PTPL 034: Forget the Obsidian Graph—Create Digital Content Maps By Hand
Plus, Why I'm loving writing (and re-writing) my tasks, and an in-browser collaboration-friendly Markdown editor
Today I’ll be talking about —
How creating content maps by hand can help you take a mental picture that you won’t get with an auto-generated graph
The five questions I ask myself when writing out a task by hand starts to feel arduous
A free in-browser Markdown editor ideal for collaboration
What I’m doing about the friction in my plain text productivity system
The downloadable paper template I’m using to plain each month
Productivity Inspiration
Rasmus Ursem recommends creating concept maps by hand, asserting that they can be more useful than auto-generated graph views like Obsidian’s.
The slow design process of concept maps and the fixed placement of the nodes and edges allows you to take a mental picture of the map. It is a bit hard to express the value of this in writing, but fixating the nodes layout allow a kind of integration between the concept map and your (first) brain. While adding concept nodes and relationships, you see the map so many times it actually becomes like a connected second brain to you.
— Rasmus Ursem
I like this idea; it’s something I plan to do in an Obsidian Canvas board. The same effect is what keeps me coming back to writing my plans out by hand, whether in a notebook or on my iPad. More on that in the last section, below.
Productivity Tips
On writing (and re-writing) tasks out by hand
I’ve found that I like writing (or typing) tasks by hand for the next day, and re-writing them when they need to be shifted to another day or another list. It’s making me more intentional, and giving me a greater sense of control over what I do.
If it’s annoying to write out the same task again, here are six questions to ask yourself:
Does it need rewording?
Should it be deleted?
Should I just DO IT instead of putting it off?
Do I know how to do it?
Where can I seek help?
Does it need breaking down into smaller pieces?
In-browser Markdown editor
StackEdit is a free in-browser Markdown editor that uses the same WYSIWYG editor as Stack Overflow. It can sync with Google Drive, Dropbox, and GitHub. That means you’ll be able to use it as an interface for your Obsidian vault, if one of those is your sync location.
Biggest selling point: collaborative workspaces!
Two people can work on the same document at the same time, with StackEdit keeping track of and merging the changes.
Adventures in Plain Text (and a little paper)
Plain text task management — scratching an itch
My plain text task management system is starting to chafe a bit. This is excellent news; I’ve been waiting for it to happen!
Now I get to practice what I preach, and take notes on the source of the friction. This will point to the next piece of incremental complexity my productivity system needs to run smoothly.
The main issue I’m facing is in reviewing projects and tasks on a regular basis. Now that my Must and Should lists are longer than my arm, these reviews are vital.
Adding numbers to the beginnings of the file names puts higher priority items in front of my eyes first.
Lesson: Start simple. Add complexity in layers, and only as needed.
Paper: Less
Actually, in my case it’s Paper: More, but the philosophy remains the same. I’ve been using paper to plan out my month for a whole week now, and oh does it feel delightful!
I suspect the bliss-vibes are coming from doing something differently. From taking off my sturdy plain text shoes and feeling the soft grass of a nostalgic, timeworn practice between my toes.
The sheet I showed you last week has changed in a way that satisfies my attention-to-detail bone: the fold in the (A4) paper now falls between Wednesday and Thursday, instead of halfway through the latter. There’s a faint guide for writing in the dates by hand, that’s helping me keep them uniform.
Speaking of attention to detail, the size of the grid is the same as you’ll find in the exquisite Hobonichi planning range. It’s the Goldilocks of grid proportions. This sheet is available as a free download on my Gumroad store if you’d like to try it out for yourself.