(2017-12-15) Fogleman Implementing A Second Brain In Emacs And Orgmode

Michael Fogleman: Implementing A Second Brain in Emacs and Org-Mode

This post is a continuation of 2017-12-14-FoglemanBuildingASecondBrainInEmacsAndOrgmode

I want to clarify that I don’t recommend Emacs and Org-Mode unconditionally. They’re incredible software, but they can be a time sink

I hope these posts help you learn something about how to iterate and improve on your current system

Under what circumstances would I recommend using Emacs and Org-Mode?

If text is the lingua franca of your notes

When would I not recommend learning or using Emacs and Org-Mode?

If none of the above apply

If you have a note-taking and/or task management system that works for you

I can see two ways to implement these ideas in Emacs and Org-Mode. I call them the minimal and maximal approaches

The maximal approach: Do everything in Emacs and Org-Mode, hard stop

isn’t immediately obvious how to implement the maximal approach in Emacs.

it’s not good at everything. A good reference system should be able to easily store all kinds of materials: not just text (which Emacs excels at), but also handwritten notes, photos, screenshots, voice memos, videos, and more. Emacs can do most of that, with attachments, but the interface is ugly compared to more user-friendly software. Moreover, since it’s designed for computers with physical keyboards, it’s not well suited to capturing or searching for information on a mobile device.

The minimal approach: Use Emacs to edit text files, program, use shells and version control, and so on. Use Org Mode as a task manager, and to create text-heavy notes. When the notes stabilize, export those notes to Evernote or another note-taking program for reference

I’ve mostly adopted the first, more minimal approach for myself

use Evernote for what it’s good at (storing reference materials of multiple mediums, not limited to plain text).

Capture / Progressive Summarization

You don’t do each step for every note. These are optional layers, added as needed. You add the layers opportunistically, that is, when you encounter your notes in your day to day work. This last bit should give you a sense of what Just in Time Project Management is all about

Layers 1, 4, and 5 are easy to do in Org-Mode: just write text. To bold in Org Mode for Layer 2, you can wrap text in asterisks.

Layer 3, highlighting, is the tricky part.

Exporting Notes from Org-Mode

Exporting Notes from Evernote

Easy Narrowing and Widening

Using Emacs and Org-Mode on the Go

On Android, check out Orgzly; on, iPhone, look into MobileOrg or beorg.

Beorg can access events through your phone’s calendar. On my computer, I access Google Calendar events with org-gcal.

Capturing Emails As Todo Items

Organize / P.A.R.A.

You clearly define your projects and areas. Then you replicate those projects and areas your inboxes and storage spaces. Tiago recommends that you ensure that your projects and areas are consistently and completely synced between your task manager and your note-taking program

For most Org-mode users, the actionable information is very close to the non-actionable information

Project Overview with Org Column View

Stuck Projects

A stuck project is a project without any action steps or tasks associated with it

Reviews in Org

I do weekly reviews, which David Allen calls the “Master Key to GTD.” Implementing P.A.R.A. fine tuned this system

Retrieve / JIT Project Management

Building A Second Brain’s method for retrieval is called “just in time project management,” which is about making use of your reference materials to create more deliverables, more frequently, through what Tiago calls “intermediate packets.” Another way of describing it is creating the “conditions for rapidly executing and delivering projects using existing assets.”

The BASB course covers sixteen workflow strategies that can help you employ Just in Time project management

I do want to discuss two points

Archipelago of Ideas

from a quote from a BoingBoing article author Steven Johnson

RandomNote

What if you want something relevant, but not predictable?