Zettelkasten/Patterns/Todo Lists - Revision history

Unknown user at 00:38, 2 March 2022

2022-03-02T00:38:00Z

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==Overview==
@@ Line 74: / Line 80: @@
 [[Category:Zettelkasten]]
 [[Category:Zettelkasten Pattern]]

Unknown user: /* VPN Server Todo List */

2022-03-02T00:36:48Z

VPN Server Todo List

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:36, 2 March 2022
Line 73:		Line 73:

	[[Category:Zettelkasten]]		[[Category:Zettelkasten]]
			[[Category:Zettelkasten Pattern]]

Unknown user: /* Example */

2022-03-01T23:32:54Z

Example

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:32, 1 March 2022
Line 51:		Line 51:
	The Overview section is where we summarize important outcomes from various todo tasks. It might be a summary of major efforts, or a list or table that's the outcome of all of the work on the todo list. In any case, if you need to add an Overview section, you'll know it.		The Overview section is where we summarize important outcomes from various todo tasks. It might be a summary of major efforts, or a list or table that's the outcome of all of the work on the todo list. In any case, if you need to add an Overview section, you'll know it.

	==~~Example~~==		==Examples==

	===Example Todo List Page===		===Example Todo List Page===

Unknown user: /* Example */

2022-03-01T23:32:44Z

Example

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:32, 1 March 2022
Line 53:		Line 53:
	==Example==		==Example==

	To give an example, suppose we have a private server, and we're setting up a VPN network on the private server.		===Example Todo List Page===

			Visit [[Todo/Foo]] to see an example todo list and see the structure described above in action.

			===VPN Server Todo List===

			To give a more concrete example of a todo list, suppose we have a private server and we're setting up a VPN network on the private server.

	When setting up the VPN network, we would take notes on the server's todo page, or maybe we would create a new page with a todo list just for this task. It depends on how complicated we expect the task to be.		When setting up the VPN network, we would take notes on the server's todo page, or maybe we would create a new page with a todo list just for this task. It depends on how complicated we expect the task to be.

Unknown user: /* Topic Subsubsections */

2022-03-01T01:15:55Z

Topic Subsubsections

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:15, 1 March 2022
Line 39:		Line 39:
	The third-level headers organize notes by topic. So if a single todo item requires completing tasks A, B, and C, which are completed on the same date, then tasks A, B, and C would have their own third-level headers.		The third-level headers organize notes by topic. So if a single todo item requires completing tasks A, B, and C, which are completed on the same date, then tasks A, B, and C would have their own third-level headers.

	What if halfway through task C, things start to get complicated? Starting notes at a third-level header doesn't leave room for many more headers - so if you find yourself needing to organize notes for task C into their own sections and subsections, start a subpage. If your todo list is at <code><nowiki>[[Todo/Foobar]]</nowiki></code>, then split the notes for task C into their own subpage, <code><nowiki>[[Todo/Foobar/Task C]]</nowiki></code>. Create links between the two pages, so it's easier to navigate.		What if halfway through task C, things start to get complicated? Starting notes at a third-level header doesn't leave room for many more headers - so if you find yourself needing to organize notes for task C into their own sections and subsections, start a subpage. If your todo list is at <code><nowiki>[[Todo/Foobar]]</nowiki></code>, then split the notes for task C into their own subpage, <code><nowiki>[[Todo/Foobar/Task C]]</nowiki></code>. Create links between the two pages, so it's easier to navigate to/from them.

	==Overview Last==		==Overview Last==

Unknown user at 01:15, 1 March 2022

2022-03-01T01:15:25Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:15, 1 March 2022
Line 64:		Line 64:

	And if you do have a simple TL;DR one-liner summary of what works, that's a perfect thing to put in the top-level Overview section.		And if you do have a simple TL;DR one-liner summary of what works, that's a perfect thing to put in the top-level Overview section.


			[[Category:Zettelkasten]]

Unknown user: /* Example */

2022-03-01T01:14:57Z

Example

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:14, 1 March 2022
Line 62:		Line 62:

	Here's another concrete way to think about the notes in a Zettelkasten: picture yourself coming back to this page in six months, when the details of what you did are a hazy memory. If the notes are still organized together, and are still chronological, you can review your entire train of thought, what you tried, what failed, what you learned, and what ultimately succeeded. This provides a richer context and enables better memory and retention than a simple TL;DR one-liner summary of what works.		Here's another concrete way to think about the notes in a Zettelkasten: picture yourself coming back to this page in six months, when the details of what you did are a hazy memory. If the notes are still organized together, and are still chronological, you can review your entire train of thought, what you tried, what failed, what you learned, and what ultimately succeeded. This provides a richer context and enables better memory and retention than a simple TL;DR one-liner summary of what works.

			And if you do have a simple TL;DR one-liner summary of what works, that's a perfect thing to put in the top-level Overview section.

Unknown user: /* Date Subsections */

2022-03-01T01:14:23Z

Date Subsections

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:14, 1 March 2022
Line 31:		Line 31:
	This pattern has the added advantage that if a single task that is supposed to be simple turns into a wild goose chase involving ten other steps, it's easy to keep track of what's being done chronologically - just add a new subsection to the corresponding date for each new direction the wild goose chase takes.		This pattern has the added advantage that if a single task that is supposed to be simple turns into a wild goose chase involving ten other steps, it's easy to keep track of what's being done chronologically - just add a new subsection to the corresponding date for each new direction the wild goose chase takes.

			==Topic Subsubsections==

			The top-level sections of the page are dedicated to different uses of the page: Overview, Planned Todo Items, In-Progress Todo Items, Completed Todo Items, Notes, etc.

	~~Combine several of~~ above ~~patterns, apply them to todo lists~~		Within those sections, the second-level headers organize information and notes by date, as covered above.

	* When creating a ~~Todo page~~, ~~add top~~ level sections~~: Overview~~, ~~Planned~~, Todo, ~~Done, Notes~~		The third-level headers organize notes by topic. So if a single todo item requires completing tasks A, B, and C, which are completed on the same date, then tasks A, B, and C would have their own third-level headers.
	* Start with the notes
	* Move on to the plan		What if halfway through task C, things start to get complicated? Starting notes at a third-level header doesn't leave room for many more headers - so if you find yourself needing to organize notes for task C into their own sections and subsections, start a subpage. If your todo list is at <code><nowiki>[[Todo/Foobar]]</nowiki></code>, then split the notes for task C into their own subpage, <code><nowiki>[[Todo/Foobar/Task C]]</nowiki></code>. Create links between the two pages, so it's easier to navigate.
	* Implement todo items as you work your way through plan
	* Top level sections: Overview, Planned, Todo, Done, Notes		==Overview Last==
	* Second level sections: date
	* Third level sections: topics		In terms of order, we usually organize the top level sections of the page in the order we've specified above: Overview, Planned Todo Items, In-Progress Todo Items, Done Todo Items, and Notes. These can be modified to suit your own purposes or the particular todo list.
	* When starting ~~to work on~~ a todo ~~item~~, ~~create second level date section, and third level topic section~~
	* Take notes in that subsection		Usually, we will start with the last section - Notes - and end with the first section - the Overview.
	* Overview is ~~usually added last, revised over time, contains~~ important summary of ~~information~~
	* Example~~: if~~ setting up a VPN network on a server, take notes on the server's todo page		The Notes section is where we start when we're trying to figure out how to organize the todo list page. The notes section is typically only useful when you're starting up a todo list, which is why it goes at the bottom - it is rarely used once the todo list is started.
	** notes ~~for~~ how VPN ~~was set up are~~ organized by date
	** if you take multiple days to set up the VPN, notes organized chronologically then ~~topically~~		The Overview section is where we summarize important outcomes from various todo tasks. It might be a summary of major efforts, or a list or table that's the outcome of all of the work on the todo list. In any case, if you need to add an Overview section, you'll know it.
	** if you come back in six months ~~to fix one thing~~, notes are still organized together, still chronological
			==Example==

			To give an example, suppose we have a private server, and we're setting up a VPN network on the private server.

			When setting up the VPN network, we would take notes on the server's todo page, or maybe we would create a new page with a todo list just for this task. It depends on how complicated we expect the task to be.

			We would start taking notes on how we are setting up the VPN, steps that we're taking, commands we're running, links we're using, organized in the top-level Todo section, and a second-level section with the date. We would then create a third-level heading with whatever step of setting up a VPN we're on - maybe it's preparing the server to install the VPN software; maybe it's the configuration file; maybe it's how to connect to the network once it's set up.

			If the task of setting up a VPN ends up taking multiple days, the notes will be organized chronologically, then organized by topic. This is important because without the chronology, it's hard to document what was tried and what failed, without making all of the notes really confusing. Keeping track of progress on tasks chronologically allow you to keep notes about dead ends or failed attempts, while also keeping them separate from notes on what worked.

			Here's another concrete way to think about the notes in a Zettelkasten: picture yourself coming back to this page in six months, when the details of what you did are a hazy memory. If the notes are still organized together, and are still chronological, you can review your entire train of thought, what you tried, what failed, what you learned, and what ultimately succeeded. This provides a richer context and enables better memory and retention than a simple TL;DR one-liner summary of what works.

Unknown user: /* The Todo Category */

2022-02-27T07:00:03Z

The Todo Category

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:00, 27 February 2022
Line 7:		Line 7:
	Before we get into how we organize todo lists, we should mention that we make heavy use of this pattern, so we have many todo lists. To keep track of all the todo lists, it can be useful to have a way to get a list of todo lists.		Before we get into how we organize todo lists, we should mention that we make heavy use of this pattern, so we have many todo lists. To keep track of all the todo lists, it can be useful to have a way to get a list of todo lists.

	To keep track of our todo list pages, we add the category <code><nowiki>[[Category:Todo]]</nowiki></code> to all todo lists. If we need to see all our todo lists in one place, we just visit that Category page, and the list of todo lists is there.		To keep track of our todo list pages, we add the category <code><nowiki>[[Category:Todo]]</nowiki></code> to all todo lists. If we need to see all our todo lists in one place, we just visit that Category:Todo page, and the list of todo lists is there.

	==Start with Top Level Sections==		==Start with Top Level Sections==

Unknown user at 06:59, 27 February 2022

2022-02-27T06:59:35Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:59, 27 February 2022
Line 7:		Line 7:
	Before we get into how we organize todo lists, we should mention that we make heavy use of this pattern, so we have many todo lists. To keep track of all the todo lists, it can be useful to have a way to get a list of todo lists.		Before we get into how we organize todo lists, we should mention that we make heavy use of this pattern, so we have many todo lists. To keep track of all the todo lists, it can be useful to have a way to get a list of todo lists.

	To keep track of our todo list pages, we add the category <code><nowiki>[[Category:Todo]</nowiki></code> to all todo lists. If we need to see all our todo lists in one place, we just visit that Category page, and the list of todo lists is there.		To keep track of our todo list pages, we add the category <code><nowiki>[[Category:Todo]]</nowiki></code> to all todo lists. If we need to see all our todo lists in one place, we just visit that Category page, and the list of todo lists is there.

	==Start with Top Level Sections==		==Start with Top Level Sections==