PLAIN TEXT. PAPER, LESS · 177

Storing Your Stuff in Plain Text Is Part of a Much Bigger Picture

So keep the best of the old ways, while enjoying the new

Photo by the Author. One of the three jetties at Long Jetty, Central Coast, NSW, Australia

This post can also be read on my blog

My love for plain text has evolved to the point that as a non-programmer, I am happily tracking time, tasks, and notes in monospaced type. And all in documents that Douglas Engelbart could have read in the 1960s.

Ah, the good old days! And the good old ways.

The good ol’ — tried and tested — ways

The best of the old ways are valuable not because they’re old, but because they are tried and tested. They work. Sometimes they are equal or superior to the new ways, sometimes they’re less efficient. But efficiency isn’t always the goal, is it?

We can aim for productivity, efficiency, output, automation. Getting more output for less effort. Or we can focus on mindfulness, intentionality, interoperability, community. Getting more satisfaction for whatever effort is needed.

Consider what you are optimising for. What is your default currency?

Keeping your most important information under your control