DIY Planner - The Advantages of Keeping an Analog Work Journal - Comments

comas vs. commas

daveterry — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:47:56 -0400

heh, heh...

Always insert comas between commas at business meetings.

(I don't need a spell checker, I need an AI inference engine. But then again, based on the subject it may have come up with the same word.)

...dave
insomnia cure

>:D

ygor — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:13:39 -0400

Bwa-ha-ha-ha !!!
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)

Comas?

Lex — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:45:02 -0400

I love it. Separated by 'comas' ? Reminds me of my work meetings.

indexing the analog journal

daveterry — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:40:30 -0400

I do the reverse. I list the subjects on the left and the pages they appear on at the right separated by comas. Since the book is chronological this makes more sense to me.

For example:

I'm in a meeting and create a drawing in my book for "Project #1 Environments"

At the end of the month (that's when I update the index) I write in the index "Project #1 Environments" and the page number to the right.

At the next meeting (sometime later) I discover more details and meeting minutes about the "Project #1 Environments" and record more details on the current page.

At the end of the month I don't write a new entry I simply add a coma after the previous number and write the next number next to it. Optionally, I may note (based on the index) that I have drawn a diagram on a previous page. I might then go to that page and draw more detail.

That's it.

...dave
insomnia cure

Very helpful!

tootru — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:48:12 -0400

Thanks nay nay! Both you and Ygor have provided me with some basis for visualization on the indexing. I really appreciate it.

Rearrangement

tootru — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:47:02 -0400

Thanks Ygor.

To explain - I like the idea of an indexed journal as I'm a remote project manager, and I manage multiple (sometimes up to 15) projects at one time. The constant back-and-forth of files causes me a lot of headache.

What I do is I keep main project documents (project plan, SOW's, project timelines) in a project section - but I have so many meetings, phone calls, IM sessions (ugh!) and e-mails throughout the course of a day, that I find myself getting lost if I try to switch folders or sections for every little thing. For example, say I've been on a conference call for the last 3 hours (yes, really). I may have 7 or 8 phone messages at the end of it that need my attention and not all for the same project.

Plus there were my notes for the meeting which probably won't take up a full page (sad for a 3-hour meeting, huh?), but there may be a discussion of the new on-line training tool and its URL, generic user name and password as well as information about the upcoming new 'strategic initiative' that I want to remember.

The way my mind works I'll remember "Oh, I want to work on that mandatory training now. Where's the log-in info for that? Pete mentioned it in last week's process meeting." I just want a quick way to find "mandatory training" "process meeting" and maybe "Pete" if I interact with him often enough.

I've tried separate phone logs for calls and a Franklin-type, but those didn't work for me too well either - there was either too much or too little note room in the planner and the phone logs just ended up getting lost. The more places I store info, the more discombobulated I get. To use some geek-speak, I don't do task switching very well, so if I can avoid the physical upheaval of turning to another page (or grabbing another folder) then I'm that much better off.

Currently I have a master to-do list and a journal/daily record, plus my daily calendar and must-do's that I write out every morning.

Combobulation is my goal.

Thanks for explaining, though, I think I'm getting a better sense of how to do the index.

Index

nay nay — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:27:49 -0400

Here is how I use an index...

First number every page of your journal (even if you end up ripping some of them out at some point).

List the pages 1-? in a column in either the front or back of your journal.

Next to each page # in the index, write a word or two that explains what you want to remember on that page. Maybe some pages have nothing to look back at, so don't write anything in the index. An example is below. I will use projects that I am naming ABC and DEF...

1 ABC contact info; check deposits
2 ABC photo
3 Christmas wishlist
4 DEF Phone #; Mom's List
5....

So, the point is, when you have questions on what you have done for the ABC project, you can quick look at your index and see all things pertaining to ABC and what page the notes are located on.

I hope this helps... If you have more ?'S just let all of us know.

nay nay

Let me try...

ygor — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:23:39 -0400

If you use Circa or other setup that allows for insertion/rearrangment of pages, you do not need an index as you can add new pages to each topic as necessary.

The index is for when you use a bound journal with pages in a fixed sequence.

Example:
You start with project one on the first two pages.
Project two takes two pages
another page for project one
project 3 - 3 pages
2 more for project 1
2 for project 2

OK ?

Now, your index would look like this:
Project One : 1,5,9
Project Two : 3,11
Project Three: 6

Each line having a list of page numbers associated with each project.

How'zat ? Clear as mud ?
-----------------------------------
"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)

Indexing

tootru — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:41:07 -0400

Hey Dave,

I have read and re-read this entry so many times I'm not sure I could count them.

The one thing I'm having trouble wrapping my head around is the index. Is there more you can expound on this? I can't even seem to formulate questions around it - but I just am not sure how to actually format it and make it work.

I don't do any sort of creative or development work, but I do manage multiple projects and I like to keep everything as simple as possible - which is why your journal concept interests me so much.

I will probably be using a Circa/Rollabind for my journal - but want to adapt much of what gleaned from you. (c:

Isn't it for review

reepicheep — Thu, 29 May 2008 20:59:40 -0400

I've always taken the late appearance of templates on the recent posts list to be because of the review that our hard-working moderators put the uploaded files through. Occasionally, usually after a spamming event such as the recent one, I'll go back through a few earlier pages of the list tomake sure that nothing is hidding.

Another problem

jonglass — Thu, 29 May 2008 17:35:35 -0400

seems that sometimes new user-templates don't show up on the tracker page. I don't know if they only show up if somebody comments, or what, but sometimes, I've missed new templates as well.

But otherwise, the tracker is always open, and, like reep, I refresh it frequently enough. I just haven't had much time to post lately. :-(

-Jon

You are welcome

ygor — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:33:50 -0400

he said, putting away the Spammer-Hammer and Dustpan
-----------------------------------
"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)

seconding the kudos to our moderators

kmorris — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:30:13 -0400

Just wanted to add my thanks to the moderators for cleaning up after the spammers.

I really enjoy this site, and appreciate all of the gratis efforts that the Admins put in to keeping it running.

--kmorris

Recent better than front

reepicheep — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:11:14 -0400

adding comments pops this topic to the top of the "Recent Posts" page, and in many cases, that is better than front page.

Wholeheartedly agree. I don't use the front page any more instead my browser has the recent posts page open all the time. I refresh the page several times a day to catch new posts and comments as they happen.

Only time this reliance on recent posts becomes an issue is when spammers post their turds to every thread in the system (as they did over night) and I have to wait for one of our hard-working moderators to clean up after the vandals.

Care and feeding of paper journals

reepicheep — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:06:46 -0400

You can drop a paper journal with no data loss or breakage...

Um, not so sure of that. See my earlier post about dropping my filoFax organizer in the church car park. Luckily for me it was not raining that day otherwise there would have been both data loss and breakage on pages that fell into puddles. Thankfully the ground wasn't wet and the wind not blowing. The results were benificial though; things that I had been carrying around for months were relegated to the archive box where they should have been all along.

The moral is that any journal/orqaniser, whether paper or electronic, needs to be backed up.

The Advantages of Keeping an Analog Work Journal

daveterry — Tue, 7 Aug 2007 23:48:07 -0400

Today's Guest article, by Dave Terry, got published in the forums. It's now been promoted to where it should belong, on the front page. So now, with a proper DIY welcome and introduction... here's Dave!

Dave has spent 25 years in the computer field programming, planning, and designing small and large systems. He grew up in California, then moved to New York City where he learned computer programming. He started his own computer consulting company in Hawaii while raising his family. He holds several patents connected to his short stint at a pre-IPO California company writing VOIP software. He now works as an Enterprise Software Architect in some big Enterprise.

He balances all this electronic stuff with his hand written journals and sketches.

I've tried keeping all kinds of electronic journals. I’ve kept journals on minicomputers, microcomputers, portable keyboards and every version of the Palm. In the end, the pen is mightier than the computer.

It wasn’t for lack of trying. I used all kinds of electronic methods and formats. I used colors to help me identify key categories like: meetings, dates, bugs, ideas, and techniques. I once kept a color coded Microsoft Word document on my hard drive and then moved it to a USB drive for portability. When we started developing in UNIX (Sun Solaris) I switched to simple text files and used VI tags for highlighting. When the Palm came out I sync’d all my notes into it. Cool to read, not so cool to write even with the folding keyboard I bought.

Of course, over the years I’ve learned, who knows, maybe seven different software editors. But maintaining the integrity of my files while moving them between various file formats (EBCDIC and ASCII) and file systems (DOS, all versions of Windows, and UXIX) was problematic at best. But my journals are more than words. They also contain sketches and drawings.

Because of the nature of my work I’m always sketching diagrams. I draw them on the white boards, the back of napkins and envelopes, scraps of paper, and even windows -- whatever flat surface is within easy reach. (You can always identify the software architect in the room. They are the ones that can’t talk without a whiteboard.)

Eventually though I moved to a book-type work journal for several reasons:

I have more immediate access to the contents in meetings.
I can draw diagrams, system flows (pictures) AND write text on the same page.
I can write or draw in any direction on the page.
My drawings are easier to share with others on the team.
I never have to recharge it.
I can quickly scan weeks and months at a time, just by the flick of the wrist.
Analog is a memory aid. Drawing help me remember even if I never look at them again.
I can draw big diagrams in any meeting using the full spread of the open book. (17 x 11).

I’ve always thought that an 8.5 x 11 slatebook with WIFI and bluetooth for Internet and keyboard/printer would be the ultimate architect’s tool. But I’d still have problems with #5, #6, #8 above.

Over the years I've perfected how to find stuff in the journal even though there is no electronic searching ability. (Of course you could always take digital photos and tag them on import but that is far too much work.) Before I tell you the methods I use for indexing let me explain the reason I moved to keeping a hard copy journal at work.

History

I was working in a startup located on First street in San Jose. (Now that I think about it, how appropriate, it was First Street. Did I mention it was a start up?)

We rented half of the building from the Hondai Company. We would receive various visits from some of the lawyers of the investors to instruct us about copyright and patent laws. The lawyers said that in order to back a patent in a court of law, the idea needed to be recorded. He strongly urged us to purchase a lab book with pre-numbered pages. I found a Record Book by National Brand (56-231) with 300 pages. These pre-numbered books and their acid-free paper cost about $30 each; but last about two years. (To make this hold up in a court of law you need dates and signatures. But that’s not what I use my work journal for today.)

What’s on the Page

I stamp today’s date using a date stamp from an office supply store.
I write in the day of week and the starting time.
I write the Todos for the day with a checkbox to the left of each one.
At each meeting I write: the starting meeting time and key attendee names. Sometimes I write the names around a draw square representing the table. I put an X where I’m sitting. I generally use this method when I’m visiting a vendor’s site and don’t know all the players.
I draw sketches related to the meeting and I write down my action items. I copy into the book any sketches on the whiteboard. Sometimes people send me the meeting minutes afterward and I just paste that into my book. The book is for drawings mostly with notes providing some details.
Add an index entry at the back.

The Index

The real power is the index I create in the back. It's simply a list of major meetings, events, diagrams, and conclusions and their corresponding page numbers. I use key phrases so that if the subject comes up again I place a coma after the page of the first entry and add the additional page number. This is my "quick search" feature for the analog journal.

I’ve included some snapshots of my actual journals but here’s what the index might look like:

Topic Page
Adaptive hardware infrastructure 2,4,35
Federated Login and SSO 4,12,102
SAP visit 13
OrgCharting assessments 14,15
…

I start the index at the back page and work toward the front of the book. This way I can add as I go without the worry of running out of space.

When do I make these index entries? I make them monthly or often the same day. It really doesn’t matter. The important thing is to get the main issues, ideas, solutions, or whatever into the index itself.

I also keep a few other lists in the end sheets of the book. I keep track of my taken vacation days and key contact vendor information.

Sometimes it makes good sense to link the journal entries, when the index fails. Mostly the index works fine. But if I need to link two entries in the book pages I simply put the forwarding page number on the earlier entry and the back-link page number on the last entry. A circle around the number and an orange highlight helps it stick out. (See description of the color codes I use below.)

Highlight Colors

There is one more thing that helps me a great deal. I highlight key categories in different colors. Similar to the way I used color in my VI file I mentioned before, I use a highlighter to mark categories of information. Here are the color codes I use:

Green – Meetings & the start of each day’s date stamp and written day of the week.
Purple – A great idea, solution to a problem.
Yellow – General key information such that I might highlight in a manual or book.
Orange – Don’t forget this!
Blue – Follow up or Todos.

Your colors may vary but these are colors I’ve stuck with for years and they work for me. They are easy colors to get in a six-pack at your local office supply store.

Other Tools

I use a simple self-inking date stamp for each day’s date. I could write the date by hand but the stamp makes the page look more official. I hand write the following information after the stamp: day of the week right, begin and end times. I add begin and end times for the day out of habit from my contracting days.

Although I’ve always purchased the 300 page Record books with pre-printed page numbers, this year I bought an 8.5 x 11 art book for my Work Journal. I went to this method because:

Far less expensive, $7 vs. $33.
An 8.5 x 11 size allows me to glue standard size paper into the journal.

I really like the 8.5 x 11 size. Sometimes I get an email that relates to a key diagram that would be helpful to add in that page. Often I Visio a hand drawn diagram from my journal and now want to glue it where the hand written one used to be.

Since the art book doesn’t come with pre-numbered pages I went out and bought a self-inking, auto-incrementing number stamp. (The numbers are useful for the index in the back.) Now that I have the auto-number machine, I use it for all my journals, including my Moleskine private and sketch journals.

Conclusion

That’s it. It’s a simple process. I never put stuff in the journal that I’d be afraid to share with anyone in the Enterprise. I do keep a personal journal and have toyed with merging the two. But they are very different and I keep them for very different purposes. I keep the Work Journal at work and my Personal Journal at home.

I've got about eight years worth of Work Journals now. I rarely reference one older than two years. It is amazing how, paging through the diagrams, I remember so much of the circumstances and events of the time. That’s one of the great reasons I like to keep analog journals either for work or private. In preparation for this article I scanned some of my old journals and even remembered details from the pre-IPO days. You can read about it here called: The Team.

Additional References

Inventor's Notebook
Lab Notebook
Scientific Electronic Notebooks (SELNs)
ELN (electonic lab notebook)

da Vinci's Journals

The Record Book 56-231 Account book. The one I’ve used for years.

There was an interesting discussion on keeping a Work and Personal Journal at Slacker Manager.

D*I*Y Planner - The Advantages of Keeping an Analog Work Journal - Comments