Handy Dandy Notebook {HDNB} Usage Guide Update
Purpose
The Purpose for this Guide
- This guide hopefully will help others decipher my notebooks
- Maybe it will be useful for others interested in using their own notebooks
- Ultimately, it is a reference for me when using Notebooks, especially in remembering the symbol ology to use for the notebooks
The Purpose for using Notebooks
Posterity
- I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that after my wife lost her mom, I realized the potential of leaving behind something for my kids that they might appreciate. Maybe they will learn more about who I am than they would have otherwise known. If it is not helpful for them, at least I know that they have a tangible connection available to pass along if they choose, etc.
Unplug
- At the advent of smart phones and other mobile tech, it was hailed as a masterpiece of time saving productivity among other advantages.
- One unforeseen (at least from users) consequence was the extensive time consumption and unnecessary complexity of making things simpler.
- Notebooks help minimize screen time by
- providing an alternative interface that yields similar or better results
- being a workplace to do many of the same functions formerly provided by tech devices
Everything Book
There are lots and lots of ways people use notebooks. In many cases, they dedicate a single notebook for a single purpose. i like to put everything in my notebooks. I have a few exceptions as specialized “collections” because their purpose uses so much space in a notebook. On the other hand, I have some minimized collections that would otherwise waste space that left a lot of unused space, etc. Here are the main uses of my (Handy Dandy) Notebooks
- Bullet Journal (Bujo [[00.04Carroll,Ryder.2018]])
- There’s alot about this method that I found was so similar to how I first started my notebooks. I have adopted many of the “bujo” methods, while adapting it to fit my established techniques.
- Commonplace Book
- Collections of quotes and references to tidbits of knowledge are the approximate definition of Commonplace books. I will cover more details on how I use this concept in the upcoming ‘Technique’ section
- Zettelkasten
- So this one is a little challenging for me to describe because I started this collection some time before I started my journey with HDNB’s. In fact, if you are reading this note, you are likely seeing it in the Johnny Bravo Index setup (JBex). I might as well go into it a little here in this section. After many attempts at finding a system simple enough yet robust enough, I have started recently a variation of the ‘Johnny Decimal’ system. To spare you the details, I will let you explore that topic on your own. Needless to say, I very much like the idea of a Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) collection. The common modern adaptation of the Zettelkasten (1950s era) system is with Notes software (I’m currently typing this note on one called Obsidian, which I like the best). The JBex has a capability of being both handwritten and software based.
- Hand-written notes I use for notes that hold a more archived position. These are readily available to anyone with all my notebook volumes at hand
- Software based notes and Hand-written notes hopefully are interchangeable and compatible with each other.
- Software notes I reserve for notes that might need to be handy on the go. So far, there are much fewer Software notes, but over time, that could change.
- Daily Planner
- Probably more than any other use, I rely on daily planning and time management aspects of the HDNB.
- This is a blend of the Bujo format and the traditional Day Planner format
- For about 15 years, I used software task management and planning software. It’s still more efficient to use software, but I will discuss that more shortly. Before exploring Bujo, I had a blend of software and notebook systems to plan the day. Now I am almost completely managing all my planning (except for my monthly calendar) on paper with my notebook which has been my goal since I realized it might be possible, etc.
- Travelers’ Notebook
- As far as I know, a travelers’ Notebook is simply a portable pocket size multi-purpose have some paper on hand notebooks in a convenient to carry cover. My first 20 volumes have not technically been travelers’ notebooks, but they have generally been the same size. I have not yet tried the method, and in fact, I currently plan to use a handy size (A5 I think) notebook for most notebook uses and have a pocket size travelers’ notebook on hand to take whenever I go ‘off-road’. The idea is that the two variations will have anchor points to direct the reader between the two variations when a switch occurs.
Productivity
- As mentioned previously, a significant purpose and probably the main use I have for Notebooks is to manage my day to day work obligations.
- This is not limited to just planning my day, but you will find that most of the content is focused on that purpose.
- You might find it boring, but you might also see a little of how my mind works in how I plan my days and how I use the plan to care for all the things I do, etc.
Technique
Ok, the part you’ve waited for. For me, the challenge is to not leave anything out. I will try to cover everything, but I can’t guarantee it will be exhaustive. Here we go…
Indexing
- To be sure, the key to making the use of the HDNB is the ability to find what I need to find, whether it’s where I left off from before or looking for information written previously, Indexing is very much the critical technique to make this a practical way of using the Handy Dandy Notebook.
- There are a number of reference indices which may or may not be independent of each other. I am going to try to cover them all here…
The Master Index
- The Master Index is one or more volumes that act solely as a reference to all volumes of notebooks as well as other indices in use with them.
- The Master Index will give an overview summary of each volume and an indication of how many instances of certain activities can be found in the volumes.
- Recently I added additional references to the JBex PDM to help find the notes for all the covered topics of “permanent” notes…
The Volume Index
- Each Volume has a main Index. As the name implies, it lists all the significant contents and where they can be found.
- The key to success with the Index is to be sure to add the new content to the Index. Later, this will make it a breeze to find what you need
Collection Indices
- Some collections (refer to the Bullet Journal Method [[00.04Carroll,Ryder.2018]]) are so big, they rate their own volume referred to simply as collections.
- Each Collection will have an index that may or may not follow the HDNB format. The index will hopefully be easy to navigate (at least, that’s its intent).
- As of the publication of this update, there is not a master index of collections. The Collection Titles will hopefully mitigate the need for a separate index.
Collection 1- Bible Notes Indexing
- Introduction to Collection 1
- Bible notes have been part of my Bible reading and understanding as far back as I can remember.
- The difficulty with Bible notes has always been finding notes when I need them
- I tried notebooks, notebook paper, and writing notes in the margin of my Bible
- Margin notes are the best method I thought there was, but once I moved on to a new Bible, I had to leave my notes behind
- Collection 1 Notes have bi-directional compatibility
- This helps find notes for a passage as well as help migrate to a new Bible
- When I take a note for a passage,
- I mark in the margin next to the verse the collection where the note is found
- Then, I place a dot at the beginning of the Bible book next to the chapter number. If the Chapter numbers are not yet listed, I write down all the chapter numbers at the beginning of the book. If the chapter number is already marked, there is no further action needed in the Bible for the Note
- Then, I place a dot next to the book of the Bible in the Bible table of contents.
- In the Notebook, I have an index of all the books of the Bible
- When a book of the Bible gets the first note, I find the next blank page and start the index for that book and list the chapter numbers
- Then, I annotate the page number next to the book in the index of Bible books
- Next to the chapter on the Bible book index, I list the page where the note is found
- This makes it easier to find the note when seeing the reference written in the Bible margin
- Topical Index (TheoJex) [[10.05Spiritual_TheoJex]]
- Very similar to the JBex, the TheoJex is found in the same collection with Bible notes.
- When a passage fits into a Bible Topic, I annotate it and add the page number to the TheoJex to help find the notes and passages related to the topic
- Migrating Annotations to a new Bible
- Step 1- Open the new Bible and the old Bible to the Table of Contents and mark the books of the Bible in the new Bible to match the old Bible
- Step 2- Go to each Bible book that has a dot in both Bibles and copy the chapter numbers and the dots next to the marked chapter numbers
- Step 3- Go to all the marked chapters in both Bibles and copy the margin referenced annotations
- – This might be time consuming but is a minimal amount of time needed to migrate the notes.
Collection 2- Master Task/Action Log
- By trial and error, I have found that this Collection is only beneficial in using smaller notebooks with room for a few weeks of use
- Collection 2 is helpful as a master index or log of Actions planned (especially recurring actions)
- The steps for using Collection 2 are really rather simple:
- Prepare your pages for logging actions (some columns will use pencil and others will use ink)
- Date- Planned date to complete the action write in pencil and once completed, enter the completion date in Ink
- Task # - This is a reference to use when placing actions in the HDNB: The Task # has two parts
- 3 Digits for the creation date MDD format (Oct- 0, O, or o; Nov - N; Dec- D) followed with ‘.’
- 2 Digits to uniquely identify the task, start with 01, then 02, etc.
- Priority Indicator- Based on When it needs to be done, how important is it, or a combination
- (F)lash- Tasks to complete in the next 6 hours (rarely used in the Action Log)
- (I)mmediate- Tasks to complete in 48 hours
- §riority- Tasks to complete within 21 Days
- ®outine- Can be completed any time
- Description- Use as much space as needed to describe the action
- Tags- optional, but can be helpful to find action categories
- When migrating actions to a new volume, or when consolidating actions to decrease the number of pages, assign a new task # to the migrated tasks
The Johnny Bravo Index
- [[00.04Noble.Butcher.2024]]
- The bulk of the JBex at least early on, once completed will be in the HDNB in lieu of the PKB
- Notes that are of a generally archive nature (in terms of need for access) try to file in the HDNB
- Notes that need to be readily available should be added to the PKB (Obsidian)
- Without going into the other forms, I will summarize the use of JBex in HDNB
- For volumes that can be filled in a short period of time (undefined):
- JBex references should be minimal by referencing the PKB/Obsidian full index
- Begin with a collection page that anchors the JBex for that Volume then expand as needed to accommodate any notes added
- For Travelers’ Notebooks
- Designate one of the 3 notebooks as a semi-permanent index/reference volume
- Instead of filling out the entire JBex, fill out each tier as it is needed for new notes
- For full-size volumes i.e. volumes that take a significant amount of time to fill
- Fill out the entire JBex for topics that are currently in use and expand as needed
Future Logs, Reviews, and Migrations
- General Information: [[00.04Carroll,Ryder.2018]]
- Include Events and Planned Actions
- When Reviewing and Migrating, include monthly summaries based on the daily summaries for that month then update the Master Index
Monthly Logs, Reviews, and Migrations
- General Information: [[00.04Carroll,Ryder.2018]]
- Migrate Upcoming Actions and events from Future Logs for the coming month
- Be sure to only use pencil for items planned (in the future)
- When a pencil is not available for planning an item, log the item in the daily log to be migrated to the monthly log once a pencil is available
- When reviewing logs at the end of the day, write the summary of the day in the Monthly Log in ink for that day after erasing anything in pencil
- When starting a new monthly log, include the day of the week next to the day of the month
- In most cases, there will be a place to add notations for any specified activities from the day
Daily Logs, Reviews, and Migrations
- General Information: [[00.04Carroll,Ryder.2018]]
- The Daily Log is where the real action takes place
- The steps for prepping for a day on the daily log refer to this task on Todoist
- One of the non #67Productivity/15BuJo techniques I use in the HDNB is the daily planner hours to track the events for the day (future and past). I also try to include when I complete actions throughout the day.
- Divide the page in an approximate 25%/75% split- 25% section is for the reference to the items in the 75% section. The 75% section holds all the items listed in order of planned sequence
- Use the remainder of the page by discretion for any additional items to add following the planned items (otherwise, keep a remainder equal to the space used to plan the items for the day)
- The Daily Log is also an open canvas for any other purpose chosen
Volumes and Sizes
- We are currently using Pocket size and Handy Size
- Handy Size will be the standard size for normal use
- Carry a pocket size volume in the Handy Size or a Traveler’s Notebook available
- Use the pocket size for parenthetical purposes when carrying the handy size becomes inconvenient.
- use anchor notations to indicate where each volume continues from the other
Notations
Daily Log Notations
- Use a bullet symbol (a dot like the bullet marked at the beginning of this line) to indicate an action
- Mark a completed action with ‘/’
- Mark a deferred action with ‘>’
- Mark a migrated (to another volume or external collection) action with ‘>>’
- Use ‘!’ to indicate a priority task in front of a bullet Action
- Mark and idea with ‘!’
- Mark a goal with ‘@’
- Mark events with a small circle like the symbol for degrees
- Mark notes or comments with ‘-’
- Mark Permanent Notes with ‘=’ be sure to include the tag and the JBex for the permanent note
- Mark notes to share with colleagues with ‘<’
- Mark notes to disseminate to subordinates with ‘v’
- Mark notes to report to superiors with ‘^’
- Indent for sub-tasks, sub-points, etc. with appropriate markings
- Indent but do not mark anything that is writing on the next line (like a sentence continued to the next line)
- Mark a title of a chapter, collection, or page with ‘##’
- Mark a tag with ‘#’
- Mark items that have more details in the notes with a ‘*’ or star
- Mark items that have more information in email, todoist, etc. with ‘…’
- Mark An action to schedule an event with a bullet followed by an event symbol
Monthly Log Activities
- These are specified activities that are summarized in the Master Index
- Mark Fitness with ‘/’
- Mark Creativity (like artwork) with ‘-’
- Mark Ham Radio with '\ ‘’
- Mark games with ‘|’
- Mark sailing with ‘left side of a box’
- Mark dining out with ‘right side of a box’
- Mark prayer requests with ‘top side of a box’
- Mark productivity with ‘bottom side of a box’
- Mark no caffeine with ‘circle’
- Mark tea only with ‘filled in circle’
- Mark outdoors activity (like camping) with ‘^’
- Mark Army/War Stories with ‘v’
