Pile of Index Cards

Ref. : @ blog v. 1.5, Statistics and Analysis

Look close at my Dock@home and tag of the cards in detail. You find Record and Discovery cards are dominant. It means I had used the PoIC system mainly as record and idea capture. The GTD card is not so many because most of time a GTD stuff is processed on the Fieldnote.

So a statistics that I made at the end of last year reflects mainly a number of Record and Discovery Card. It shows huge oscillation, from 100 at minimum to 400 at maximum.

Weissmanrichard, a flickr user, give me an interesting comment about the statistics. He points out Record, GTD, and Discovery are an output (blue line in the picture), and Reference is an input (red line in the picture). I had never imagine such view points before.

What I can deduce from them is, if I concentrate only to output, it oscillates like a wave. Increase, soon it stops, then starts decrease. In other words, a slump happen anyhow. Output without input is limited, or more strongly impossible. In my case a input mainly come from reading. The Reference Card is much more important in the system than I thought before. I had a trick not to take note of the book. I need to rethink how to take the Reference cards better.

The previous Blog based manual writing is at the limit. Parallel to the new WordPress Blog, I started a small project that editing the manual using Wiki system : PoIC v. 2.0. The applied Wiki here is MediaWiki that is same one with Wikipedia. It is easy to use, and powerful tool for editing. A big reason to move new .org server is to use newest version of the MediaWiki.

I finished installation and set up of the Wiki, and pour v. 1.5 on the database. It is still (or always?) under development, but ready to use. As a nature of Wiki system, anybody can join for the editing.

- Drop in, and Read articles
- Leave comments or join to discussion on the Forum
- Edit articles

I accept editing articles until it is productive and constructive. As a first step, you can create your own account and login. If you are not familier with Wiki system, start from Help page that I collect during basic setting. Wiki is not difficult.

I’m happy if I could collaborate with you :)

If I settle the icPod just in front of the Dock, the meaning of “Pod” is obvious.

The dock is used as card storage, and basically stable. On the other hand, the icPod (known as KM2P) holds cards up to a week’s, and mobile. The relationship looks like space ship and space plane in Sci-Fi. After check (review) process, the Pod leaves the Dock, and fly into a space again. :)

In the previous KM2P, it is difficult to imagine it’s time sequence since cards and week dividers are difficult to see. Now, with the new icPod, a temporal sequence of now-to-past correspods to a spacial sequence of here-to-there. It’s intuitive. Whole system is united.

This customize bring me two mental effects. One is that it is fun to see cards accumulate in the icPod as I write cards through week. This might be somewhat childish, but important for me. Second is the connecting dock makes clear a meaning of week review process : Connect, and send the cards to the Dock, empty icPod, and leave again. This is anothor fun stuff. :)

I have used Kaizo (= customized) Moleskine Memo Pockets (KM2P) as index cards folder. A problem is the cards inside pocket is hidden by a wall of pockets. For a while I have used it just as a shuttle between office and home.

I found a good solution for the KM2P. I have been using a card tray as card stand because I can see what I wrote. Then what about I cut the pockets of the KM2P? I have used KM2P more than half year. Nothing to hesitate for futher customization.

So I start Kaizo. The procedure is,

1. Fold all accordions in reverse, then
2. Cut away half length of the pockets.

That’s all. The first procedure is already done in ver. 1. So this time, only second is needed.

It’s so simple. But it makes huge effect because a frequency of access depend on a visibility. I have used through this week, and it is quite useful. The “Next Action” is front end of the Pockets. So I clearly see what I have to do. In addition, I found if I settle it just in front of the Dock, a sequence of the cards are more easily understood : From day to week, week to month.

Since I have called a card storage as “Dock”, it is natural to call the KM2P as “Pod”. It resemble to a concept of the iPod, too : A thousand songs in your pocket. It resemble to space vehicle in Sci-Fi and Japanese animation like “Gundam” as well. The Dock-Pod relationship in PoIC system is clearer. Now the Pod is much more than just a shuttle.

Hereafter, I call it as a Pod rather than KM2P. Futher more, the Pod for index cards, so… Index Cards Pod -> icPod? Then the catch copy must be, “A hundred of index cards in your pocket” :)

I got new domain www.pileofindexcards.com just after new years day, and moved from my old .Mac account. I was little bit hurry since it was beginning of the year. I didn’t think deeply to get .com domain.

After while, I feel small gap between what I want to do, and the domain .com. Is this site really commercial? I started the Service, but it’s main purpose is to distribute card, note, and dock I use. This question might be tiny stuff. But it is always come to my mind.

Last week, I tried to get new domain again. This time, pileofindexcards.org. Organization. It sounds better for me. Because the PoIC system is not mine, but ours. I seeded, and the seeds start glowing.

I put same files and start test run. It seems the new .org server is slightly faster access than present one. More importantly, the new server supports newest version of PHP and MySQL.