Noah Counte

I started to make a randomania post, full of things I find interesting on a variety of subjects. Standard fare, really: some news, some DIY tips, some computer tips... Hopefully helpful stuff. I still have a lot of things to share, but this post sort of settled out into the following list of things you can put on your thumbdrive to increase productivity, or simply to take things you need with you.

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One of the things I have to do at work is take notes. I'm not entirely sure how this duty was foisted upon me, although sometimes it's obvious (like when I am the only one from the office attending a conference). There are glaring reasons why it makes no sense to leave me in charge of preserving institutional history: I don't type quickly, I don't write quickly, I don't know shorthand... In short, I need help.

I've been investigating both note taking systems and tools. The one I currently use (with pen and pencil) is the Cornell Note Taking System.

It forces one to be concise (good when you don't write fast), to pick up on the important themes, and perhaps most importantly, to revisit your notes immediately to recast them in an overview.

Lately, I've found some tools that approximate this method in small programs that have the features of a simple txt editor, but yield notes that look like the Cornell Method. I haven't used any of them extensively, but I've had a look at them:

• Evernote: The trial version does not expire, but it does not have some of the bells and whistles of the pay-to-play version. It seems quite usable as is - perhaps more program than I need. In adition to taking notes, it lets you create to do lists, itineraries, track expenses and more.
  
• Notalon: this one is written in python, which makes it possible to run it on your PC. Unless you have a Mac or Unix/Linux box, in which case you can run it, too! It displays only one note at a time, which I find difficult, as my mind needs context.
  
• Keynote: unsupported since 2005, this is my favorite. Cues appear in a treeview on the left, while noted go in the text pane on the right. It's intuitive and easy.
  

On top of all these, I've discovered (thanks to my Brother-in-Law) Tidliwiki. It's a wiki-like program that is entirely selfcontained in an html file. It can be carried on a flash drive, and can live in multiple instances. Rather than new pages, it creates a "chunk," which appears below the current open chunk (of information). I'm just starting to learn how to use it, but it looks very appealing - and because it's html, I can make it look just the way I want it to look. I've got an instance of MediaWiki running on my PC, and I use it for writing articles and keeping track of all sorts of repetitive but evolving information. I'm really excited to see what I can do with TidliWiki.

Another tool I use is Compact Calendar. It's a quick project management tool - a vertical calendar down the side of a note page. I can make notes and create timelines - and leave a copy with whomever I'm speaking.