Organisation

The index topic is trailing me this week :-)

A writer has to have a system for going back through old work and finding ideas.

⤑ Indexing, filing systems, and the art of finding what you have - Austin Kleon.

Another article I found – its actually better then the first.

An index is not an exhaustive list of every possible word you might relate to a page in your notebook. Don't hesitate to add useful keywords to the index, but only add ones you honestly think you might use to get back to that point.

Finally, and most importantly, even after those rules, an index is not something that gets created only according to rules that are set in stone

It contains a lot of pratical advice on actually writing an index.

For a 240-page journal-size notebook, I use five pages. For an 80-page notebook, I use two.

Whenever you add some notes to your system, whether by writing them, copying them, filing them, or punching and binding them, add some entries to the index. Good keywords

• are not the title of the page (we're not going for a list of contents).
• do not apply to very many other notes (a keyword that has 15 page numbers is annoying since you have to look up many of them).
• are things you would think of when trying to find these notes (that seems obvious, but sometimes I find myself putting keywords in the index that are related to the notes but I couldn't possibly expect myself to use when looking something up).
• if in doubt, should be the first things you think of, because those are probably the same keywords you'll think of when you're looking for it again.

⤑ The Art of Personal Indexing: The Complete Guide to Indexing Your Paper Notes.

Related to my post from yesterday I started searching for some more input on note taking and index generation.

An alternate index is no more than something you list out in the back of the book you’re reading, that you create and update as you read through the book.

Your alternate index should focus on the topics, themes, and ideas that most resonate with you.

⤑ How To Build Your Own Index of Notes and Ideas When Reading Books — The Focus Course.

I wrote out my project list. I filled three, albeit small, pages in my notebook. I think this explains why I feel so blocked. Especially as some of the projects are already started, and I should complete them. But I’m more interested in other ideas. It was causing a lot of friction and guilt, which blocked me further.

Now I think the next step is to organize that list and prioritize and perhaps let some of the ideas go.