio has been an excellent find. It’s got a glitch or two, but they are not fatal and I can work around them. It serves as a brainstorming tool and as a wrapper for files created with other products. I think this year I’ll finally step beyond internal company documents and put something on Amazon. My first Curio-based project is underway, a self help book I bet I can get polished enough to risk electronic self-publishing.
Happy 2020, all.
Posted by Pierre Paul Landry
Jan 2, 2020 at 06:27 PM
Tomasz Raburski wrote:
>I tried Infoqube once again, and this time I finally was able to create a working, meaningful database. However, using it on everyday basis will require a major change in my work habits and too much work.
Hi Tomasz,
I encourage you to connect with other IQ users on the community forum. IQ is very malleable and can most likely be configured to do just what you need.
Pierre Paul Landry
IQ Designer
https://infoqubeim.com/drupal5/?q=forum
Posted by thouqht
Jan 3, 2020 at 12:48 AM
My business blew up (in a good way) and my first child was born - I realized I had no time to mess around crimping.
What did I do? I went all in on a single platform for myself and my team. In this case, office 365 was the best fit due to a balance of power, cross platform availability, multi-user support, and integration between programs.
In many ways, doing this was a way to delegate my software decisions (to Microsoft) instead of having to constantly question what to use and look for improvements/upgrades.
So instead of trying to build an ever upgrading tapestry of “perfect” tools (i.e. CRIMPing), I decided to take flexible tools and MAKE them work so I could DO MORE work.
Between OneNote and Excel (mostly just OneNote), I can basically do anything. Yes, specific tasks are not as easy as some more specialized tools, but it doesn’t matter because of how much time is saved because the programs simply work and I’m no longer fiddling.
Funnily enough, in forcing myself to use these more “basic” tools - I’ve ended up massively refining and improving my personal information management systems & structures. Tools matter, but the systems you use matter more.
A good paper-only system will lead to much greater productivity than a weak system built on the hottest tech.
I’ve even come to embrace the slower pace of certain actions as a way to move and think more deliberately.
Anyway, that’s what I’ve learned in 2019!