Thinking in quadrille 3x5" notecards

(Written on a 3x5 card.)

Having cards to reorganize is much different from using bound pages. It is a lot easier to reorganize thoughts.

In some way I am writing like it was little email sized wiki wiki essays. If I had a bigger format the thoughts would be longer.

If you can capture a thought in fifteen square inches, and then move on, you can catch a lot of thoughts.

Comments

[jb]

Nabokov recommended 4*6 lined cards for composition, using the unlined side for writing (the lined side was just in case he dropped them, he could tell unused cards from used without checking both sides).

[Ed Summers]

The so called hipster pda http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda/ enjoyed some notoriety a couple years ago, and ever since I've been using notecards to capture ideas/thoughts/tasks. It is really nice to wip them out and reshuffle them to reflect a new set or priorities. Best though is being able to throw them away when they're completed or no longer relevant :-)

[Edward]

I spent some time using 5x8 cards instead of 3x5s. Not surprisingly, the size of the thought that you can capture on the bigger card is a lot bigger and more nuanced than the little three line thought grab described above.

Alas, the bigger cards also take 15 minutes to write, which is not really practical when you're also trying to catch a lot of thoughts. Maybe 4x6s are a better compromise.

[Brian]

Someday you need to disclose your system (at whatever point in time) for marking up and organizing cards. A flickr photo with notes would be fine :)