Mentioned:

Bullet Journaling

Black n’ Red Notebook

Leuchtturm1917

Pilot Vanishing Point

Pilot Namiki Cartridges

Noodler’s Bernanke Black

Omnifocus (App)

Scrivener (App)

Trello (App)

Analog

Every Tool’s A Hammer (Book)

Rocket (App)

Pomodoro Technique

Time Timer

Be Focused Pro (App)

JOURNALING 

I use a modified version of the note-taking method called Bullet Journaling, which was invented by Ryder Carroll. I've been using Ryder's system since 2015. I've used all sorts of formats (small pocket notebook, larger format notebook, and digital using the Apple Pencil). I go back-and-forth between lined, hardcover Black n’ Red notebooks and plain or dot-gridded Leuchtturm1917. Black n’ Red has the best paper, in my opinion, and the wide rule makes quick work of notetaking in meetings or while reading. Leuchtturm1917 is, in some ways, more functional with its plentiful and pre-numbered pages, bookmarks, elastic closure, and pen loops (I always install two). Both are sturdy enough to be jostled around on my bike.  I write notes with a Pilot Vanishing Point with Pilot Namiki cartridges. I prefer Noodler’s Bernanke Black ink, but I have to refill too often because I write a lot. The bullet key Ryder recommends handles nearly everything I need and so that's what I use, too. However, I have used a caret-style bullet (^) to indicate when I’ve moved something over to my digital system (see below). I advocate for a plainer, simpler method instead of the multi-colored, sticker-clad sort you'll see if you go Googling.

While I used to manage everything in my bullet journal, I currently use it exclusively as a rapid logger. I take meeting notes with it, read with a pen in hand, and jot down things I want to synthesize in my Zettelkasten (more below), draw diagrams, plan projects, and note to-do items as they occur to me, journal sometimes. To me, my bujo is a temporary storage device that is always with me and enjoyable to use (because of the nice paper and pen). I offload the task management and knowledge management bits to digital tools, mostly. I’ve experimented with digitizing my journals, but I haven’t yet found a reliable way to revisit them.

I also use Roam Research in fits and starts to capture thoughts and ideas about my projects. This is very powerful when I commit to it, but it lacks charm and generates a lot of noise, too. I’m currently on the fence on how helpful Roam is with time and task management.

TASK MANAGEMENT

I have complex feelings about task management. At the heart of those feelings is a frustration that to be on top of things requires me to use software that doesn’t treat my work with the nuance and structural creativity it needs. This misalignment causes me to switch programs a fair bit, which is a waste of time on the one hand and kind of fun on the other.

I use Omnifocus when being on top of things is my priority. I use other tools when I need a system to flex with the work I need to do. Sometimes this is pen and paper, sometimes a whiteboard or post-it notes, sometimes a word-processing tool like Scrivener or Google Docs, sometimes Trello if the work requires others, and sometimes the latest and greatest product that seems like it will fix everything and never does.

Lately, I’ve been playing with Analog, which is a designerly system of notecards that stares at you all day, reminding you of the tasks you’d hoped to accomplish.

My ideal system would allow for a middle-state of progress. I discovered this technique in Adam Savage’s book, Every Tool’s A Hammer, and I find it informative and motivating.

I also wish task management software allowed me to estimate the work I need to do in pomodoros (more below). I find this a more effective unit than minutes or hours because I’ve worked for so long in 25-minute chunks that I have a decent sense of how long most tasks will take me. For example, I’d love a tool that gave me this sort of visual representation:

By glancing at the boxes on the left, you can easily see that I’ve done two items, am working on one, and have several yet to do. The circles on the right indicate my estimates for how many Pomodoro sessions each item will take and which are completed so far. I sometimes create a system that affords this functionality in Scrivener. I use the emoji app, Rocket, to easily type the square boxes. This approach also gives me the ability to easily add a note or a link or a bulleted list under any item, and those things can have to do’s in them, or be purely informational.

There are a couple of ways I use Omnifocus that I feel are worth sharing. The first is my “Be a Good” folder. I create a project for various roles I have and put to-do items in that as they occur to me. I’ve done this for several years and it always surprises me how effective it is for a lot of the little things that we do that aren’t projects but are, actually, part of the project of being the person we want to be in the world.

I also tag certain notes “Reference” so that I can make notes to myself about a project and easily find them when I’m working on things. I put the tag on hold so that I can easily filter it from certain perspectives.

I also use a “Doing” tag and have that displayed in the Forecast view. I know there are many methods for utilizing a tag in this view, such as “Radar” or “Today", but “Doing” works best for me and how I think about my work. I can see the item listed in the view for the day, but don’t need to check it off. It’ll be there for me tomorrow without any need for hacky repeating tasks, which is what I used to do.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Every week, either on Friday or Sunday, I complete a weekly review of all my projects and plan which tasks I’d like to accomplish in the week ahead. I have all sorts of ways to do this and they change frequently. However, at the heart of my review is a look at my calendar. I scan the last week to trigger things I might need to follow up on and the next two weeks to trigger things I might need to prepare for.

On Sunday evenings, my wife and I do a “House Meeting” and walk around our property discussing the things we’d like to do. We keep that list on paper that we both can reference and we use the Savage method mentioned above. It works great.

Every day, I email a friend who is in a different Ph.D. program and let him know my plans for the day and how I did yesterday and he does the same.

I have been using a time-management strategy called Pomodoro Technique to cope with procrastination since 2011. These days, I complete poms with a group of fellow Ph.D. students in a private Slack channel using emojis. We can work together that way and it provides a sense of accountability for continuing (what we call) a pom-train.
🚂🍅🍅🍅🍅💨

I use a couple of tools to time my pomodoros: a Time Timer and the app Be Focused, depending on my working environment and my mood.

REST 

Every week, my wife and I observe Sabbath from sundown on Friday evening to sundown on Saturday. We start with a ritual of lighting candles, drinking wine, and discussing the week over a special meal. We follow a set of “rules” we made, including no screens, no work, no entertainment, no purchasing, and doing plenty of restful, fun, creative, and social things that bring us closer to ourselves, each other our community.

Mentioned:

Chrome

Paperpile (SAAS)

Google Drive

Hazel (App)

DEVONthink (App)

iPad Pro with Apple Pencil 

GoodNotes (App)

MetaPDF (SAAS)

Zettelkasten

Tinderbox (App)

Google Docs

Scrivener (App)

Distraction Free Mode (extension)

Hemingway Editor (App)

DISCOVERY & Capture

I use Chrome to search for articles and have mapped abbreviations to scholarly search engines (e.g. Google Scholar, ACM, my university’s library, etc.) so that I can easily search them. Once I find an article I want to read or track, I add it to my reference management software, Paperpile. I have set Paperpile to backup to Google Drive, which syncs with my computer. Hazel watches this folder and copies the PDF to my DEVONthink Inbox anytime something new appears. Once an item is added to DEVONthink, it is run through an OCR engine and is automatically removed from that folder. This allows me to search any PDF I have in Paperpile, and also to use DEVONthink’s algorithms to find related articles (and zettels, more below).

Reading 

I generally read articles on my iPad Pro, importing PDFs into GoodNotes so that I can highlight and write annotations on them as if I were writing on paper. If for some reason I want to highlight and read on my laptop, I use MetaPDF to do so (via Paperpile). I use eBooks when I have no other choice, but I prefer GoodNotes. As I read, I keep my Bullet Journal close by and make notes using a • to indicate I should spend time documenting, synthesizing, or researching the concept when I’m done.

Important also is how I read. While I don’t always manage it, I try to slow down and read to read (as opposed to read to have read). I work to cultivate a nourishing and present-oriented reading environment, and do my best to pay attention to the process of reading itself.

SYNTHESIS

I use the Zettelkasten method of note-taking, by which I mean that I create notes that contain a single idea or point that is significant to me. These notes are usually linked to other notes, authors, and citations, allowing me to understand that single idea in the context of the larger literature that I’m exploring. I use the knowledge management software Tinderbox to write these notes and map their associations. I’ve created a series of videos that explain exactly how I do this. I also sync my Tinderbox zettels with DEVONthink using these scripts so that I can search my own notes alongside my articles to find connections I might otherwise miss.

Writing 

I've not yet settled on a rock-solid writing environment. My goals are that it be non-linear, markdown-compatible, and distraction-free. On top of that, it needs to work with my reference management software. So far, no solution meets all of these requirements, but I’m still hopeful.

Since I’m currently using Paperpile, I am limited to using Google Docs as my writing environment. This has worked fine for my needs so far (final papers in courses, grant proposals, lecture planning, research protocols, etc.), but I worry that it will fall short in more complex documents such as my dissertation (and possibly even the general exam). I’ll be experimenting with using Scrivener in the new year and will update this page once I have more opinions about that.

Right now, I’m using the Distraction Free Mode extension in Chrome for a better Google Docs writing environment. Previously, I’ve enjoyed OmmWriter, the Freewrite typewriter, Workflowy, Ulysses, nvALT, Typora, and iA Writer in varying degrees, but none have withstood the test of use over time. I sometimes employ the Hemingway Editor to catch overly complex sentences, passive voice, and adverbs. 

Referencing 

I use Paperpile for my reference management and I mostly love it. It comes with some serious limitations: you (currently) cannot use it offline, or on a mobile device (including tablets), and it only works with Google Docs. If those aren't dealbreakers for you, it's seriously good. I love how easy it is to add to a citation, organize it through tags and folders, search for it while writing, format it in any number of ways, and attach files and notes for future reference. It's a joy to use every time I use it. And the support staff's been responsive to my questions.   

Mentioned:

AnkiMobile (App)

Trello (SAAS)

TextExpander (App)

Calendly (SAAS)

GoodNotes (App)

JotNot (App)

iPad Pro with Apple Pencil 

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT 

Before the quarter begins, I use the AnkiMobile app to upload photos of my students and quiz myself on their names. This is the first way I show that I care about them as individuals and am invested in knowing them. During the quarter, I use Canvas as I must, but I generally dislike it. I use Trello for most of my documentation and student/team management needs. I create a board with three lists — On Track, Ahead, and Behind — and create cards for each student or team, as necessary. I comment on the cards and label them (revise, concerned, follow up, etc.) as needed. When grading on rubrics or sharing repeated links/suggestions, I use TextExpander to save time and ensure accuracy.

OFFICE HOURS AND MEETINGS 

I give my students a special link to an event I create just for them using the service Calendly. It allows them to schedule, cancel, and reschedule meetings with me. It saves us both time, gives them control, and allows meetings to be scheduled, reminded about, and canceled without back and forth emailing.

LectureS 

I've been drawing my slides for presentations in the classroom and at conferences since 2008, but I used to draw them using sketchbooks, Micron 005 pens, and either a scanner or the app JotNot. Now, however, I draw using an Apple Pencil in the app GoodNotes on my iPad Pro. It took a while to get used to the rubber on glass feel of drawing on a tablet, but now I feel as competent on the iPad as I do in the sketchbook and the drawings have so much more flexibility and replicability and edit-ability. I can't imagine going back, nor would I want to, because I'm able to quickly and uniquely create slides that are whimsical and interesting to look at. I also use drawing to brainstorm with students, listening to their ideas and sketching out concepts they say out loud. I do this on whiteboards and also on the tablet. It works well on whiteboards if there's a group or if the student wants to draw, too. Otherwise the tablet system works great (especially for virtual meetings).