Today I pushed out Update #2 to the Cornell Notes Learning Vault.

The response to this learning tool has been phenomenal. Let me highlight some of the key enhancements in this update.

FYI: This is a free update to all registered users.

https://tfthacker.com/cornell-notes

@NickMilo suggested that seeing the Summary of a note at the top of a document would be an interesting experiment. I am glad he recommended it. It is a great alternative for document summaries.


A number of professors working in academia want to use the Cornell Note style for their student handouts. So the learning vault has been updated for better printing support.

This is being produced from a markdown file in Obsidian.

Of course, this update includes new document samples, updated documentation, and fixes to the underlying style sheets exist. More details about the updates are listed here: https://tfthacker.com/Published+by+TfTHacker/CNLV+Changelog

Some have asked if this note-taking method conflicts with other methods, like atomic notes, evergreen, or Zettelkasten. The answer is now, it's complimentary, and it works very well with these other note-taking methods.


Some also asked if the method is outdated? No. The note-taking methodology on the surface very simple, but the Cue and Summary concepts have a proven track record for productive notes. It is also nice that the concepts work equally well on paper or in digital form.

If you are new to Cornell Notes, I did a write-up about it that goes through the basics.

https://medium.com/obsidian-observer/from-paper-to-pixel-mastering-the-cornell-note-taking-method-in-the-digital-age-dae13ed83c29


Exciting Enhancements in Cornell Notes Learning Vault Update #2

Strategy 3 for overcoming the hidden dangers of the GTD INBOX

Getting to one INBOX and not having INBOXES

In a previous post, I discuss the potential danger of having more than one INBOX. 

I will share my tactics for avoiding this potential trap.

https://twitter.com/TfTHacker/status/1558800621905489927

The solution is simple and hard.

+ Simple concept: do everything you can to have just ONE inbox

+ Hard reality: Sometimes your life just requires having more than one INBOX. For example, I have to have one for work and another for personal life.

It's not that I want to have two INBOXES, but my work INBOX contains confidential information and information tied to internal corporate systems.

I also don't want to mix my personal information into my work data.

So I have to have two INBOXES.

In my GTD system, I have one crucial task called WEEKLY REVIEW. This weekly review has a reminder to process my two INBOXES: Work and personal.

Each inbox is a task with a checkbox. My weekly review is not finished until I have checked off each box.


The checklist is a powerful tool for assuring we do things and do them in a consistent way. 

In 2010 I read: The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande 

This book is a mandatory read for anyone concerned with proper time management & consistent results.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030V0PEW/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_TBKSESVSCXZAJ1Z3CCNK

Since I must have two INBOXES, I have a standardized way of handling new thoughts to capture into the INBOX.

I only put work thoughts into the work INBOX, and I only put personal thoughts into the personal INBOX.

What do I do if I am away from my work desktop and don't have access to my work INBOX?

I add the thought to my personal INBOX and mark it as DUE TODAY. That way, as soon as I get back to my desk, I will see this thought and move it over to my work INBOX.

While I wish I could operate with one INBOX, I must use two.

But I work very hard not to let there be other inboxes or capture points in my system.

The biggest trap is to treat mail as an INBOX. 

Don't get confused: Mail has an INBOX, but it's not the same type of INBOX as GTD. 

Mail is a communications tool and can quickly become a blackhole if you treat it like a GTD inbox. 

In review:

+ Try to have just ONE inbox if that is possible

+ If you must have more than one, be very clear about their purposes and use them consistently

+ Make sure to process each inbox at your weekly review

+ Don't use email as INBOX

Avoid multiple GTD INBOXES if at all possible

Strategy 2 for overcoming the hidden dangers of the GTD INBOX

Uninviting the unwelcome equalizer

In a previous post, I note the potential danger that thoughts you put into your GTD INBOX may be treated as equal when they are not

I share my tactics for avoiding this problem.

https://twitter.com/TfTHacker/status/1558800621905489927

The INBOX becomes a melting pot of your ideas, projects, tasks & thoughts. Some are super important, maybe even life-changing, while others are trivial.

Processing the INBOX can take some time, and there is a danger of treating all items in the inbox as if they are the same.

TIME

When processing your INBOX, it's important that you set aside the time and have the focus to go through your inbox. 

If you feel rushed, you will skim items in your INBOX and will miss the fact that some items in the INBOX are very important & deserve special attention.

FOCUS

Even if you set aside the time, you must be determined to be FOCUSed. 

Without FOCUS, you can be distracted by other things that again will distract you from giving your INBOX the focus it deserves.

When I start a weekly review, I remind myself that this time is important and that what I am doing demands my full attention.

For me, this means making sure I have a quiet place. All needed tools and resources are at hand. And that I don't allow myself to do other things.

I often use the Pomodoro technique to maintain focus, but doing so in a balanced way.

https://twitter.com/TfTHacker/status/1485719831013904385

Another suggestion from @hybridrbt is interesting to note

https://twitter.com/hybridrbt/status/1559322427397652480

In summary, while simple:

+ Remember that not all INBOX items are equal in their value

+ When doing your weekly review: Set aside sufficient time and demand your full FOCUS. 

Without intent & attention, you might fail yourself in giving your INBOX it's proper handling.

Dealing with unwelcome equalizers in your GTD INBOX

Strategy 1 for overcoming the hidden dangers of the GTD INBOX

Escaping the black hole 

In a previous post, I discuss the potential danger that thoughts you put into your GTD INBOX may disappear into a black hole. 

I will share my tactics for avoiding this potential trap.

https://twitter.com/TfTHacker/status/1558800621905489927

Consistent reviews

GTD teaches us to do a weekly review of all our stuff. I admit, through the years, I consistently failed to hold to my weekly review & paid a steep price.

I sometimes hate doing it, but it's a small price to pay to keep the chaos of life under control.

To escape the black hole that an inbox can be, reviews are crucial. I do three types of reviews:

+ Daily review of INBOX

+ Weekly review of all projects/tasks

+ Monthly review of things marked for monthly review (otherwise, I don't look at them)

For a sustainable daily review, I have optimized it to be done as fast as possible but not too fast.

When I add something to my INBOX, I assume I will see it in my weekly review. For many things, this is sufficient. They wait until I have time to give them proper attention.

However, if something is essential (time-sensitive, urgent, people-centric), I will add it to my Inbox and flag it as important. Similar to what @ottovanluchene is doing, as he documents here:

https://twitter.com/ottovanluchene/status/1558907670681231360

Personally, if a task is important, I simply mark it as due today. Then on my work desktop, iPhone, iPad, and anywhere else, I can see it, as all of Today's due tasks are constantly in front of me.

They are almost impossible to ignore.

Now, the fact that the task (INBOX thought) is marked with a due date of today doesn't mean I will always do it today. But I will process it today or tomorrow at the latest.

This prevents the big ticket items from not disappearing until a  future date that is too late.

Also, if I "forget" to do my weekly review, this INBOX thought isn't ignored another week.

So in review:

+ All thoughts go into my inbox (I use a task list program as my INBOX)

+ A task is marked DUE TODAY if I need to process that thought before the following weekly review

It sounds so simple, but this one simple step basically assures nothing falls through the cracks.

My advice to you, have a way to capture your thoughts quickly but also a way to flag those few essential thoughts that cannot be delayed from being processed.

I also liked the suggestion from @thoresson

https://twitter.com/thoresson/status/1558817248529227776?s=20&t=dLXFp3Y_d90EdKG52tMejw

How do you avoid allowing your INBOX to become a black hole for your captured thoughts?

Escaping the blackhole of the GTD INBOX

The hidden dangers of the GTD INBOX

I am a long-time GTD practitioner and will likely be so until the end of time. I just finished reading this New Yorker article on the Rise and fall of GTD.

It is a disappointing read.

https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-rise-and-fall-of-getting-things-done

However, I admit GTD has its pitfalls. In my years of working with GTD, one issue I have come across is the hidden dangers of using an INBOX.

First, let's review (no GTD pun intended).

The INBOX is a central collection point for all thoughts you need to process. A thought can be a task, project, or note of something useful.

The goal is to collect thoughts as soon as they occur, not to forget them & capture them in a way that has little to no friction.

For me personally, the INBOX was and still is a potent daily habit I acquired from the GTD methodology.

The places I have used as my GTD INBOX have changed many times in the last 20+ years, but I always have an INBOX in my life, even though my job or technology changes.

While there are many benefits of using an INBOX, in this thread, I want to focus on the following hidden dangers:

1) The black hole
2) The unwelcome equalizer
3) Inbox (not inboxes)
4) Vendor ignorance

#1 The Black Hole

The goal of the INBOX is to quickly get the idea you have out of your brain and into a place that it can be stored in, reviewed, and processed later at a more convenient time.

GOAL of the INBOX: Don't forget, and don't lose your thoughts!

The problem is if you don't regularly review your INBOX to process your thoughts. Or if you rush your review only skimming through your thoughts.

You might reason: I will get back to them later.

But if you don't process them, something important can be missed.

If you don't manage your INBOX, things disappear into a black hole of thought purgatory: meaning that something that requires further action is not processed in time, or even worse, it gets lost and isn't processed. When this happens, we may be throwing away mental gold.

#2 The unwelcome equalizer

This is one of the most subtle and damaging side effects of the GTD INBOX. 

Since the INBOX is a central collection point for thoughts that need to be processed, everything gets put into the INBOX, from small to large, trivial or crucial.


All thoughts in the INBOX are basically treated as equals, regardless of priority, timeliness, or relevance. For example, my INBOX might have:

+ Pick up milk from store
+ Do my taxes before the deadline (in one week)
+ Clean the lint out of my mouse

Do you see the problem?

While these are all tasks I need to do, two of the three are trivial. However, one of them (Do my taxes) has a deadline and possibly damaging consequences if not processed in time.

Lesson: The INBOX treats everything as EQUAL, even though their relevance isn't. 

#3 Inbox (not inboxes)

Another danger is having more than one INBOX. 

GTD encourages us to have one INBOX to simplify the processing of our thoughts.

However, life and work can often force you to have 2, 3, or more inboxes. While it seems harmless, this is a hidden danger.

The harsh reality is that having more than one INBOX makes it harder to process our thoughts. It takes more time, and you must be disciplined not to forget to process each INBOX.

Multiple inboxes often lead to "blackholes" & "unwelcome equalizers" in managing our thoughts.


#4 Vendor ignorance (or arrogance)
This isn't the fault of us as users, but I have been amazed at how many app developers give the quick capture aspect of the INBOX so little consideration, if any at all.

And we may be letting them get away with it.

For an INBOX to work well, you must reduce the "FRICTION" of capturing your thoughts quickly. 

I would define reduced friction in one word: SPEED.

Speed of opening the quick capture tool
Speed of typing in the thought to capture
Speed to save the thought into your tool

But so many apps fail. Many don't even offer a quick capture feature. 

Many that do are SLOW to open. SLOW to start capturing the ideas often due to having to click buttons or make selections. SLOW to save the thought.

This SLOW and FRICTIONABLE quick capture force users to resort to hacking their own half-working solution. 

Quick capture should be designed around SPEED and never be SLOW (unless we the user want to capture our thought slowly and meditatively).

We have reviewed four hidden dangers of the GTD INBOX.

How do you overcome these dangers? Have you found other potential hidden dangers?

Over the next few days I will document how I deal with these hidden dangers.

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/TfTHacker/gZeOqUwuyDsJ