[Productivity 0001] Readwise Reader made me think differently about organization (2212131340)

Sparks sometimes come from the innocuous

Introduction

I was testing out the new Readwise Reader, which is pretty slick. My only gripes are that it's pay2play, you aren't able to modify the article to remove unwanted text (sometimes it captures the carousel links on the bottom) and the lack of privacy. However, for reading news articles, books and everything else the app is too slick to ignore. I've tried Instapaper, Wallabag, and Pocket. They are all good, but they aren't special like Readwise Reader.

However, due to the lack of privacy I would only use it for highlighting or making references and prep it for transfer into something private and personal like an Obsidian vault. I don't use the archive either. Once it's in the vault the article gets deleted. I have my own process for archiving webpages and don't need to utilize theirs.

Spark of realization

Back on topic, I was poking my head around and looking at the library options, something caught my eye. It was the workflow options that got me thinking about how I am managing my own notes.

I am something of a hoarder myself I am constantly finding interesting topics and bits of information that I find neat, but not something I necessarily am focused on at the moment. What happens is I create a space for it... but I may never end up actually getting to it until years down the road if ever. However, with the Readwise app has almost read my mind and provided an option that I never thought of. By putting everything in Later by default and then placing important things in the Shortlist it's the opposite of how we traditionally connect information. Instead it assumes that by default we are choosing to keep random crap--like a true datahoader should think... it's in the name--everything is unimportant and instead marking down what is important you can get to it later it actually keeps your attention focused on what you need to get down...which is the shortlist. Because I am interested in so many things and I lack both time and the energy to constantly be juggling 20 different topics I often have a piles and piles and piles and piles of things that are sitting randomly everywhere. Somethings are organized, others are jumbled together and still here are things from the same topic that are located in multiple places.

Peeking into my vault

The easiest example I can give is to take a peek at my Obsidian Vault. My inbox right now has 155 items when it should at most I think have only up to 10 things at any given time. However, because that's where all the default notes get created and I'm constantly bouncing from one thing to another often things go into limbo where it's not ready for the slipbox, but I don't want to do anything with it at the moment. Keeping the inbox and creating another shortlist folder where there's only 10 things that I'm focusing on the moment could help drive the engine of productivity.

A second glance into my vault

Here's another example where I think this could be utilized. This is the Kanban for everything that I'm writing here courtesy of the Projects Plugin. As you can see I actually have a bunch of blog posts written that haven't gotten around to publishing because I haven't done a final proofread. I could improve my workflow by creating something of a funnel a bit like an hourglass where the closer I get to finishing a post the fewer I allow myself to have until it's published.

For example, by adding a shortlist section between Done and Substack and then limiting my shortlist board to 3 cards and then my done board to 5 cards I give myself the flexibility to choose to work on something, but direct my energy into content creating instead of simply writing for the sake of writing

Conclusion

Having many different interests and the same time is a bit like having a low attention span because everything demands your attention equally and it's consequently granted. It's not that I'm unproductive by nature. Rather, it's that my energy is undirected so much so that instead of creating a flowing stream which turns into a river and then a flooding torrent I am instead creating a pond that's turning into a lake and then an ocean that goes nowhere. We never ask where the ocean is headed...