Chronology
People will naturally gravitate towards something that makes them feel good. There is no need to lock me in with an algorithm or by throttling posts with links. Bluesky, thank you for constantly reinforcing my feeling of wanting to return by not controlling what I see.
I 💙 Chronology
First, explain what it is, then make it look nice
Picasso once said, Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working. In other words, one must be doing it — putting itself into the zone — to finally find the solution.
This is evident in Picasso’s museum in Málaga, Claude Monet’s house and garden in Giverny, or Van Gogh’s museum in Amsterdam, where you can see these master’s art in a chronological order, starting from the beginning of their careers.
It’s been a while since I’ve published anything on my blog, but this doesn’t mean I’m not writing. On the contrary, I’ve been incessantly working on my book. But that, on the other hand, doesn’t imply that I’ve made a lot of progress. In reality, it was only today, after starting the third draft, that I was finally happy with the book format.
In addition to Picasso’s mantra, what helped me find my way was a strategy I use when I can’t figure out a solution. What frequently helps is to first explain what it is, then make it look nice. Ironically, that doesn’t seem like it applies to understanding art.
Anyway, when I restarted the book for the third time, I did it from the middle, explaining what the Containers of Information are. It was then that I gradually began noticing that parts of it connected to many things I had already written in the two previous drafts, which I started repurposing.
Another strategy I tried was to use Obsidian Canvas to create a simple diagram of how the book should be structured. That’s what you see at the beginning of this video, but that was also a first draft. I moved those boxes around a lot and created new ones until I finally found the structure I was looking for.
Some people might see it as working twice or three times, as it was in this case, but if that means a book structured in a way that’s easier to understand, I’m fine with it. Furthermore, the parts that have already been written are being put to good use in a different order in this new version, which leaves me with a mystery to solve: how could authors do it with typewriters or, before that, pen and paper?
Those were the real geniuses.
✍️ PS. If you are not familiar with the Containers of Information concept, you can learn more about it by watching the first part of the video below. Even if you are not an Obsidian user.
The more I use the Supernote, the more I appreciate how the system incorporates chronology everywhere. Check out the Recent Files section. It fits perfectly with my Timeline System. How cool is that? Not to mention the Last Opened Document/Note. I use these three buttons all the time.
Since I am currently on a reorganization spree, I decided to experiment with an idea. At the moment, I have multiple subfolders for images used on my blog posts, Journal, Office, and Home folders on Obsidian. Maybe even others. One thing I always wanted to try was to have some folders dedicated to certain types of files, such as images, PDFs, etc.
Here’s the plan. I’ll consolidate all the images into one folder, which will serve two purposes. First, it will work as an album. However, it will also serve as a centralized storage space from which I can drag pictures to use in any of my notes.
And because of the way Obsidian works, those pictures will also be easily accessible from the computer’s file system if I need them for other projects. Below, you can see how easy it is to interact with the images using the Mac file system (Finder). By the way, the kids in the picture are my sister and me, captured during my first move to Boston. I absolutely love that city.
Another benefit is how straight-forward it is to save pictures there. I can simply use the “save as” option on any image editor and choose the Photos folder on the file system, which in reality is located in Obsidian.
I’ve successfully moved 40 images and am pleased with the results. But there’s a catch. Because of the way I imported some of my content to Obsidian, the creation dates of many files are all messed up. So, I’m also adding the date (YYYY-MM-DD) to the beginning of each file name (thumbnails above). This will help me see the pictures in chronological order by ordering the files alphabetically. I hope that makes sense.
If this works, I may try the same with PDF files. Stay tuned.
Evernote—The Aha! Moment That Ended My Lifelong Organizing Struggle.
I spent years searching for a solution! Here’s how Evernote finally helped me conquer information overload and organize everything.
While enjoying some old pictures yesterday, I noticed something that brought back a very specific memory.
Some of them, which date back to my childhood, have a code on the back. I can’t remember exactly what it means, but I know that the comma separates two types of information.
One is related to the order of that picture in a sequence. The other indicates the group, which would translate into something like the digital albums some people create nowadays.
In the example below, it would mean something like the second picture of a group (album) with the number 13. It may also be the other way around. I don’t know which one it was. The codes would be written in a paper notebook with additional information, such as descriptions of the album and pictures.
I used a variation of this system for many yeas. For example, when I started using a computer to write my letters, I had a two-digit code associated to the name of each person and the date in reverse order. Something like AC19930429. Similar to the pictures, the codes had a description associated with them, but at that point I was using a spreadsheet on my computer to log everything.
When I learned how to use databases, the system further evolved. In addition to storing the codes, the database had keywords from letters, documents, books, and articles from printed magazines.
I spent too many years perfecting this system, but the reality is that it was horrible. Probably because the digital database was only capable of cross-referencing the keywords I added to it. All the related information was still in physical media, and archiving and retrieving it was never a pleasant or efficient experience.
Time to simplify things
I eventually gave up. In addition to being a terrible system, this happened during the 1980s and 90s, a period known for rapid development of computers and the lack of cheap and reliable backup solutions.
However, I was not abandoning the idea of creating a system for my memories. As an early user of the Palm Pilot at the end of the 90s, I created a basic version of my system that I could carry with me everywhere.
Years latter, when Apple released Spotlight, it blew my mind. I understood that I would no longer need to organize information. At some point in the future, I would be able to simply ask for it and the computer would show me the related documents.
Little did I know that that dream would take many years to come true. Furthermore, there was a practical issue to consider. Spotlight was a Mac-only feature, and I needed something that would also run on my Palm Pilot, or simply Palm, as it was known at this point.
Despite there being no apparent solution, I kept adding my personal and professional stuff to that remarkable little computer, which I carried with me everywhere. I was so passionate about it that a website dedicated entirely to it ended up being my first online venture. And in October 2000, I was even asked to write a piece about how the Palm was going to change the world.
In the end, the smartphone did what I thought Palm would do. That’s okay. But one thing that saddens me is that I always thought that shared knowledge would make us a better civilization. I was probably too naive, since I never thought we would become so divided as a society. But that’s a topic for another moment.
16 years ago
I officially began using Evernote exactly 16 years ago today. I know this because I saved the welcome email using Web Clipper. However, it took me many months to fully commit to it.
That was the first time I had to deal with a chronological system to organize notes, with only one level of folders (notebooks). Back then, stacks didn’t even exist. As someone who had only used folders, a complicated coding system, and databases, I guess my perception of Evernote was destined to be the most negative possible.
I stopped using it several times in the first few months. The only thing that kept me coming back was being able to synchronize my notes across multiple platforms. Remember that back then, even the Apple ecosystem would not allow us to synchronize Mac notes with the iPhone.
But what ultimately made me stay was the fact that I decided to fully embrace the simple structure of notes inside a notebook and the chronological order of the notes, which I stand for until these days.
Like magic
I couldn’t see it at first, but Evernote instantly merged the two parts of my unusable childhood system. I could finally have the information and the database in the same place. Even better, I didn’t even have to build the database. It was finally just a matter of searching and finding.
Other times it was just a matter of looking at Evernote and finding. The way it arranges and presents our notes evokes a sense of clairvoyance. But it’s simply the way our brains work.
If I just used a note, it is highly possible that I’ll need it again shortly. Evernote has many features, such as Recent Notes, Switch To, and even the Notes Widget, which displays notes ordered by recently used. If you need to find something, visiting one of these places can be magical.
Even though I graduated as an economist, I always liked reading psychology books about memory. They helped me see how chronology plays a big part in how we remember things. The more I studied and learned, the more I realized how bad of an idea it was to keep excessively categorizing things.
However, it was the book Algorithms to Live By, which I read in 2016, that really connected all the dots. I consider that book to be my manual for organizing everything in both the real and digital worlds.
Old habits die hard
Thanks to a simple 2,13 code on the back of a black and white picture, I now understand that the system I’m currently building is the culmination of something I started many decades ago. I could not accomplish it back then because technology was not there yet.
We now have access to advancements well ahead of anything I could ever imagine. Not only is Evernote finding and showing me related notes, but it is also giving me answers based on my notes.
You’ve been watching me dismantle my entire collection of notebooks in Evernote and letting the tags and chronology help me find related information. What you probably don’t know is that I started sharing some of these ideas many years ago in my workshops, podcasts, and blogs, but I never fully embraced it until very recently.
I’m finally letting it go and trusting Evernote like never before to find what I need. As you know, the few notebooks I still have are there to help me do my work, not to be a knowledge or storage category. I’m still using tags, though. But I hope to also let that go as the search results start serving me the correct information.
2,13 is long outdated and has to go.
To celebrate my 16 years using Evernote, I released a video for supporters on Patreon and YouTube showing and talking about (almost 🫣) all the items I have in my big collection.
