From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: "Alan E. Davis" Subject: Re: Re: How you ORGanize yourself? (aka: Why not one file to rule'em all?) Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:51:04 +1000 Message-ID: References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Return-path: Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1O4Wak-0007JB-Hw for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Wed, 21 Apr 2010 05:51:34 -0400 Received: from [140.186.70.92] (port=47737 helo=eggs.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1O4Wai-0007GV-A3 for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Wed, 21 Apr 2010 05:51:33 -0400 Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1O4Wad-0008Aw-10 for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Wed, 21 Apr 2010 05:51:32 -0400 Received: from mail-iw0-f176.google.com ([209.85.223.176]:33879) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1O4Wab-0008AY-Pa for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Wed, 21 Apr 2010 05:51:26 -0400 Received: by iwn6 with SMTP id 6so4795431iwn.26 for ; Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:51:24 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: List-Id: "General discussions about Org-mode." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Sender: emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org To: org-mode More than you want to know, I'm certain. I would certainly appreciate any ideas that others might provide. I am reluctant to provide much in the way of personal details, but perhaps I do have to provide some detail, in order to call attention to how I use Org-mode, in many aspects of my life. The pattern of my usage of org-mode has evolved through perhaps a year and a half, yet I am still at a very modest level of understanding. All the same, I have grown into new understandings about how to use Org. The ~/org directory (under git control so I can keep up to date on three computers) has been weighted down with a considerable level of cruft. I am a scatterbrained/eclectic, constantly thinking of new ways to clutter these files; yet, Org-mode is an ideal tool for this, and I am learning more and more about how to use it. The main pattern that begins to emerge is the usage of many files, but more and more of them are merging into single topical or function based files, something like the following. However, I sense that some of the org functions (including some agenda based functionality, and especially tagging) are starting to slow down. The files 1. Main files 1. JOURNAL.org:: Various longer posts, from some remember templates with various top level headers as targets. 2. notes.org:: target for org's tools for firefox, as well as for a remember template to store notes for later filing. 3. LetterDrafts.org:: writing correspondence 4. Todo.org:: Various kinds of TODO notes 5. Happenings.org:: Diary like functionality 6. Diary.org:: Emacs diary 7. Contacts.org:: I still haven't figured out how to do this. 2. Project related files, general 1. System.Journal.org:: where I log various system issues and try to keep on top of changes to my system, both hardware and operating system, as well as software. 2. Classes.org:: Where I keep various kinds of notes on courses I teach. (I think I have struggled with this the most). 3. Field.Journal.org:: I am a biologist who makes field notes. 4. Music.org:: Becoming huge with guitar tablature, lyrics, notes on the Guitar, etc. 5. Drafts.org:: Drafts of all kinds of documents. 6. SCHOOL.org:: Notes about the school where I teach. 7. Microscopy.org:: Notes on microscope use and hardware. 8. Science.org:: Notes of a scientific nature, about literature or research. 9. Quotes.org:: I have a remember template for storing away quotes. 10. Sweeps.org:: Hardly used, up to recently, a place to store "Mind Sweeps" or Brainstorms. 11. Emacs.org:: Log and notes about use of emacs, and notes about the changes I've made to .emacs.el 12. Health.Journal.org:: notes on health issues for the members of my family. 13. HOWTO.org:: When I have figured out some settings or installation notes, I keep them in this file in a highly unintelligible HOWTO format. Sometimes even I cannot read them. 14. Film.org:: I keep notes on films I watch and vidoes I use in teaching. Including time-indexed notes made with the relative-timer facility or Org-mode. 15. EmacsTricks.org:: 3. Project files, more specific, and more numerous. For example: 1. BeachHoppers.org 2. DigitalPhotography.org 3. LetterToJoe.org 4. Worms.org 5. Recipes.org 6. MakingDo.org:: a few notes for a book about running a laboratory on a shoestring, using found objects, etc. 7. Tides.org:: One of my interests. 8. Lexicon.org:: I am saving notes here using a remember template that saves linguistic notes in "band format." 9. ScientificLiterature.org:: I am trying to organize notes on downloaded PDFs and bibtex reference database. Usage notes. 1. I am learning to use the agenda. I have some custom agenda commands. It has taken me a long time to learn how I can keep track of events and appointments, as well as TODO items. I'll be learning for a long time yet. SCHEDULING is useful, as are DEADLINES. It's taking a while to fall into habits of use to make these useful to myself. 2. I am slowly learning to use tags in a personally useful way. 1. Context is somewhat useful. However, I really need a shopping list. 3. I am starting to use inheritance of keywords on headlines, as it helps clean things up. 3. I am also gradually beginning to understand how I can use TODO keywords. 1. My more unique keywords include: EVENT, LESSON, APPT, PROJECT, IDEA, WRITE 4. Outlining is the most important thing I use Org-mode for. I am happy to be able to export a PDF of notes taken during a meeting or any other times. It surprises me how quick this is, and how nice, even though I've been using LaTeX for years. 5. I hacked the code to provide six priority levels, #A--#F. I haven't gotten around to use all the levels, but I forsee being able, for example, to use #F as shopping list items.