Org-mode reference card [pdf]

It is not the language per se, but the tools around it that makes it amazing.

After years hearing about org-mode, three months ago I finally decided to try it out. Here is how it went.

I started simple. First I watched a short tutorial which gave me the overall idea [1]. Then, I created a simple todo.org file and started fiddling with it. You add lists with * and nests them with more *

    * Project
    ** Code
    *** TODO Email my co.
    *** TODO Implement foo
    ** DONE Implement bar

As a side note, I think Markdown syntax is much better visually. org-mode has more clutter when formatting block code, inline code, and URLs. The good thing about * is that nesting is easy.

After that, I started trying out the keybindings: / folds lists; C-c C-t is a function to cycle between task states; C-c C-s schedules a task for a given day; C-c C-d sets a final deadline; C-c C-a shows the agenda (day/week/month); you can refile entire groups of tasks (C-c w), archive (C-c C-x C-a), move tasks around (M-ArrowUp/ArrowDown), increase depth (M-ArrowRight/Left). These are the main shortcuts I use. You don't need to memorize all, you can access most through M-x org- and hitting tab to see the functions available.

Another useful function: C-c C-l adds a link, which can be an URL, a file, a folder. Then, you can open that link with C-c C-o. It is great to add context to a task, like

    * TODO read hacker news article [[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14571453][link]].

Seeing how customizable it is, then I searched how other people used org-mode to manage their tasks. I found two tutorials implementing GTD. I followed this guide [2] entirely, specially its workflow. And I incorporated some ideas from [3], like clocking my time in a task (C-c C-x C-i or M-x org-clock-in for clocking in, and C-c C-x C-o or M-x org-clock-out for clocking out) and the list of task states. Guide [2] suggests using remember-mode, but it has been replaced since then by capture-mode. capture-mode is a function that contains custom templates for adding tasks (like adding date+time of creation and filing to a given tree/asterisk) and writing notes, seamlessly without changing context in emacs.

The thing is, you don't need to learn and implement all at once. You will build your org file incrementally along with its tools, according to your demand. And there are tools for so many stuff.

Finally, there is Orgzly, which is an open source Android app to sync your org files using Dropbox. This was the best combo for me, as I have all tasks synced with me while it keeps all org-mode functionalities, as they are just text files.

A fair warning is that it might have been somewhat easier for me because I was an Emacs user prior to that, so I already knew the shortcuts to move around text.

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzZ09dAbLEE

[2]: http://newartisans.com/2007/08/using-org-mode-as-a-day-plann...

[3]: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~charles57/GTD/gtd_workflow.h...

> I don't care at all about the whole org->html pipeline. Who cares. It's not very good

Sure, you probably wouldn't use it to generate a large, professional website, but I've found it (HTML generation) to be surprisingly customisable and definitely very useful in many cases where one might otherwise write HTML by hand or even in markdown.

> and it isn't better than markdown.

What can markdown do that org cannot? Also, org mode exports to markdown (among many other formats) and its strong support in emacs means the text-editing experience is probably going to be much better than it would be in markdown (in any editor, I would bet).

I use it to track my to-do lists at work and take assorted notes.

It provides all the features you would expect from in-depth TODO apps, like arbitrarily-deep task hierarchies, customizeable task statuses, due dates (and recurring due dates), and hyperlinks to other items. Doing that kind of thing is quite easy. But then you can go far beyond that.

I use it to track my time, and a few key strokes gets me a report of how I spent all my time last week. You can also easily track events and look at your agenda for the day, with all appointments shown alongside your deadlines, and then look at the same report for another day in the past/future. This is much better than trying to cross-reference Outlook with a ticketing system to see what's on your plate for a given day.

Some other miscellaneous useful features:

* Support for tables right in the text file (it formats the rows/columns automatically) with Excel-style formula support

* Assuming you do your other work in Emacs, if you're coding and somebody asks you to do something for you, you can do a single key-command to instantly enter a sub-menu that helps you create new TODO items via customizeable templates, and jump right back to where you left off when you finish that

* It supports syntax-highlighted code blocks that you can execute inside the Org file and show the output alongside the code

* Many other reports can be generated, i.e. show me all unfinished TODO items with a certain combination of tags

IMO if you're using Emacs, learning to use Org is a no-brainer, and if you're using Vim, switching to Emacs + Evil just for Org is definitely worth considering.

I'm pretty fluent in org and I still just write it up in markdown or with a zen coding plugin or in hiccup. Although I do occasionally export my org stuff to html for one reason or another. It's really list focused obviously but I don't dislike it, it just doesn't solve any problems for me.