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During the recent years, I developed a self-organizing system that I like very much (and it evolves continually). However, since the system is based on little rectangular paper cards (see below, where also more reasons for this search are described), I decided to look for a handheld electronic device that I could use for this need.
As I found this a rather difficult task, I would like to ask you for advice on such possible device.
First, I would perhaps describe what I exactly want.
The Organizing system
The system is not actually much complex. Everything I want to remember (tasks, results of some research and other data, that I would like to store
because I know that in the (near or distanced, it depends) future it will be of some use to me) I write on the little rectangular cards and then put it:
in the queue of cards on the table (see the attached picture, where the lot mentioned consists of three columns in the lower left corner), in which case it is a task and the priority is determined by it.
on the board, in which case it is a long-term task or some other data (for example it could carry the text "The stationary on the Ulrich square sells really supreme notebooks.", which information I would possibly like to keep in my knowledge but do not want to be reminded of daily, or even weekly).
into the column on the lower right corner of the table (see the photo), which serves both as an inbox for cards that I was not ready to process at the time of their writing (e.g. I if have a very good idea in 2:30 at night, I write it blind on a card and put it in this inbox column and the process it during the day) and as a column of really important cards that shouldn't get out of my mind at the moment and are thus reviewed by me often during the day.
Furthermore, several cards can be grouped together to show that they are similar or have some connection between themselves (for example I can group together tasks that can be only done on computer or cards like "Buy bananas", "Buy new shoes", etc., because they can be only done in the mall).
The reasons why I decided to look for a handheld device to implement this system on are:
Lack of space, as mentioned above
Lack of cards, of which I consume quite a lot
Lack of mobility, which is not such a problem now, but is going to be more serious in about a year when I go to the university (now I leave our city on average once per month, so mobility is not an issue at the moment, as I mentioned)
The parameters of the device
The device should more or less enable me to implement on it the organizing system described above, with a proper program of course. Furthemore, since the system is constantly evolving (as mentioned above), greater flexibility would be a plus.
It definitely shouldn't be a mobile phone (or smartphone), because I wouldn't probably get it here in the Czech Republic and even if I would, I would probably have to pay a hefty monthly fee for something I am completely not in need of (I currently don't even own a mobile phone).
It also does not have to be strong in other fields like spreadsheet editing, video viewing, etc. - I will use it most of the time for the organizing purpose.
For the input I would strongly prefer a small physical keyboard rather then a pen and a virtual keyboard. That is because the physical keyboard seems as faster for the input to me, but I haven't really touched a device with virtual keyboard, so feel free to mention if you find that virtual keyboard can be as good for input as the physical one if a person gets used to it. However, having done some research on this, I do not hold the physical keyboard as a required aspect of the device because devices that are not smartphones, have a physical keyboard and are currently supported by their manufacturers are quite rare (or at least I think that based on the research; I would be very happy to realize this isn't the case).
On the other side, if the device has a virtual keyboard, there should exist a program on it that allows user to quickly scribble something on it and then review the note later(that I would use in situations such as the night one described above).
The software
I would of course be also very grateful for any suggestions on the software for implementing my organizing system. Since I am really dependent on the system, I am willing to pay a serious sum for a program that would allow me to implement the system fully and would be possibly even more flexible.
So, that is it. I am sorry if I bored you to death (which probably isn't the case if you have read the post until this place), but I wanted to describe what I am asking advice on in the best possible manner, which involves going into detail.
Well, I would be lying if I said I totally understand what you are trying to accomplish. I wonder if you should look at a database program. That would allow you to create the database the way you want (to an extent) rather that having whatever the developer decided you should have. Take a look at HanDBase. You could create a DB for your note cards and assign them to different categories as well as create alarms. This would also allow for creating sorts and reports. Plus HanDBase has a desktop component if you want it.
Well, I would be lying if I said I totally understand what you are trying to accomplish. I wonder if you should look at a database program. That would allow you to create the database the way you want (to an extent) rather that having whatever the developer decided you should have. Take a look at HanDBase. You could create a DB for your note cards and assign them to different categories as well as create alarms. This would also allow for creating sorts and reports. Plus HanDBase has a desktop component if you want it.
Thank you very much for this suggestion.
Until now I thought about My Life Organized, but this looks as a much more flexible solution and a one that allows for a wide scale of future developments for my system. I will certainly try it out once I have the device.
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