You may have received spam from “me”, but I assure you that my name is not Julie, nor am I a hot redhead nicknamed Bondatrix, nor do I want to sell you potency drugs, nor do I enjoy the intimate company of animals. And I’m the last person you’d ever want to remortage your home with.
*sigh*
2 comments July 29th, 2005
DEVONtechnologies has released the second DEVONthink Pro Public Beta. I’ve kept abreast of this one for a while now, and am pleasantly surprised by its capabilities with each new version. If you’re running a Mac, and need a heavy-duty but user-friendly application for managing your writing, research, freeform information, and files (including HTML, PDFs and graphics), then there’s no way to go wrong with this program. It’s probably the best software of its kind that I’ve ever used.
The final version is due around August 17th, but this download seems to allow unlimited usage till then. There is also a revised manual and a very handy tutorial to get you started. See the previous post An Attic Called DEVONthink for my review of the application, although this new version puts much of the older (and non-Pro version) version to shame.
(Sorry, Windows users… you’re out of luck on this one. However, I have had quite a number of emails suggesting Zoot as a good alternative. From their website docs, it doesn’t look quite as powerful, but I haven’t tested it myself.)
Add comment July 28th, 2005
Part of the problem with working with any productivity or organisational system is in figuring out how to shape the dozens (if not hundreds) of bits of information barraging you daily into something more manageable. This, of course, leads to fundamental precepts of the Getting Things Done system: keep your inbox empty, your data slotted into the best places to act upon, and your level of trust in the system high enough to defeat the twin stresses of uncertainty and information overload.
Whether you’re working with Outlook/Entourage, a PDA, a web-based system, or another digital tool, or using one of the numerous paper-based planning kits (like the D*I*Y Planner), the primary challenge is often in the streamlined capture and movement of your task-related materials. Whatever you use, the most important things to remember are:
All well and good, and David Allen and numerous other productivity gurus usually advocate these same common-sense productivity tips. But every organisational system has inherently different ways to capture your information and move it into the right place. This is key to distinguishing those systems that work from those that are painful to implement, and your personal situation will very much amplify each one’s strengths and weaknesses. For example, for the first time in nearly 20 years, a goodly portion of my time is actually spent away from a computer (mainly by choice), and thus fantastic and free web-based systems like GTDTiddlyWiki and Next Action are not suitable for my daily tasks. (Yes, I could print items onto paper for on-the-go, but that’s a complication I don’t actually need, as much as my inner geek is tempted.)
I’ve seen a number of people writing about how to use digital inboxes of various types, and of course Allen describes a tray-based inbox with each item on a separate piece of paper. (Recycling ahoy!) My post today, however, concerns a few simple GTD-centric tips for using a paper planner -based inbox, such as what you’d use in a Day Runner, Day-Timer, Filofax, or a homebrew kit using the classic size D*I*Y Planner. As usual, I’m speaking from personal experience; your situation and tools may require a modified approach.
Yes, it’s all common sense, but many people (myself included) find that keeping to this procedure is the most problematic part of staying organised. The trick is in dancing the capture and empty two-step. Having an easily-accessible and designated section within your planner, as well as following a daily purging ritual, will help limber up those joints and keep you moving forward.
For more information, the D*I*Y Planner Handbook (included with the download) has a number of other tips for setting up and using tabs and forms. And remember, whatever you do, keep your system as simple as possible: complexity is not your friend.
6 comments July 24th, 2005
Update : This set, and many more, are now available free at www.DIYPlanner.com.
The latest member of the D*I*Y Planner Hipster PDA Edition family: a new job-tracking card with room for client info, times, rates, expenses and tasks, along with an optional back face sporting a grid for related information and diagrams. Hopefully, this should prove useful not only for freelancers and contract workers, but also those who move around a lot on different projects.
A big monkey-man salute goes to Neil Ford for his valuable ideas, suggestions and testing.
Download: hpda_jobtracker.zip
This package contains 1-up PDF, 4-up PDF and PNG graphics versions. I still consider this a first draft, so I’m especially open to any suggestions folks might have.
1 comment July 22nd, 2005
A few years ago, I was perusing a photography magazine with a feature on how to take beautiful photographs of not-so-beautiful people. In the course of the article, a university study was quoted as demonstrating that people with completely symmetrical and slightly rounded faces were consistently chosen by participants as being the most attractive. Therefore, the article went on to say, we should photograph the subject in such a way that non-symmetrical elements are understated, and vary the angle and lighting such that the face appears more round.
Now, I’m not handsome by any stretch of the imagination, nor fashionable in the slightest. I seem to follow the Indiana Jones school of fashion sense, but much to the chagrin of my significant other, I bear no ressemblance at all to Harrison Ford. After reading the article, then staring at myself in the mirror, I was suddenly struck by the lack of symmetry and roundness in my face. I had never noticed it before, at least in the context of beauty (or my lack thereof). I then began to pay more attention to the features of the more aesthetically attractive people around me, noting that the article had some basis in truth.
But, I thought, is beauty a thing so shallow that following a few simple rules will allow one to calculate it?
I had always wondered what I found so alluring about bonsai trees. For a while, I was under the impression that here was a tree, in miniature, upon a table within a house, shaped not solely by nature but also by human intervention. Now, however, I think I understand better why bonsais, and most Japanese and Eastern art, appeal to me on a more fundamental level. It’s not about beauty in perfection, as proposed by the ancient Greeks, but rather in imperfection, especially that cultivated by nature. (And that includes ourselves.)
The Western World falls prey to the notion of living up to an impossible standard, wherein we strive to be gods and goddesses in our appearance, mannerisms, work and speech. No wonder we stress so much about how we look and conduct ourselves. Failing to achieve this impossibility serves to dash our egos, shake our esteem, and even colour the way in which we perceive others. It is a self-contained, self-perpetuating system that can drive us to despair, if we let it.
As usual, many people –far wiser than I– in the Eastern World have long ago seen the folly in this. The Japanese term is wabi-sabi (not to be confused with wasabi), and this idea descends from the teachings of early Zen masters. The three most important precepts:
All things are impermanent.
All things are imperfect.
All things are incomplete.
It’s not about spackling on the perfect face in the morning, or properly enunciating each syllable with the voice of an orator and the forethought of a strategist. Nor is it about outlaying each second to its proper task, or standing tall above the crowd, lest its mundane ways sully your air. It is the acceptance of humility, nature, and simple pleasures. It is the joy in a young child’s irregular smile, missing a tooth, or a refreshing sip of ice water on a sultry summer night.
Nothing lasts forever, nothing will ever be perfect, and nothing will ever be finished. I need to remember this.
There is something about spending time in the forest that makes me think of such things. Sitting on a fallen tree and stroking a faithful dog, listening to the swallows and watching the shadows dance across the ferns and moss, I feel like there is no difference between my self and my surroundings. The peace can be inhaled from the pure breeze and one’s stress melted away like snow in the warm sun. At times like that, it’s easy to find beauty in all the life around me… symmetrical or not.
5 comments July 20th, 2005
Well, all those tales of photographers being sued for images containing the barely-recognisable faces of sue-happy individuals have instilled within me an unhealthy sense of paranoia. Seeing that I’ve been delving far more into photography lately, I decided to round up a few D*I*Y Planner templates to serve as photographic releases.
In this kit (a part of the forthcoming Creativity package), you’ll find:
The pocket releases are for both adults and minors, and suitable for printing onto index cards, à la my Hipster PDA Edition. The adult and minor versions are also provided in a source file so you can modify them to suit your needs; this will allow you to insert your name, change the size (say, to A5), jigger the margins, or change the wording per the advice of your lawyer. If you want to use the OpenOffice.org file, please download and install the free Blue Highway font first, which is used for the title. (There is no public source file for the Hipster PDA variants, but you should be able to use the included OOo file to create your own with a bit of elbow grease.)
These templates differ somewhat from the usual D*I*Y Planner gear, but mainly for the sake of readability — remember, you want your model to be able to read and sign the form without any legibility issues. Aesthetics is a secondary concern.
These forms are based upon releases provided to Popular Photography (see original text here) by the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). These templates are provided here simply as a courtesy, and all applicable rights belong to the original creators and owners: any objection to their distribution in this form by said owners will result in the withdrawal of this offering. As always, check with your lawyer before using any legal forms: they may not be valid in your area or for your purposes. There is no guarantee, implied or otherwise, that accompanies these forms, either on my part, or the part of Popular Photography and Imaging Magazine, or the ASMP.
Whew. In other words, use at your peril, and please check with your legal representative first. Remember, I am not a lawyer, nor do I claim any legal knowledge.
Download: D*I*Y Planner Photographic Release Kit 1
Feedback, especially from those with real legal opinions and knowledge, are quite welcome.
9 comments July 16th, 2005
Imagine my surprise when I learned that a local “demonstration forest” has scores of wonderful paths with plenty of placards explaining flora and fauna, as well as a very rough-hewn trail, miles long, that winds up and down through primeval and almost untouched landscape down along the side of a very large lake. The trail is covered by overgrown vegetation, large fallen trees, bog, moss, wildflowers, roots and rocks, and even animal tracks and scat. A couple of days ago, I took my faithful hound Locksley and meandered down to the rocky lakeshore, had a lunch, and then took some photographs of the flowers and landscape. It was very peaceful: not a man-made sound or sight anywhere. Mind you, the mosquitos along the way were hellish, but I like to think of the hundreds I inhaled as a little extra protein to help with the workout.
Just to change the pace a little, here is a list of my daypack gear I’m taking into the woods nowadays. Note, no Day-Runner or Palm to be found. 
Links are to Amazon, because most people reading this don’t have the benefit of nearby Canadian Tire (well, outside of Canada).
The whole kit, excluding the camera, is just a few pounds… perfect for a lightweight daytime hiking sortie. It’s easy to get carried away and want to bring all the latest high-tech (and often heavy) hiking and camping equipment, but the above does me just fine, and –combined with a little bushcraft knowledge– it handles most situations without a problem, at least here in Newfoundland.
4 comments July 13th, 2005
Merlin over at 43 Folders has a post about a wonderful site for writers called Language Is A Virus. It’s easy to get caught up in all the great mind-bending (and mind-freeing) techniques awaiting unwary visitors in almost every corner of the site.
One of the things Merlin links to specifically is a list of Jack Kerouac’s Belief and Technique for Modern Prose. I started falling in love with Kerouac’s books back in the last year of high school, and it was about this time that my writing really took off. I found this particular list in a book about the Beat Generation, lingering in a stack of library discards (the content was deemed “unsuitable”), and it spoke to me immediately and with such a voice as I’ve never heard. This single page has been my chief source of inspiration for creative writing for a long time, and I have carried around a tattered type-written copy of it now for 18 years.
I’m glad to see it revived for the digital age, when Kerouac’s work might be deemed “suitable” once more.
Add comment July 8th, 2005
I’ve gotten into the habit of taking a walk around the local lake each day to think, relax and otherwise meditate. It’s about an hour’s stroll, and most of the path meanders through some beautiful wild areas teeming with flowers, temperate forest, bogs and soothing streams (not unlike the rest of Newfoundland).
Today I decided to bring my camera along to catch a few images of the irises, which tend to bloom and fade quickly. Photographs like this almost always melt away my stress and take me into another place, one filled with the scent of wild blossoms and coniferous trees, an abundance of oxygen, and a sense of sweeping peace and tranquility. While I do occasionally miss the hectic pace of city life, living so close to nature does indeed have its advantages.
(If you click on the photo above, you’ll get a 1024×768 picture suitable for a background wallpaper. ©2005 Douglas Johnston, etc.)
5 comments July 5th, 2005
Not long ago, I had to teach a workshop on “how to make a website.” The class was to take place in a computer lab with older, unstable machines, and the 15 or so participants ranged from teenagers with a good grasp of web development basics to retirees who barely knew how to handle a mouse. I was given three hours to deliver the workshop, not including a 20 minute intermission. Needless to say, this was going to be a challenge.
Thankfully, it turned out to be far easier than I thought, thanks to the excellent WYSIWYG web development application called Nvu (then still at version 0.8). After using the HTML view to learn a few of the basic codes, we switched to WYSIWYG view and they began to use it like a word processor. We shifted back and forth so they could see how authoring in one view affected the other. By time the three hours were up, almost everybody in the workshop had published their own website, and the attendees were rather psyched up about the fact that they managed to create their own little homesteads in cyberspace.
Nvu occupies the gap left by applications like Dreamweaver, GoLive and FrontPage becoming much more complicated for professional usage: there is a genuine need for a simple but potentially powerful program to create web pages without dealing with difficult learning curves, shelling out hundreds of dollars, or moving too fast and too far beyond the paradigms of a word processor. That isn’t to say that professionals won’t find it handy: I’ve used it a number of times myself for “quick-and-dirty” webpages. It’s also great for keeping a commonplace book that can be accessed from multiple locations via a web server. Although the beta versions were stable enough to use for my purposes, the fact that it’s officially released as a version 1.0 means I can start recommending it to others without fear of beta quirks.
The software is yet another powerful application in the Mozilla family, along with Firefox, Thunderbird, Sunbird (still in early development) and the Mozilla Suite (in fact, it’s the successor to the Mozilla Composer still included in the Suite). It’s available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X, and it’s free to download from Nvu. If you’re a beginner with an itch to start producing your own web pages, or even a professional looking for a cross-platform way to create pages and modify existing sites with a minimum of fuss (or expense), then Nvu could prove invaluable. It costs nothing to give it a whirl, and you may even save a fair amount of money and time in the long run.
(By the way, as with any new tool, make sure you back up your existing files before you start experimenting.)
1 comment July 2nd, 2005
Hmmm… three people have sent me this link so far. It’s a conspiracy, I think.
3 comments July 1st, 2005