PTPL 018: Including—How Other Apps Are Shaping My Productivity System

Also: order and chaos, and ignoring hacks to actually get stuff done

Sep 19, 2022

Welcome to the 18th in a series of posts documenting my plain text, paper-less, Obsidian-flavoured journey — exploring productivity through a future-proof, plain text mindset, with a soft spot for the paper that counts.

Today I’ll be talking about —

Using apps beyond their intended purpose
The balance between order and chaos
The 4D approach to stop chasing productivity hacks and actually get stuff done
How iA Writer is helping me simplify my Obsidian daily and weekly notes
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Productivity Inspiration

This story from Zoi contains one of the most beautiful quotes I’ve read on finding true productivity in the between spaces of life; specifically, in the value of writing by hand:

Only slowing down could I see where I wanted to go. Only in a limited space of a paper page could I remember where I came from.
— Zoi

Chris Sampson uses the GTD mantra “Delete. Delegate. Delay. Do.” to help him stop reading about productivity hacks, and start getting work done.

Quick fixes with catchy monikers are appealing. They make change seem easy, so we chase them. But they rarely help us to achieve the change we desire. What we’re searching for is a more fundamental change in how we work, something that can form the very foundation of how we operate.
— Chris Sampson

He emphasises that this is a mindset, not a productivity hack.

And, like mindfulness, the 4D approach isn’t something you just pick up and do. It’s something you need to practise. Unlike the latest productivity app proclaiming to effortlessly add hours to your day, adopting the 4D approach can be a challenge. But, once you crack it, everything comes into focus.
— Chris Sampson

In essence, the idea is to take each item on your list and apply the 4 Ds, in order. If you can’t delete it, can you delegate? If not, does it really need to be done now? If yes, do it.

I highly recommend you take time to read the article in its entirely.

Productivity Tips

Can one app do it all, and should it?

Here’s a 3-minute discussion with my thoughts on using apps for things beyond their intended use. Should I use just one app to organise my life?

From the article:

One of the reasons I like Obsidian so much, is that its “intended use” is so very broad, it doesn’t really have one.

I use Obsidian for many of the same life-management scenarios listed above, but not all. It’s my project and task manager and general second brain, to use a popular term, but it’s terrible at reminding me when the tax bill is due.

For that, I use my digital calendar, and not just one. I have several downloaded onto my iPhone solely for the way their various widgets spark different areas of my brain.

Perhaps tomorrow I’ll simplify down to just one, but today, using three for slightly different purposes works well for me.

Balance between order and chaos

In Notion Creator’s Weekly #27, Dave de Céspedes talked about the need for balance between order and chaos.

He suggests that, no matter how much we love the structure of whatever our system is, we regularly ask —

How can I plan for unstructured time and work?

Databases and tables and pretty dashboards can never take the place of regular sessions of deep creative work. When you balance your yang with a healthy dose of yin, everything begins to flow more smoothly.

Adventures in Obsidian

This week, I’ve been taking a closer look at iA Writer and how it works with Obsidian. Check out this piece by Martin Sketchley to see why he likes to use both iA and Obsidian.

Here’s my detailed write-up of how my weekly and daily notes are evolving and simplifying as I try to reduce the number of Obsidian-centric features I rely on.

In brief, this is what’s changed:

I’m trimming my Obsidian-templated pages, choosing elements for their practical value — with a nod to aesthetics
Elements intended to be transcluded are placed individually on their own “Master Page”, rather than as a group on one page with block references
I’m taking the spotlight off plugins, making sure the core elements of my system can work in other apps compatible with WikiLinks.