Pile of Index Cards

This week, I spend most of time in library. I escape from computer, like a children run away from home. Morning to night. I spend whole day by reading in library. Long time I forget this comfortable atmosphere.

I found some things good to keep reading, around desk and environment.

- High desk
- Footrest
- Fluorescent lamp
- High Roof
- People

High desk keep book close to eyes. Mine is too low for reading since it is optimized for typing keyboard. The footrest is good for long-time sitting. I found lamp is important for reading. Incandescent lamp in my room is dark for reading. High roof is good for thinking because one look up while thinking. Every people in a library are reading and studying. Sharing common experience in common place. This is good to motivate myself.

なかなか本が読めない時は、環境を変えてみる。

High entropy state : Chaos
Low entropy state : Cosmos

Creativity is born between them.

混沌と秩序の間で。

One thing I clearly see through index cards experience is that a paper is more flexible and robust than computer, especially to enhance one’s discovery.

This contemplation has start to change my life in reality. On desktop, my PowerBook is move to side, and paper returns to the center. This is symbolical event for me.

Since I got my first Macintosh about ten years ago, it had been always at a center of my life. For me, it is more than a computer. I spend most of time with Macintosh in a day. No doubt to be at center of my desktop.

It’s time for me to rethink relationship with computer. How to use it for better productivity. Computer is useful, of course. Most of time, howeber, a computer give me too much things. So now, I start to say “I’m enough.”

知足。

- Brain Storming
- Mind Map
- KJ Method
- GTD
and
- PoIC

I found they have something in common. What is that? :P

To manage information, it is important to know how entropy increase/decrease in a system. Because it is a measure of randomness of information.

According to my experience of the PoIC, and whole cycle of activity using index cards, I think entropy in a system (that is, in a dock) can be represented with a model shown in the picture.

1. Entropy in a dock shows one-way growth with time due to chronological accumulation of index cards. Horizontal axis is Time which depends on a project.

2. At certain point, Task Force is organized as a preparation of reproduction. This time, cards are selected, extracted, then classified. So the entropy in the dock dramatically decrease in this process. In case of the PoIC manual, it is almost one year after of the start project.

3. The entropy drops again due to the reproduction and accomplishment. The Task Forces finish their work and won’t return to the dock that keeps chronological order.

4. The entropy won’t go back to zero because there is still cards remain in the dock. The remaining cards are used for other projects. So it’s o.k.

5. Ready to go to the next project!

As a result, an entropy of the PoIC system shows sawtooth-like cycle with time from long-term view point. It seems organizing Task Force process plays a key role to reduce entropy, and maintain order of the system.