My current system for organising my ideas, tasks, and time consists of a few core things and it is very likely that without them I would most definitely be a mess. The things that I rely on daily are: my phone, laptop, a journal and a few key apps loaded on my devices. I will get into more detail on each of these soon, but first I just want to put out a disclaimer that the system that I am using is a work in progress and to be completely honest, will always be a work in progress as my needs and responsibilities always change and I need something to keep up with me.

My key requirements

I have three key requirements for my organisational system which ensures that I actually stick with it and get the most out of it. My requirements are as follows:

• It should be easy to get information out of my head, so that there is less friction when recording ideas. I shouldn't have to wait to get home to my typewriter to note down an idea.
• It should be easy to find information, because similarly there should be less friction when retrieving ideas.
• It should be easy to pick up after a hiatus, because life gets busy and it shouldn't be a chore to relearn how to use my system after coming back from a holiday.

The items that I use

There are a few items that I rely on to get everything organised, and like most people, they consist of a phone, laptop and like some: a journal. I have tried using an iPad and keeping physical notes in the past, but I find that they both aren't fast enough to keep up with my mile-a-minute brain.

• My phone is a powerful tool and an even more powerful distraction, which is why I have most of my social media uninstalled. Along with the regular apps you would find on a phone, I have Google Calendar, TickTick, and Obsidian installed which I will get into later. I also am a heavy user of the iPhone's do-not-disturb modes, and I have one set up that automatically turns on when I arrive at university to stop me from getting distracted.
• My laptop needs no introduction. It is the powerhouse of this cell. It is where the work is done. It is also a project for me as I run Linux on it, which has been a fun and frustrating journey, and one that I will dive into at a later date.
• My journal is used less consistently and is more of a temporary tool I use when I have many deadlines I need to stick to. The main use I have for my journal is it to lay out the current month on a single page with one line per day displaying the most important deadlines and events for that day. By laying everything out it becomes easier to see what is important and what needs to get done now. My journal is a good example of my third requirement as it is an item that is easy to pick up after a long time of not using it.

My applications

All of the applications that I am about to mention are available on both my laptop (running Linux) and my phone (running IOS) and that to me is amazing, as I have not entirely bought into the Apple ecosystem.

The first app I got in this system is Google Calendar, and I believe that everyone can benefit off of using a calendar even if you have good memory. Using a digital calendar has stopped me from double-booking myself, forgetting a friend's birthday, and embarrassingly I need it to remind me when and where each of my classes are everyday.

The next app I started using is called Obsidian. This app has changed my way of thinking about knowledge management and it is one that I have lost myself customising for long periods of time only to realise that the base configuration is perfect. Obsidian is a note taking app that allows me to write my notes in markdown format, which for those that don't know is essentially just a text file, meaning that I am in control of my data and information rather than relying on some cloud service. Not to mention, it doesn't crash like Word does and searching for notes is seamless. I pay for their sync feature, however you can sync your notes for free by using a cloud storage solution. I just do it because their in-house solution is very efficient.

The third organisational app I use is a new addition in the line up, and is one that I am still deciding on as I have been using it for just over a month. It's called TickTick and it is a feature-rich to-do list that gives me more control over snoozing tasks like pushing them to the next day, or a week from now. It also comes with a habit tracker which has helped me increase my daily water intake. I learned about this app from a YouTube video, and decided that it was worth a shot. I am however not enjoying the fact that a lot of features are behind a paywall so maybe I'll design a custom system to fill this slot in the future.

As I mentioned earlier, these apps are available on my laptop and on my phone, meaning that I can add, modify and view all my events, notes, and tasks wherever I am.

Final notes

I hope you found something valuable in this post and hopefully I have inspired you to take some time to consider your own organisational system, and how you could improve it. If you would like more information about how I use any of the things that I mentioned, then stick around here for the next few weeks as I will be adding more posts and hopefully one of them will have the information you are looking for. Otherwise, most of what I know is from the Internet and good old trial and error. Until next time, bye.