Pile of Index Cards

# I decided to move this web site from “All rights reserved” to Creative Commons.

My work on this site is licensed under Creative Commons License. You can freely distribute my works, including all text on this site as well as photo on flickr, under the license (ver. 2.0 for flickr photo).

That is, you can cite the text and photo on your blog, use for educational purpose, save on your HDD, and share with your friends without permission, unless you earn money or do business using my works. All you need is to put my name “Hawk Sugano” or “hawkexpress” somewhere together. Please read license condition for detail.

I wish this will help your intellectual activity. ;)

ref : @blog, Statistics

According to the statistics of my system, at the beginning this year, it was only 20 cards per month. But in March, it jumps to 400 cards, which records the maximum through this year.

The differences in February and March are,

• hipsterPDA format (portrait) to PoI format (landscape)
• Pigment pen ; black ink to blue ink
• implementation of four card rule
• implementation of Icon and Tag rule
• chronological order in a card box

Most of key features of the PoI system was established in March. Thanks to the chronological order, nothing is stop my writing indexcards. I found the PoI method is really effective and fun for me. It is clear the PoI system/method dramatically improved my output (20 -> 400, 20 times).

It followed by minimum in May (besides February) when my job had been busy. Then it gradually increased until August. In the beginning of July, I introduced Flickr, and in late August, I started start this blog. The number of cards reflects my mental state as well. Main reason of decrease in September was, according to my Record Card, I was mentally depressed. After that, the number gradually recovered.

It seems the number converge and approaches to equilibrium now. The equilibrium point is about 10 cards/day (300 cards/month). If I include cards for “work”, then the number is doubled, 20 cards/day. Perhaps it is comfort number for me.

As a summary of this year, as well as a sample of introducing the PoI system/method ;)

From a curiosity, I wonder how many cards I wrote this year. Here I use indexcards in the “life” dock as a sample for simplicity. The card system for “work” is extended PoI and more complicated than “life”.

Since it takes some time to count them one by one, I used trick to count easily.

1. Measure a weight of the cards of each month, by using a scale.
2. Divide the weight by 1.5, that is a weight of single card in gram (150g for 100 papers).

That’s all. This is another advantage of using indexcard :)

I measured a weight of cards of each month. The figure above is a number of card per month, since February 2006. It was when I start using 5×3 quadrille card. Total and mean are summarized in a table below.

Total (life dock) [cards]	Mean [cards/month]	Mean [cards/day]
1,923	175	5.8

ref. : The Indexcarding PoI Starter Kit

I have been preparing to provide the starter kit, and just finished. Now I’m ready to take your order. You can order Correct’s indexcard, dock, and Kokuyo’s fieldnote via the Service page. I accept a credit card and PayPal account for payment . For a moment, the postal fee is 10 % off. :)

Please let me know if you have question. Please use comments below, or send me an email.

I wish your merry X’mas and happy new year!

Revised 2006.12.30 00:22 : Add photo of the packs.

ref. : Divergence, convergence,
a discussion related to indexcard @ Flickr

I call a state of my Dock like this title. I have never think my Dock as gem box. There are gems, but not all. And it’s totally o.k.

See a Pyramid in Egypt. It is constructed by pile of stones. The stones is useless if it is divided one by one. But if a stone is uniform block and well organized, even though single block is useless, it is possible to become such a great construction.

Even group of several stones, it is possible to metamorphose into a gem. As Josh and Jamie wrote before (here and here), we are trying to find pattern between our individual thoughts, events around us. If we could find a pattern from several “stone” cards, the knowledge generate new “gem” card.

Conversely, if my Dock is full bunch of gems, it means I try to write and select only gem all time. It will be stressful. And the system doesn’t succeed to function as capturing “any” idea.

There are tons of stone card, tiny and apparently useless ideas, in my Dock. But I don’t know their true worth at the time I write them. As Steve Jobs said, all we can do is to connect dots (cards) backward. So I don’t trash any single card. Rather, I keep all of them for future use.

Division of an indexcard and fieldnote can be easily understood through a metaphor on computer.

brain = CPU / Fieldnote = Virtual Memory (HDD) / indexcards+Dock = HDD

Main use of the fieldnote in the PoI system is temporal idea capturer. Almost all topics on the fieldnote will be copied to indexcard and stored in the dock later. Simple to-dos, buying toilet paper for example, are processed on fieldnote without copying to indexcard.

The fieldnote reduce an effort to remember/remind stuffs. It helps to increase one’s brain usage as Central Processing Unit (CPU). Our brain could work as vaporous, if we have reliable virtual memory and HDD behind.

Dock	A box which store indexcards.
KM2P	Kaizo (= modified) Moleskine Memo Pocket.
Quadcard	Quadrille Indexcard, 5 inch x 3 inch size. I’m getting lazy to say “Quadrille” and “Indexcard”.
SIS	Sugano Indexcarding System.
PoI	Pile of Indexcards. Name of this web site, as well as the indexcard system and method itself.
PAA	Personal Analog Assistant. Analog version of PDA.

Revised : 2006.12.23 15:13 Delete SIS and add PoI instead. I replaced “indexcarding system” to “PoI system” through entire blog.

“Review the past, discover new knowledge”

ref. : Cunfucius, The Analects, Translation by Hawk
ref. : Shibusawa Eiichi, Commentary on the Analects, 2004.
ref. : Beautiful calligraphy by flickr user Kanko*

Cunfucius (in Japanese, Koushi) is great chinese philosopher in 2,500 years ago. This quote is one of his famous superb in “The Analects”. There are many interpritation for the original golden words seen in the picture. For example, worship own ancestors, warm up old friendship, learn from history, etc. (Shibusawa, 2004). Here, I interpret and translate it according to my experience on indexcard.

Same rules with indexcard are applied for the fieldnote.

• Chronological order : Write everything in order it emerges. Life, work, complicated idea, simple idea.
• Four Icons : Record, Discovery, GTD, and Reference.
• Time stamp : I put date stamp on top of every page with rubber stamp. Time stamp is made sometimes. I interpolate time when I copy to indexcard. Again, accuracy is not so important. Rather, uniqueness is a key to define absolute name.

The fieldnote is temporal. Later, I copy almost all topics to indexcard. A check-mark beside topics with pigment pen means “copied to indexcard”. Simple GTDs (to-dos) are processed in the fieldnote without copying to indexcard.

The picture above was taken five months ago according to the date stamp. After five months later, now, I still use exactly same writing format. It may be comfort to me.

# The four icons are useful for anything. I use them for memo on reading book, too.

It might be a simple and natural question. Because the hipsterPDA (hPDA) uses 5×3 indexcard, too.

I used to try hPDA prior to the fieldnote. But it is not compatible with this system in several reason.

• it uses indexcard in portrait (vertical). This is troublesome not only for writing format in this system, but also when storing in the Dock. Conversely, it is difficult to use hPDA in landscape (horizontal) because It doesn’t fit for hand.
• it is impossible to write better letter on hPDA. In this system, an indexcard is data which consists a database. It means we should write in better letter for good visibility.
• it is dissipative. It hold just with a single clip. But I really don’t want lost my cards. Also, I used to wash hPDA together with shirts…

It is somewhat paradoxical but the fieldnote is more compatible with this system than hPDA. In a conceptual meaning, the KM2P is much closer to the hPDA.

Revised 2006.12.26 20:37

It’s tough
It is designed for outdoor use, as it’s nature. It’s thick hard cover enable to take a note in any posture. As you start to use index cards, you will meet so many situation that you cannot write index cards.

Idea emerges anytime/anywhere; in a train, in a bed, in a darkness. The field note is the best as idea capturing media in such situation.

It’s reasonable
Kokuyo’s field note costs almost only $2. Surprisingly, the quality is extremely good even such reasonable price.

I use the field note as temporal memory in metaphor of “virtual memory” on computer. It works well since it is reasonable. Imagine if a note costs $20, like Moleskine does, one surely hesitate to write small ideas on it.

A note should not be a “souvenir”. A high price makes us feel that we have to write something “important” only. It only make sense if we use a note in daily base. The low price (but highest quality) of the Kokuyo’s field note makes me feel free to write anything.

Revised : 2006.12.21 9:52, 2008.12.18

The Fieldnote (測量野帳, Sokuryo Yacho) is used and loved by surveyors and field scientists for long time. Kokuyo, a Japanese largest stationery company, sells fieldnote in several format : sketch book (quadrille), level book, and water resistant. I use quadrille as same for index cards.

A simple definition of the “fieldnote” is pocket size note book with tough hard cover. So one cannot call a pocket size quadrille note without hard cover as “fieldnote” : that’s just a “note”.

Umesao and Kawakita, Japanese field scientists, both wrote books about productivity and index cards in 1960’s. According to their books, they used this kind of fieldnote. Their books became de-facto standard, bible, for intellectual productivity and knowledge work in Japan.

I have been using the fieldnote after my job. Through my own experience, I found the fieldnote can be used not only for field work, but also personal idea capturing media.

I hack it by adding elastic band as you see in the picture above. It enables to put a pencil between current writing pages. I use a pencil itself as bookmark. I open current page in a second.

I use other things to enhance this sytem. The main contributer for the support system is a Fieldnote. This is used as temporal memory. The another is Moleskine Memo Pocket. It is modified to carry an indexcard.