I’ve been quieter than usual here and on the socials. A few weeks ago I came across the Johnny.Decimal system for filing and that has taken me down more than one rabbit hole. Fundamentally, it’s been a major exercise in organising digital information and finding a long-term sustainable way to do so that works. Until now, I’ve been software driven in my solutions, and while software is still important, what I’ve been able to build is cross-system.
I’ve been on this round-a-bout many times. Let me tell you, this time its right. I’m close to being finished and certain of my approach. Once I am, I’ll document it here. Pinky-promise!
Along the way I’ve dealt with:
- Coming to grips with the ideas behind Johnny.Decimal, especially the Index.
- Looking at how I store information in Obsidian, Zotero, email, Calibre and IMatch.
- Giving each system a clear purpose and boundaries, but combining that through the Index.
- Re-filing information as it kept coming in - this is like building new shelves exactly where the old shelves are, and with people putting things on the shelves as I build.
- Realising Johnny.Decimal only gives me half the solution. The other half comes from Nick Milo’s ACE system. The first is for filing; the second for connecting.
- Finding the best way to sync photos from IMatch to my flickr account using Lightroom which is 99.9% sorted and has taken me down the path of even looking into rolling my own with Java APIs.
- Finding a new way to read comments on my iPad.
- Learned how to take Cornell Notes.
- Lots of trial and error.
Then, at work I’ve been:
- Getting my head around “AI” and what it really means.
- Understanding the updated NIST Cybersecurity Framework
Plus, the rest of life including getting out with my Canon R50.
