31–40 of 72 posts
If the author is reading this, please remove the fixed menu at the top. Eats a ton of space on a small screen and makes reading unpleasant. This is more about data management than knowledge management. I'm the opposite of the author. I have little interest in archiving all my data. Not that there's anything wrong with it if that's your thing.
Weird; the top menu shouldn't be fixed. Which browser are you using?
- Do NOT migrate to new tools, even if they are really shiny and popular - this may end up being a big hurdle you'll regret down the line (looking at you, Notion, Todoist, Google Keep, the list goes on). Just stick to your tools for at least a couple of years before exploring alternatives.
- Try search instead of organisation. I used to have elaborate folder structures for everything... but have since given up, still keep some basic structure, but I find most things via search anyway.
- Help your non-technical friends and family. You may have discovered the best clouds, NAS solutions, software, methodology... but they still use post its for passwords and keep family recipes in that one notebook in the cupboard. Guide them, share your subscriptions with them, give them pointers.
- Use fewer services, even if they are not the best tools for the job. I find it much easier to reason about a handful of storage media (and their backups, pricing etc.) than having an app for every single activity in my life (e.g. I stopped using apps for recipes, I use my synchronised note taking app instead. Same for shopping lists, use my todo app. Etc.)I've long since "given up" organizing my files. I was a long time user of one or more NAS boxes (first was a Synology DS101g+), and ran everything self hosted up until 3-5 years ago. These days i just throw everything in the cloud, using Cryptomator[1] for privacy where applicapable, and everything else lives on a Mac Mini at home with a couple of USB drives attached, whose main purpose is backing up the cloud data.…
OP here. Thanks for sharing some ideas! Over time I also reduced my time investment in all this. As years pass, we realize more and more clearly that our time is limited :) Regarding note taking and your issue with having a single source of truth, you might be interested in the ideas I've shared on Reddit a few days ago [1] [1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/PersonalKnowledgeMgmt/comments/tugn...
My current method is simply having multiple RocketBooks "scattered" across the places where i'm likely to use one. One at my work desk, one at my home office desk, and one in my computer bag for taking notes "on the go".
I much prefer taking notes with pen and paper, and the RocketBook elegantly solves the digital filing for me.
Now if only it would integrate into Apple Notes, i would be happy :) Again, like with the other tools i use, i don't need "bells and whistles", and will happily settle for a built in solution that is "good enough" as long as i can search it with ease.
If the author is reading this, please remove the fixed menu at the top. Eats a ton of space on a small screen and makes reading unpleasant. This is more about data management than knowledge management. I'm the opposite of the author. I have little interest in archiving all my data. Not that there's anything wrong with it if that's your thing.
OP here. Weird; the top menu shouldn't be fixed. Which browser are you using?
Unlike others I ended up consolidating everything into a big dumb set of folders on my NAS just because it’s cognitively easier to keep track of than a smattering of online services.
But then again… what is worth keeping, really? How often do we go back to old photos? How often do we need a 10y old bank statement? How hard is it to redownload some film or music?
On the one hand, I find myself aligned with many ideas exposed here. On the other hand I fight myself constantly to avoid keeping too much around, or to prevent the archiving process from becoming more important than the archived material itself. Unlike others I ended up consolidating everything into a big dumb set of folders on my NAS just because it’s cognitively easier to keep track of than a smattering of online…
There are several principles that have helped me: - Do NOT migrate to new tools, even if they are really shiny and popular - this may end up being a big hurdle you'll regret down the line (looking at you, Notion, Todoist, Google Keep, the list goes on). Just stick to your tools for at least a couple of years before exploring alternatives. - Try search instead of organisation. I used to have elaborate folder structure…
I've been taking notes for 2 years, zettelkasten-style, and 90% of them are just dumped in the same directory, without links or tags. If I'm looking for something and remember that I might have that in my notes, I just search for it.
That also implies that, when writing a note, I sometimes add a line with a few related keywords and synonyms.
If the author is reading this, please remove the fixed menu at the top. Eats a ton of space on a small screen and makes reading unpleasant. This is more about data management than knowledge management. I'm the opposite of the author. I have little interest in archiving all my data. Not that there's anything wrong with it if that's your thing.
OP here. Weird; the top menu shouldn't be fixed. Which browser are you using?
Killed it instantly with the great AlwaysKillSticky add-on.
Great article, brings a lot of memories, thanks!
Interesting article, but a shame that the UX removes the scroll bars (consumed via iOS). You can’t get an overview of how much content there is, hence how much more reading you’re in for…