I have set myself a goal. Every week, I will document a workflow. Just one.

I find myself constantly reinventing the wheel. Partially, this is a form of procrastination, but I also have a terrible "process" habit.

Here's how it works.

  1. I find myself typing the same things again and again. Surely I must be able to automate that?
  2. I'll do some research - and turns out there's multiple ways of automating for that exact problem.
  3. I buy one or several apps or services.
  4. I install the solution across all devices, sync everything up and instantly forget all about it.

Later, I find myself typing the same things again and again...

Infuriating.

Therefore - I've written a process.

Writing

Objectives.

  1. All writing to be preserved in a plain text format, on my own resources. Data portability and durability.
  2. The process to become automatic - as to where I start writing.

Question: What am I writing?

a. Longform - a novel or non fiction piece of more than 2,000 words.

Answer: Scrivener

b. Shortform - a blog post or e-mail or report or some such. Something that I'm "drafting".

Answer: IA Writer

c. Notes - an idea, a thought, a snippet or reminder. Something that may grow, or may link, but does not in its current form represent a draft towards publishing.

Answer: Obsidian

Question: where do I "archive" writing?

Answer: DevonThink

DevonThink is searchable, organised and backed-up. Perhaps archiving is an annual process - so at the beginning of 2022, I archive any and all pieces in IA Writer that predate 2021, leaving a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 2 years in situ. Scrivener projects can be archived too. (In Plain Text)

Key Process - Review

Notes in Obsidian work best if kept atomic, and linked. The most efficient process is to use Obsidian for as much capture as possible. However - there will doubtless be times where I use a notebook, index card or even another app.

I need a weekly review, where I consider all notes from the week, wherever they are. Some may go to the bin, but any that are to be preserved, should go into Obsidian.

A key question remains. Should I use Drafts as the starting point for writing, and then use actions to move it from there? It's a powerful app, but mostly, I forget to use it.

I need to work more with Obsidian to verify whether it can take over that function.

I was so nearly there, with a completed workflow. Dang it.