{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1", "title": "TLSp on Vladimir Campos", "icon": "https://avatars.micro.blog/avatars/2025/29/112599.jpg", "home_page_url": "https://vladcampos.com/", "feed_url": "https://vladcampos.com/feed.json", "items": [ { "id": "http://vladcampos.micro.blog/2026/07/04/an-update-on-the-timeline.html", "title": "An update on the Timeline System on Paper (and why I might switch to pencils)", "content_html": "

Since I started the Timeline System on Paper project, I’ve been dedicating some time to finding out what the best pen is for the notebook I’m using. And when I say “the best,” keep in mind that it’s just a way of saying “the one I like the most.” Oh, and by the way, I’ll probably be referring to this project as TLSp from now on.

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Anyway, back to the pen. What if it is a pencil instead? A couple of days ago, I watched Michael Stevens talking for half an hour about mechanical pencils and why he prefers to write with them instead of a pen. You know what, he has a point. So, I decided to try that in my notebook. But 0.3 mm — or 0.2 mm 😮 — is too wild for me. 0.7 it is.

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That said, let’s talk a little more about how the TLSp works, what I changed, and what I added to the project. But remember, this is a work in progress and things will certainly keep changing.

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Proactive vs. Reactive

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And there’s another disclaimer. A system like this will not work for those who need to be constantly reminded of what to do. My approach to doing things is on the mindful side of the spectrum.

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I do need information and some sort of log to keep track of what I have to do, but I never rely on notifications to tell me what to do and when. What I do is constantly look a day and week ahead in my calendar and check all my work in progress to then decide, based on the current circumstances, deadlines, etc., what makes the most sense to work on now.

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Pin this information for a moment. I’ll soon get back to it.

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Timeline

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Like I said before, the entire notebook is the Timeline and, as a follow-up to my last post, I ended up deciding to add the time to each new entry. And because of the absolutely crazy heatwave in Europe right now, I decided to also include the temperature.

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The image below shows a condensed version of what I’m doing. Just imagine the lines on the sidebar farther apart from each other, many times even on different pages.

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\"2026-07-04-notebook-page.png\"

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A thicker horizontal line indicates a new day. You could argue that the date is already there doing that job, but the line is much easier to spot when flipping pages. Then, every time I start taking new notes, I’ll use a thin line, add the time and the symbols I mentioned in my last post.

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Here’s an updated list:

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Status

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Type

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Other

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The idea is to always combine a Status icon with a Type icon. As for which one comes first, I’m still hoping a standard will emerge by itself as I use the system. So far, it’s whatever comes to mind first when I start writing.

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As for why “blog” is the only one in lowercase, I don’t know. It happened naturally since the very first time I did it. Perhaps my brain thinks of the lowercase as a better representation.

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I believe we should always use symbols that make sense to us when we are doing something as personal as this. Creating a rule that all Type icons should be capital letters would only add unnecessary discomfort and friction to the system.

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Bookmarks

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Remember, there are no sections; I just keep writing. The icons do the job of telling me what that information is, in case I need to go back. And that has already created an issue that I addressed with two bookmarks.

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When I use the square icon, that means it is an Action and I need to do something about that entry. And this is where we return to the “Proactive vs. Reactive” topic I mentioned in the beginning. I don’t mind going back a few pages to check if there’s something I haven’t done yet, but flipping pages all the way back to the beginning of the notebook every single time doesn’t make sense.

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\"2026-07-04-two-ribbons.png\"

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That’s where the first bookmark, in the form of a red ribbon, comes in handy. I’m using it to bookmark the last page with an Action still uncompleted.

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That does two things: I’ll have quick access to what I still have to address and, by how far that ribbon is from “now,” I’ll also be able to tell if there’s something too old that I should be taking care of to be able to move the ribbon some pages ahead.

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As for the other ribbon, it’s there just to facilitate access to the next blank page. In other words, today.

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Hyperlinks

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Again, because there are no sections or any sort of topic separation, I needed a way to link new notes to older, related ones.

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I chose to do that using parentheses with numbers inside. If it has a single number (p), that’s a page in the same notebook. Two numbers (n,p) will indicate the notebook number, then the page.

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At first, I was trying to keep things as simple as possible and didn’t number the pages. Well, that’s not an option anymore. As for the hyperlink indicator, it can be in the sidebars next to the entry, or inline in a sentence. I decide it by context. If the sentence or word is related to the old note, I’ll use it inline. If the entire note is related to the previous one, the number goes in the sidebar.

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That’s it for now. If you decide to try this, I’d love to know your thoughts and any ideas you have to improve it.

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