topbanner_forum
  *

avatar image

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Login with username, password and session length
  • Friday March 29, 2024, 4:39 am
  • Proudly celebrating 15+ years online.
  • Donate now to become a lifetime supporting member of the site and get a non-expiring license key for all of our programs.
  • donate

Author Topic: [Minor] Mini-Parking Lot Tool: Timeline Maker Alternative  (Read 5336 times)

Paul Keith

  • Member
  • Joined in 2008
  • **
  • Posts: 1,989
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
[Minor] Mini-Parking Lot Tool: Timeline Maker Alternative
« on: August 22, 2009, 09:48 PM »
Who is this for?:
For people who are interested in reviewing their past deeds as inspiration.

BUT!

  • Gets a headache from viewing their logs. (ex. Remember the Milk's archive of completed to-do list items)
  • Thought switching to the graphical presentation of timelines would help but it didn't

Learning Curve: 1 software time
Process:

  • Understand PopUp Wisdom. Particularly put into memory whether you want to press \n or /n
  • Grab or set a text editor to have a hotkey to auto-insert the date before the text.
Preferrred program:

As an idiot to text editors, I just use Akelpad because it already has insert date set to Ctrl + D (which was how I found this method) and the plugins:

Auto-Save (to instant save the text when my mouse hovers away from the program)
Minimize to tray (for quick open and closing of the editor)
Session Save (for when I have to turn off the PC, all I need is to write an entry down on paper, turn on the PC and have my tab sets open without opening the individual text files)
Alternative:

If I want to do it via GUI, I just set the PopUp Wisdom "Book" folder as part of my Rocketdock. If I don't have any more important folders in there (ex. a PIM folder based on .txt), I just set the folder at the very top. (right side, vertical dock)

Cons:

Spur of the moment post after reading this topic: Timeline Software

Sure, I had it set up for quite a while and I haven't encountered any major problems (barring the annoyance of needing to write the date down everytime for older timelines) but I didn't exactly put it to any test.

Basically a "Oh, there's a DC topic and it kind've reminded me of this thing I wanted to write about." -- "Ok! I think I'll reply...woops...doesn't seem to belong there but I've already started on it..."

Also you will find that I didn't really address any basic feature like filtering and searching.

I just used two folders titled: "Micro-turning point" and "Got Sloppy".

Idea:

I used to think logs and graphs were most effective because you could go "ooh...look at how many days since I've done this and done that" or as a warning for how long and what pattern I've been slacking off to . (I never found the "Days Since" IGoogle widget nor the "Joe's Goals" site to work for me for this particular purpose though I still use them whenever I can remember to.)

Anyways, like I said, I re-found the "insert date" option in Akelpad one day and since I was already heavily using PopUp Wisdom and Akelpad then, something just clicked and I tried it like this and I found the "in your face" single entry pop-up seems to better magnify the benefits of "looking back at what I have done". (maybe even matching up the impact of re-reading an old journal entry without the length)

Maybe because instead of the dates being the focus, the entry has been made centerfold -- producing an alternative inspiration from quotes when I'm in want of it or making me inspired when I'm down without the effect of "look how much I'm sucking less before even if I already suck then".

Anyways, these are just ramblings from a process I haven't thought through.
« Last Edit: August 22, 2009, 10:01 PM by Paul Keith »

mouser

  • First Author
  • Administrator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 40,896
    • View Profile
    • Mouser's Software Zone on DonationCoder.com
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
Re: [Minor] Mini-Parking Lot Tool: Timeline Maker Alternative
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2009, 07:30 AM »
i'm lost.. somehow youve combined popup wisdom, a notepad program, parking lot tools, timeline makers, and a bunch of different formatting and nested sections.. but i don't get how it all fits together.. my head hurts.

Paul Keith

  • Member
  • Joined in 2008
  • **
  • Posts: 1,989
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: [Minor] Mini-Parking Lot Tool: Timeline Maker Alternative
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2009, 08:35 AM »
I'd post a screenshot but the significance is not in one example but in the ease of it over a long period of time.

It's basically replacing quotes for log entries in PopUp Wisdom if that makes better sense.

qwibbles

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2008
  • **
  • Posts: 22
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: [Minor] Mini-Parking Lot Tool: Timeline Maker Alternative
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2009, 02:55 PM »
 :stars: I think I need a beer .... I can read it, but have no clue where this thread is going or what it means? .... (nothing unusual in that though  :D)