Icon : Circle
Tag : 2nd block from left
This is any kind of records around you. Diary, note, account, health, weather, diet are classified into this 1st kind. See picture for example.
Revised 2006.12.29 17:38 : “Cooking Recipe” is moved to Reference Card according to nick’s advise. Thanks ;)
According to the contents, the indexcard is classified into 4 kinds, that is, Record, Discovery, GTD, and Reference.
Let’s look them in detail.
Date and Time is very important in this method. The time stamp defines the “absolute name” of the card. This absolute name is used to link between the cards.
Time stamp must be unique, but not necessary to be accurate. This is like URL of WWW. You can define name of the html file as you like, but the name must be unique if these files are in same directory. As you will see, the indexcards are kept in the card box in chronological order. Thanks to the time stamp, it is easy to find a specific card speedy fro the chronological sequence.
This absolute name technique was first introduced on the 2-channel.
Revised : 2006.11.04
The title should be short and exact as possible. The shorter title makes review process easy and speedy.
Contents can contain 5 lines, about 120 of characters. Keep one topic for one card, and don’t put too much contents. Free-hand illustration is very nice.
In case you can’t put the contents for one card, use 2 or more cards. Then put number, like 1/2 or 2/2, to the title.
Revised : 2008.10.12 letters -> characters
According to the contents, the indexcard is classified into four kinds, that is, Record Card, Discovery Card, GTD Card, and Reference Card. From my experience, the four kinds is necessary and sufficient. Too much kinds causes out of control of the system.
The proper icon and tag are added to head of the title and top of the card, respectively.
The icon makes easy to identify the contents visually. The tag is important, especially for finding open-loop of GTD card.
When you look at the indexcards in the card box, you will see which kind is dominant. I must emphasize that a purpose of the tag is not for classification. All cards are keep in chronological order in the Dock.
Revised 2006.12.30 13:22
Here I show what is written on each indexcard. They are,
Click picture above to see the format (I added notes on flickr).
We always start from blank card. There is format, but not printable template. Because we cannot predict what idea/infomation comes next. No PC, no printer required in this system.
The blank card is, in David Allen’s words, “mind like water” and “ready for anything”.
PoIC recommends to use quadrille index card, since its grid provides you the base writing format. You don’t need print the format from computer. Printing on index cards is not realistic, because PoIC will uses hundreds, thousands of index cards. You won’t need printer for PoIC.
The quadrille rule plays an key role for PoIC’s tagging procedure. In case you can’t find quadrille index cards, you can still use “plain” index cards. According to the reports from my friends in the world, it is difficult to get quadrille index cards. The plain index cards is available anywhere, and reasonable, too.
Q. So How much money I need to start PoIC?
A. 2-3 dollar.
For card box, you can use any box which can hold the index cards inside at this moment. In fact, I use kitchen tray for temporal card holder. I will show you Card Dock and modified Moleskine later.
I use blue pigment ink just because it’s comfortable for me. The color can be change as your favorite.
I use pigment ink because,
The cards are keep in a box called “Dock”. The high visibility is important when flipping cards in the Dock. And this analog system is basically permanent system. A copy of our life. If is easy to erase, it means we lost our record. The third factor is important because we write a lot of cards. Physical effort must be reduced to keep writing.
I use Pilot’s Pigment Drawing Pen 0.5 mm (Top of the picture above) for long time. It is enough strong pen-head, reasonable, and water resistant.
Revised 2006.12.30 13:01
To install the PoI system, all you need is
Surprised? :) There is no computer, no printer, no templates. It’s totally analog system.
According to your progress, you will want to add some options. For very first time, however, you only need four items above. If you are interested in this system, and just want to see and try how this work, I recommend you to use plain indexcard for a while. It is available anywhere. If you find an appropriate box, your total initial investment to introduce this system won’t cost much more than $5.
This is extremely simple system. And the simplicity keeps this system rigid.
Revised : 2006.12.30 12:48
Revised : 2006.11.26
Revised : 2006.11.04
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Hello there! My name is Hawk Sugano. I have been introducing my information handling method on the flickr. Here I would like to describe some more detailed methodology.
Through out this blog, I introduce some simple principles to keep stress-free accumulation of information by using Index Cards and a box called “Dock“. I call it “Pile of Index Cards“, or more simply “PoIC“. As a number of cards grow, the system become own knowledge database. Then we are ready to reproduce higher wisdom.
I write this blog not in Japanese, my mother language, but in English because I would like to share information and experience with people all around the world. Comment, question, suggestion on my flickr pictures, blog articles, and wiki is all time welcome.
I’m happy if I could provide you some hints and tips to improve your daily life! :)
Best,
Hawk Sugano a.k.a hawkexpress
It was totally not a straight way to arrive indexcard. In fact, I had struggled. I have tried a lot of media before introducing indexcard.
Long time I had believed that the digital medias are the best to process information around me from viewpoint of “searching”. While I had wrote my journal of my life and work on a notebook.
From my experience of the long wandering in digital world, I understand the hand-writing on paper is suit for me. I arrived analog world at last. Even after I start to use indexcard, I tried several formats.
Finally I understand 5×3 quadrille Indexcard is the best for me. I use it for 11 month now, and I feel really comfortable.
Revised : 2006.12.30 12:38 6 months -> 11 months
Revised : 2006.11.26 some links are added
Revised : 2006.11.04
Nearly 5 years ago, I read Watanabe Shoichi’s “知的生活の方法 (Chiteki seikatsu no houhou = A way to intellectual life)”. His episode was very first time I realize what is card system, and it is used in academic world for long time. But I had never met someone who use indexcard seriously around me at that time. It is a story of another world for me.
A first encounter with indexcard in realty was when I was in graduate school. A professor left a box of indexcards in his office when he move to other university. The professor uses indexcard to manage papers he read like librarian do. Perhaps the indexcards were written when he was young, because they were written by typewriter. It was exactly 5×3 indexcard.
When I move to university at Tokyo as researcher, I saw a “real” indexcard is sold in co-op. In Tokyo, and in university, it is relatively easier to find indexcard than country side where I had stayed days of graduate school.
Revised : 2006.12.30 12:31
Revised : 2006.11.26
Revised : 2006.11.04
One of Watanabe Shoichi’s book “知的生活の方法 (Chiteki Seikatsu no Houhou, A Way to Intellectual Life, 1976)” is filled with tons of his ‘lifehacks’.
He introduced an episode with card system (indexcard + card box) during his stay in Germany as student. A German professor suggested to use card system. Following the hint, he immediately got card box, and start to use it for his research. After a year, he write 300 pages of doctor thesis and got doctor degree successfully.
Revised : 2006.11.26
Copyright © 2006 - 2009 Hawk Sugano, Tokyo, Japan.
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