Over the years I’ve developed a system to help simplify my notes across logbooks and devices. It has a side benefit of adding a very mild cryptic filter to what I write. Here are three benefits to this method.
Reason one – Shorthand
I write a copious amount daily. I am thankful that I don’t need to conserve paper, but writing out the full name of my clients and projects becomes tedious by the third time. While I often write code to automate population of routine tasks on my todo list, this is also easier to type.
Reason two – Pattern Matching
It’s easier to match a shorter visual string. This is also why my shape system is effective. The codes are based in part on college course codes and the system used by the law firm where I was IT Manager for almost a decade.
Reason three – Social Media
Even though my codes are easy to crack they allow me to not have to mask (blur) everything if I post to social media. It’s habit to do so.
What are my codes?
While I’ve used several systems over the years, over time I found I like to restrain it to three or five characters. My codes are either a three letter abbreviation of the company or person (eg PSG “Penny Shima Glanz”), or a mix of an initial and the year we began working together (eg P05 PennyWise Consulting, LLC was formed in 2005). If I need to add in a project, they are two letters (eg ANZBP Anzula Blog Posts).
My codes combined with my simple linking system between planner, logbook, and todo list create a workflow that is not overly complicated and works well with me.