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Thoughts on Index Cards
June 7th, 2008 by StephenPosted in GTD, How To -, Links |
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From How Not to Write:
…here are a few lessons I’ve learned about index cards:
1. Be Clear - Nothing is worse than finding a card in your stack that says “remember that thing” or “add dialogue from today’s conversation”. Even though you were in a hurry and swore you’d remember the details, I guarantee that you will not and you will bang your head on the table when you find cards like this in the stack.
2. Be Concise - Putting complete sentences on an index card may feel like a path to clarity, but in the confined space of the card you end up taking card after card and invariably one will get lost and become “remember this thing.”
3. Think Non-Linear - The benefit of using index cards is that you can shuffle and reorder them with ease. However, if you have constructed your thoughts in such a way that one MUST lead to the next, you’re missing out on the interesting possibilities that occur when you suddenly shake up the stream of your narrative.
What do you think? How do you capture your ideas, thoughts, and inspirations?
Please share in the comments.
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June 7th, 2008 at 10:35 am
I used to want to use index cards but it was always a pain to store them in a useful, portable way. Nowadays, I just scribble ideas in a notepad. It’s messy, and I’d be the only one who could work out what is what in the notepad, but it oddly is the most organized, yet simple way I capture ideas.
June 7th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I find note cards really useful when trying to digest a new subject, just writing out key points for quick reference. But when trying to just get my thoughts out I prefer to write about it on either my blog, or just in Word. Seems kind of “new-agey”, but my hand writing isn’t that great, and I like to be able to easily access my thoughts and filing them electronically is conducive to this; also “Ctrl+F” find feature is priceless.
June 10th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Thanks for your comments, I too like index cards for notes, but will often enter them into a program of some sort for search. Currently I m evaluating Ultra Recall and Debrief.