Huge congratulations to Brandon Sanderson. The Kickstarter is through the roof and he's possibly proving a new publishing model.
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Volo (Duo 2) Update
I'm officially a fan of the Duo 2. Ever since getting Volo up and running, I have only turned my previous phone on to transfer my 2fa code authorizations over. Other than that, I have not turned that phone on.
I love the two screen dynamic. I almost never use the phone in single screen mode, basically only when making a phone call. Other than that, I leave it open with both screens accessible. I'm still finding my ideal workflows and screen layout, but what it currently amounts to is the left (or top, depending on phone orientation) is the video for consuming information. Watching videos, reading books, reading articles, etc. The right (or bottom) screen is for acting. Taking notes, multi tasking, messaging, etc.
Taking notes particular has caused me to rethink my system. I am a big fan of Notion, but I am also keenly aware that I am now locked into their platform. If they go bust, or if they get bought out and then the new owner decides to strip it for parts, I'm going to have a hard time porting what is already in there over to a new platform. As such, I am trying to make a hard pivot to Obsidian. Obsidian uses text files, formatted with Markdown, so they are entirely portable and will live forever, even if the Obsidian app dies somewhere along the way.
Given the work I had to go through to import my tweets into a MySQL database, I am loathe to really delve into another similar platform trap.
Additionally, my note taking is hampered by the lack of use of the pen stylus. The case which will unlock that functionality will arrive on Thursday, and I find out then if it is that big of an upgrade for me or not. I will say, having it require the case (because I don't have another means of charging it since this is my own Surface device) is one of the bigger negatives I have about it all so far.
That said, I spent over an hour this evening reading with an ebook open on my left screen, and a Notion tab open on the other, to capture my highlighted passages and a few small associated notes. Perhaps fittingly I'm currently reading a book titled 'How To Take Smart Notes" by Sönke Ahrens, which is a book repeatedly cited by people online relating to note taking and organization. Here are a few of my highlights from the book:
- Writing is not what follows research, learning or studying, it is the medium of all this work. And maybe that is the reason why we rarely think about this writing, the everyday writing, the note-taking and draft-making. Like breathing, it is vital to what we do, but because we do it constantly, it escapes our attention.
- Every task that is interesting, meaningful and well-defined will be done, because there is no conflict between long- and short-term interests. Having a meaningful and well-defined task beats willpower every time. Not having willpower, but not having to use willpower indicates that you set yourself up for success.
- Studies on highly successful people have proven again and again that success is not the result of strong willpower and the ability to overcome resistance, but rather the result of smart working environments that avoid resistance in the first place (cf. Neal et al. 2012; Painter et al. 2002; Hearn et al. 1998).
All quotes captured on Volo as I sat in my recliner. I look forward to improving and expanding this system and as I use the device.
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Very Quick Thoughts on Brandon Sanderson's Mega Kickstarter
John Scalzi shares his thoughts on seeing Sanderson's Kickstarter, interesting insights from an author.
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Write plain text files
Related to my note about wanting to figure out my note taking in plain text.
When you store your writing in one company's unique format, then you need that program to access it. Then the economy takes a turn, they go out of business, and your work is trapped in an unusable format.
You will outlive these companies. Your writing should outlive you. Depending on companies is not an option.
Plain text is un-commercial. It removes you from the world of subscriptions and hype. There will always be plenty of free, non-commercial software in the public domain for reading and editing text files.
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