Pile of Index Cards

Origami (折り紙) means a folding paper in Japanese. And a pod is a 5×3 index card holder that plays a key role in the PoIC system. Let’s make it by ourselves!

First, download the OrigamiPod Template, then print out on 3 sheets of A4 size paper. A paper should not be too thin or too thick. Find appropriate paper that bears open-close action of the accordion. I found a paper I use here was still thin. Choose thicker paper like this when you try. I include legend and brief instruction.

Cut everything piece by piece, along solid lines. Before start folding, I recommend to put guide line. It makes easy following folding procedure, especially accordion part. Use tip of cutter knife (not blade) for this. But don’t do too strong. If you made guide line, the folding process won’t take no more than 5 minutes. After folding main part, let’s start accordion part. After folding everything, check whether everything is fit before paste. Trim, in case it is too tight.

Put rubber adhesive on gray area and assemble everything including divider. Hold using clothespin until adhesive dry. It takes some time to dry the adhesive. Have a coffee break!

Let’s open accordions now. It is usual remnant adhesive sticks somewhere else. Be careful. Just opened OrigamiPod is like a frog come out of hibernation. Do warming up exercises, open-close action slowly.

Put index cards inside at last. I designed it to keep center of gravity high so the pod stands without support. I think this OrigamiPod is good not only as a pod, but also as a simplified dock on desktop.

Even you already have icPod, Modified Moleskine Memo Pockets, it is good to understand a mechanism of the characteristic accordion. And you will see how much effort had been focused on development of such marvelous masterpiece. I must say that is in a state-of-the-art. Perhaps the OrigamiPod changes your view point for the Moleskine, too.

I give a minimum parts in this template so that you can customize as you want.

Let’s make OrigamiPod!

Download : OrigamiPod Template (PDF, 1.2 MB)

Following lyrics by Enigma suggests there are two kinds of “To-Do” in fact ; want-to-do and have-to-do.

“If you want, then start to laugh
If you must, then start to cry”

Enigma, “Return to Innocence”

I have been using GTD cards for all “to-do” task. The GTD cards is used for “have-to-do” task most of time in my case. It means I have been lacking a way to express “want-to-do” task!

A problem with GTD cards is “have-to” or “want-to” cannot be distinguished only from the check-box icon. In addition, most of time, the icon makes me feel “I have-to-do” even it is “I want-to-do”. As a result, I feel registance even “I want-to-do”.

I have noticed “want-to-do” task is more dominant in my personal productivity. Also I convert “have-to-do” into “want-to-do” by using simple alchemy to motivate myself sometime.

I must express “want-to-do” somehow. Then I should introduce new kind with new icon? I don’t think so. I would like to keep system simple. Such “want-to-do” task always comes to my mind as light bulb in my experience. So I can extend usage of Discovery cards. I combine it with open-loop to emphasis “I want to do this!”.

Open-loop in second tag (third block) means “Want-To-Do” task. In case I want to do a task as soon as possible, I rise the card in the dock like this picture. After finish the task, the loop is closed. Then it become usual Discovery Cards.

「やること」の中で、「やらなければならないこと」と「やりたいこと」を区別してみる。

I had been using Correct’s dock for all cards I wrote. I have currently 3 docks on my desktop. One is just for finished Task Force for the PoIC manual. I just find I don’t need to keep such finished cards on desktop, all time.

I look for an empty box in my room, and just found a box fits for such finished cards. This box is made by Muji. This box’s quality is enough good, but in case I can’t find a box, I can buy a cheeper box in $1 shop. Because all I need is just a storage box.

I had thought I need so many Correct’s dock if I write a lot of cards in future. It is, however, not realistic to buy, say 20 boxes continuously. At the same time, re-usability of such finished cards are already low after reproduction. Correct’s card box’s quality is enough good, but I don’t need same quality just for a storage box.

So now, I think 2 - 3 of quality and beautiful dock are enough to reside on desktop all time. If these docks are full of cards, it is time to reproduce something using these cards.

「お役御免」のカードは、箱に入れてしまっておく。お疲れさまでした。

As seen in the statistics of March, the PoIC works well to enhance discovery for me. I have been thinking it works good for kids, too. Conversely, it is untrue if the system/method doesn’t work for kids. To work well for kids, the system must be extremely simple and fun. I think the PoIC satisfies this criteria.

PoIC’s system and method are further simplified, for example,

- 2 cards (Record + Discovery)
- Larger card such as 6×4 or 5×8
- Quadrille rule or plain
- Date stamp (w/o time stamp)
- Crayon or felt pen
- Keep all cards in a box chronologically

Kids’ idea is more flexible and free. I think cards is much better than notebook because of free in order. Chronological stacking sets free kids’ imagination from restriction comes from classification.

こどもに簡易版 PoIC を適用したら、どうなるかしら。

I wrote entropy (randomness of information) in dock shows saw-tooth like cycle. I have been thinking same model is applied for every “discovery”. This time, a system is not a dock but a brain.

In a thinking process, complexity and randomness of information in a brain increase with time. Time span depends on the problem. Sometime it is in conscious, and perhaps most of time in subconscious level.

At certain point, a moment of “I see it!” comes : A bulb in a brain lights. This corresponds to peak of the entropy model. Then information in a brain are regulated and condensed. The entropy drops steeply. In chrisb’s words, a moment turn gas into crystal.

A point here seems that a bulb in a brain lights with maximizing entropy. Input information is a way to increase entropy.

「発見」はフラクタル構造を持っているようだ。

This is a statistics of cards in March 2007, in dock@life. Number of Four cards are,

- Record : 27 (9.2%)
- Discovery : 238 (81.2%)
- GTD : 4 (1.4%)
- Reference : 24 (8.2%)

Total : 293

This statistics shows,
1. My PoIC system functions as a capturer and storage of “Discovery” now. Everything else seems secondary to enhance discovery. According to tag, this change is remarkable since February 2007. These Discovery cards are reserved for long-term tasks (Ref. : @manual, What is Pile of Index Cards?).

2. Number of Record cards is close to days in a month. This simply reflects a number of diary. I start from diary to trigger writing of a day (Ref. : @manual, How to keep writing).

3. For GTD cards, I usually don’t have so many in a dock (Ref. : @manual, PoIC Four cards). Plus, GTD tasks are processed on the Fieldnote, a temporal memory, without copying to cards. I think Fieldnote functions well for GTD stuff.

4. Number of Reference cards depends on how many books I read, and also how many sentences move my heart.

5. Simple average is 9.5 cards/day. But I usually write cards on week day. So I think realistic average (only for weekday) is about 20 cards/day. This is the best record since last year. March records highest number of cards in a year in 2006, too. Perhaps, March is anomalous for me.

3月に書いたカードのうち、8割が発見カードでした。

# Mod. 2007.04.05 10:20 : Add links to the PoIC manual.

Reading technical book is good to enhance one’s skill. Same time, it is difficult to keep reading through entire book. It’s thickness enough to make hesitate reading. It is double/triple punch for me if it is written in English..

Here is a small tip to read such kind of technical book. Basic idea is borrowed from the GTD : A big project is divided into small achievable tasks.

0. Buy a book to read
1. Copy 20 - 30 pages in one time
2. Put time tag when start reading
3. Put line and note as you like
4. Put time tag when finish reading
5. Pile the copy
6. Go to 1

Buying book is important to manifest “I read this book!” for oneself. Process 1 corresponds to dividing project into small tasks. Copying book makes goal explicit and visible while reading. It is also good to put line and note without any hesitation. This kind of freedom is important as the PoIC.

Extremely speaking, the copy can be trashed after reading. However, I keep it to see accomplishments as do for index cards.

難しい本は小分けにして読む。

A day in a library saves a half year in a laboratory.

I got an email by John, one of reader, last week. I think this information is useful for all people in U.S. Thanks, John! :)

I am in the US and want to try and make the Oxford Cards work. I think by using a simple trick we can get the index cards to work reasonably well. Here is the trick:

a) Eventhrough the Oxford Cards are randomly cut, they are ideally a regular grid. This means that if we always write our cards with the smallest gap between the edge and the first line to the left then the grids will at most be 1/2 a grid spacing off. Statistically, they will be much less.

b) Instead of tagging every column like you can do with the your cards, I will use 2 columns for the tag. If I “eyeball” a correction (or even if I don’t), then the card to card jitter in the column marking should be small to distinguish the columns.