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Calendar.txt

terokarvinen.com

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Re: Calendar.txt

#61

Post by bArray »

james-bcn wrote: post #35
bArray wrote: post #29

My format used to be as follows: * [ ] YYYY-MM-DD * [ ] 1800: Dinner with parents * [x] Walk the dog * [ ] YYYY-MM-DD * [ ] 0900: Interview new recruit * [ ] Prepare interview questions * [ ] Upload result to HR system This worked really well for me and was easily searchable. One benefit would be that it is easily trackable in Git. These days I have a little A6 lined notebook and manually list tasks there. Each page…

This is a much nicer format than the one in the linked article. I think my approach would be to generate a file in Markdown, then import that into a good Markdown editor. You could generate it each week or month from a template, making it easier to add repeating tasks like exercise and dog walking.

I think the format I suggested would parse in markdown, but I created it pre-markdown.

For me the best parts are:

1. You could write a parser very quickly.

2. It's very easy to edit and add to as a human.

3. It can easily be tracked in git or via a diff-based tool.

I did already think about the repetitive tasks, a long time ago I used to have a tool that would look at the past tasks and recommend future tasks (with appropriate distributions). One example was booking a dentist appointment every 6 months, even if I forgot to schedule something it would remind me to book one in, dismiss it or push it back.

Re: Calendar.txt

#62

Post by sunshine-o »

slmjkdbtl wrote: post #56

To me the biggest block for using any plain text format for daily stuff is I need a good mobile - laptop sync method that I can easily read / write and manage files on both mobile and laptop, does anyone have any recommendation? The best choice I can think right now is SimpleNote which I've been using for notes for a long time, but is there a way I can actually use .txt file instead of text been stored somewhere in a…

If you find Syncthing too chatty and is a bit suspicious to what it connect to, you can really to set it up to only connect explicitely between nodes in a Tailscale network for example.

Re: Calendar.txt

#63

Post by ftr1200 »

slmjkdbtl wrote: post #56

To me the biggest block for using any plain text format for daily stuff is I need a good mobile - laptop sync method that I can easily read / write and manage files on both mobile and laptop, does anyone have any recommendation? The best choice I can think right now is SimpleNote which I've been using for notes for a long time, but is there a way I can actually use .txt file instead of text been stored somewhere in a…

I use my Gmail drafts as permanent, in-sync notes (with subject as the title of each note) Why?

- No extra app needed

- Keeps them quite hidden / private / secure

- Always easy access (I always have emails open)

- In sync with different devices

Re: Calendar.txt

#64

Post by acidburnNSA »

guessmyname wrote: post #8

I created a super-simple CalDav-esque web endpoint in my personal website that receives HTTP requests from a command line tool, stores the calendar events, and then returns them as a dynamic ICS file. Then, I use Apple’s Calendar app to subscribe to a “hidden” URL and iCloud automatically distributes the subscription to all my devices. It sounds super dumb but it works so well. The main feature is that I can categori…

This is close to what I want. I manage all my calendars in radical caldav server and want a sharable calendar that just shows the empty spots between all calendars with minimal detail fo easy scheduling.

Re: Calendar.txt

#66

Post by mock-possum »

bArray wrote: post #29

My format used to be as follows: * [ ] YYYY-MM-DD * [ ] 1800: Dinner with parents * [x] Walk the dog * [ ] YYYY-MM-DD * [ ] 0900: Interview new recruit * [ ] Prepare interview questions * [ ] Upload result to HR system This worked really well for me and was easily searchable. One benefit would be that it is easily trackable in Git. These days I have a little A6 lined notebook and manually list tasks there. Each page…

Nested list of checkboxes in markdown is exactly how I organize my work days - I write it I every morning, and then review it every afternoon before I power down. It’s basically job-journaling, it helps fix everything in my head day-to-day.

Re: Calendar.txt

#67

Post by nxobject »

I’m skeptical about convenient plain text is, compared to more structured formats, once we try to encode even more of the conveniences we get out of current calendaring (e.g. time zone shifting, notes of indefinite length, events that last the whole day, repeated events…)

There are a few more structured formats for calendaring that share the virtues of their workflows: if we used JSON, would jq be a UNIXy tool? What about sqllite and commandline queries? Both would be much more easier for my overloaded mind - especially when parsing records - without adding more inherent complexity beyond a sufficiently overloaded raw text calendar.

Re: Calendar.txt

#68

Post by marttt »

tero wrote: post #26
emacsen wrote: post #6

As a file format, this is just fine, but I feel like there's some conflation between a file format and software meant to interact with that format. I use plain text accounting for my business, and it's lovely to be able to enter bookkeeping data with a plain text editor and keep it all under version control, but the next step is using a program such as hledger or beancount to work with that data. I'd love to work wit…

For reminders and other automated actions, pydry suggested "orgzly revived with org mode"; and kruffalon suggested 'remind'. I have not tried those, but they might be better options for notifications and reminding than calendar.txt. I use calendar.txt on a cell phone with Markor text editor. For my desktop, I just use micro editor on terminal, the same I use for most text editing tasks. Bookkeeping using plain text f…

> Bookkeeping using plain text files sounds both interesting and challenging.

It has quite a bit of a following; I personally would never switch back to some more "complete" application. I believe all the most popular implementations are listed here: https://plaintextaccounting.org/

Re: Calendar.txt

#69

Post by hoherd »

I do something similar for daily notes for work. I have a shell alias `tdw` for `TODO work` which opens a YYYY-MM.md file in vim. Inside of that markdown file I use a vim macro that generates a date similar to what is shown in calendar.txt, where I take notes about what I am working on and what I have worked on. Here's ane example of what it looks like:

    ## 2025-02-27 W09 Thursday
    
    - Team standup
    - Looking up flights to Venus
    - Meeting with Acme
      - Discuss hydrocoptic marzlevanes
      - TODO: read up on them 
    - (personal) Feed the dragon
    - #5934 Fix glitch in dingle arm reciprocator
I kind of like the calendar.txt idea of prefixing every line with the date, because it makes grepping easier, but at the same time, it doesn't allow for sub-lists and more detailed notes about what was worked on. It hasn't been a big enough problem to deal with though, because of things like `grep -i -B10 encabulator`

The vim macro I use is:

    " Macro To Do Today
    nmap mtdt Ok"=strftime('## %F W%V %A')Pa-

Re: Calendar.txt

#70

Post by tero »

marttt wrote: post #68
tero wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For reminders and other automated actions, pydry suggested "orgzly revived with org mode"; and kruffalon suggested 'remind'. I have not tried those, but they might be better options for notifications and reminding than calendar.txt. I use calendar.txt on a cell phone with Markor text editor. For my desktop, I just use micro editor on terminal, the same I use for most text editing tasks. Bookkeeping using plain text f…

> Bookkeeping using plain text files sounds both interesting and challenging. It has quite a bit of a following; I personally would never switch back to some more "complete" application. I believe all the most popular implementations are listed here: https://plaintextaccounting.org/

So many tempting options...

Can you recommend a tool and open your accounting workflow, marttt?

Are there any pain points, like filling tax forms or handling travel paperwork?

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