026 Ways to Build Your External Brain for Greater Productivity – ProductivityCast

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are you ready to manage your work and

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personal world better to live a

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fulfilling productive life then you’ve

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come to the right place

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productivity cast the weekly show about

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all things productivity here are your

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hosts Ray Sidney-Smith and Augusto

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Pinaud with Francis Wade and Art Gelwicks

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welcome back everybody to productivity

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cast the weekly show about all things

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personal productivity I’m Ray Sidney-

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Smith and I’m here with Augusto Pinaud

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Frances Wade and art Galax welcome to

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productivitycast gentlemen wait the

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year hey how you doing we’re gonna be

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talking about today the idea of the

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external brain and I and I just wanted

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to disclaim this for anyone who might be

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listening to us I know a couple of our

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listeners are medical doctors and so for

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those of you who are medical

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professionals please know that we are

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not talking about the the the assistive

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devices and and so forth that are called

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external brains we’re talking about the

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productivity focus concept of the

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external brain but what we’re gonna do

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today in this episode is really define

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what an external brain is we’re then

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gonna talk about why it’s important in

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at least personal productivity for you

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to have an external brain once we are

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all sort of on the same page in terms of

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what it is and then we’re going to talk

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about how each of us potentially uses

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the functions of building an external

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brain so I’m gonna I’m going to turn it

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over to you art to to start sort of the

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co defining process of how do you define

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what an external brain is all right

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we’ve talked about this in previous

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episodes this idea

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Speirs of access and where information

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is really to you and how do you get to

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it and to me this idea of an external

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brain the information that is relevant

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to you but does not need to be

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immediately accessible or at your

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fingertips

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falls into that category because it’s

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not information that I need to keep in

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my head it’s not information I need to

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have on a post-it note on the monitor in

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front of me but it’s information that

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I’m going to encounter during my day

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that I may need again in the future

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it feels like it’s relevant it has

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interest and value to me but I need to

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someplace where I can go get it later

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and when I think about this model I have

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to think that this is almost one of the

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most challenging areas that we have when

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we think about productivity because this

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stuff is probably the big biggest

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candidate of productive clutter that I

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can imagine just thinking about this as

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we brought this topic up

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I went digging back through a lot of my

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external systems looking at things like

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pocket for example which I use for

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offline reading Instapaper and feedly

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and starting to dig through OneNote and

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I’m thinking more about it just the

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plethora of things that I have that

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every time I look at them I go yeah

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that’s interesting that’s relevant I

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mean I want to keep that and then

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literally 10 minutes later I have no

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idea that that’s even in the system so

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I’m curious one how how we all handle

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this idea of important but not critical

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stuff how do we organize it and really

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probably the biggest thing how do we

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keep it from becoming overwhelming I’ll

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say that for me the idea of the external

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brain was first introduced to me through

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really discussions of getting things

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done by David Allen and the idea of your

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brain is for having ideas not holding

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them as David is often quoted as saying

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and this always led me to the

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Einsteinian Khan step right that

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colloquially or sort of mythically

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Einstein never remembered the phone

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numbers of any of the people he knew and

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he would always say I don’t need that

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information because it’s in the phone

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book and that really did clue me in to

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something very important which was that

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yeah we have these tools that were

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available to us like an address book or

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a contact database you know a piece of

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software where we can put all of this

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information so that it didn’t have to be

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rolling around in my head taking up

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space that was unnecessary I’ve always

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had the conflict between the external

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brain and our real brain in the sense

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that my concern is that when I need

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something to be in in my for mind at a

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particular time and location I want to

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be able to Reza

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that information very very quickly I

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want to be able to you know not only

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retain it but be able to recall it very

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very quickly when necessary so there’s

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actually a toggling back and forth

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between what information do we commit to

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you know long-term memory and what

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information do we commit to the external

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brain this long-term external memory

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storage tool or device or devices in

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order to be able to be effective in real

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time I’m not happy with my external

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brain I use a lot of Evernote as my tool

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and of course my harddrive on my laptop

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I am not happy in the sense that it’s

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it’s not it’s not adequately indexed

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it’s not properly tagged it’s sort of a

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real hodgepodge of stuff that’s just

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basically thrown together this is this

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is when it comes to sort of the data

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that I know that I I may need at some

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point in the future so I can’t find it

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with a quick google search so I don’t

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really save the stuff following

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Einstein’s precept that I can’t find

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very quickly with a Google search so

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stuff that would be too hard to find or

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kind of ambiguous

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that’s the stuff I really save I’m not

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altogether happy with with with the

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method of storage or retrieval I like

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the fact that Evernote and other kinds

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of tools like that are there and that

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they work very well but I think there’s

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something missing in my practice in

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terms of how I put something away and

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then how I pull it back out so I’m sort

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of in this one as a student looking to

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improve the way I do things yeah my my

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battle point really when I think about

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it is in two main categories of in I’ve

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got things that I’ve read and things

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that I’ve gathered for lack of a better

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term so if I think about the things that

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I’ve gathered they’re actually a little

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bit easier because everything like that

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goes into OneNote I generate notes I

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take pictures I tag things everything

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goes in there that becomes a trusted

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system equation as long as I am

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consistent in my behavior of putting

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things into that system I know I will

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get them back out should I remember that

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I need them now it doesn’t change the

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fact that I wind up accumulating a lot

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of stuff in

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that I probably don’t need and every so

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often you need to do a digital

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decluttering which I find amusing that

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some people say oh no you know there’s

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no reason we have mass storage just keep

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everything I think we’ve even had this

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discussion I’ll never buy into that

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because I’ll go in there and I’ll look

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and say why the heck do I still have

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that and coming from the old-school

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computer world where bytes were

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expensive I still will go through it

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actually delete things rather than just

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keep them and store them but that yet

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the big challenge for me is the things

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that I read because I try to make as

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much of an effort as possible to read as

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many different sources as I can but I

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can’t keep all of that in my head it

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just for various reasons each being one

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of them so I have to say how am I going

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to reference this information and that’s

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where I struggle because I’m looking at

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different sources of the reading content

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if it’s in Kindle for example you can

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highlight things great if it’s in pocket

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you can highlight and put notes in if

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it’s an instant paper and highlight and

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put notes but they’re all disparate

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systems so I have yet to find one that I

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can consistently use all the time for

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everything to make it the trusted system

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so now I wind up with information in

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various boxes with various sorts of tags

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and highlights I don’t necessarily feel

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like I can go back and say fine you know

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we started talking about this idea of

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mindfulness for example in a

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conversation and I know there was an

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article I was reading about it and I

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won’t able to reference that article to

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someone I don’t remember what system I

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was in when I saw the article I know the

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articles there I know the contents there

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I should be able to hide it but where do

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I start that’s where I run to the

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challenge with this and I would I would

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add I would a sort of potential solution

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is a meta search tool right and there

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are several of them actually on the

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market today that searches against the

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various different software that you have

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in this case cloud storage tools where

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you can you can basically search

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multiple silos of data and I think

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that’s really where the where the future

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is going to go

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I was actually testing and I’m not going

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to mention the product because it has

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recently shut down but I had been

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testing a project product that I thought

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was going to be very very useful and the

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what what it actually did was it

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took its scanned images of your computer

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screen and presumably they would go to

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the effect of taking screenshots of your

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mobile phone screen and then it took

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that information and over time it

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indexed the the pages and the

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information that was showing on screen

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so you started to get this visual index

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of everything that you looked at and

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that way when you search back against it

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you you kind of saw this sort of

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interesting visual matrix of of contexts

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so you were able to see literally what

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you searched when you searched for it

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and it was it was actually really

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interesting

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unfortunately the company has now shut

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down and and so we’re gonna have to look

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to new things there was a product out

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for a long time I think they’re still

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out and it’s a web-based product

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actually it has an install it’s called

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the brain of all of all things and they

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had a personal version and a

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professional version and it dealt with

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informational linking so instead of

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creating hierarchical structures and

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things like Evernote and oneness it was

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literally I have this article and it’s

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about these topics so I’m going to link

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it to these other topic or other items

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that have the same topic and be able to

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work almost I don’t want to use the term

265
00:10:11,149 –> 00:10:15,790
neural network but almost through that

266
00:10:13,190 –> 00:10:18,350
kind of logical branching and

267
00:10:15,790 –> 00:10:20,329
relationship connection I played with it

268
00:10:18,350 –> 00:10:22,880
for about a year and a half really a

269
00:10:20,329 –> 00:10:26,089
fascinating tool but you had to be so

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00:10:22,880 –> 00:10:29,360
bought into that structural connection

271
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that it really it almost became a

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project in and of itself there’s another

273
00:10:32,060 –> 00:10:36,350
great product out there for this kind of

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organization and tying geeses together

275
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called workflowy which is an outline

276
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based structure it’s really nice because

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you can drop links into different things

278
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so I could see almost creating an index

279
00:10:46,190 –> 00:10:51,019
model there I’m going down a slightly

280
00:10:48,529 –> 00:10:53,329
different path I just completed a lesson

281
00:10:51,019 –> 00:10:57,140
for a one-note training that’s going on

282
00:10:53,329 –> 00:10:59,480
and I’m building out I’m trying to build

283
00:10:57,140 –> 00:11:01,279
out my own digital assistant for this

284
00:10:59,480 –> 00:11:04,640
part of the equation so what I’m doing

285
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is I’m using IFTTT one of my favorite

286
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applications on the web if this then

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that

288
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to say that when I mark something in one

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of my readers to go ahead and put a note

290
00:11:14,240 –> 00:11:20,120
in one note with the context of what I

291
00:11:17,630 –> 00:11:22,400
just marked so that I can leverage the

292
00:11:20,120 –> 00:11:25,070
searching capabilities and also have a

293
00:11:22,400 –> 00:11:27,800
link back to the original content I’m

294
00:11:25,070 –> 00:11:30,080
trying to build that assistant in a way

295
00:11:27,800 –> 00:11:32,480
that works with the way I function

296
00:11:30,080 –> 00:11:34,700
rather than changing the way I function

297
00:11:32,480 –> 00:11:36,380
to work with those and I have to do that

298
00:11:34,700 –> 00:11:39,710
because I found this is one of my

299
00:11:36,380 –> 00:11:42,050
failing areas for this type of a system

300
00:11:39,710 –> 00:11:43,780
if I don’t work with my natural

301
00:11:42,050 –> 00:11:46,430
instincts I won’t use it

302
00:11:43,780 –> 00:11:48,470
90% of the time I will adjust my natural

303
00:11:46,430 –> 00:11:50,600
instincts to work with an optimal

304
00:11:48,470 –> 00:11:52,490
process not a problem but for some

305
00:11:50,600 –> 00:11:54,890
reason I’ve got a blind spot around this

306
00:11:52,490 –> 00:11:56,540
particular ease that I have to say okay

307
00:11:54,890 –> 00:11:59,720
if I read it what am I gonna do with it

308
00:11:56,540 –> 00:12:01,640
and how am I gonna pull it back yes of a

309
00:11:59,720 –> 00:12:05,660
tool that I was talking about was

310
00:12:01,640 –> 00:12:08,000
something called ot IX o that I use for

311
00:12:05,660 –> 00:12:10,190
cloud-based storage search so I can

312
00:12:08,000 –> 00:12:12,200
search against Evernote I can search

313
00:12:10,190 –> 00:12:14,030
against my Google Drive and in my case I

314
00:12:12,200 –> 00:12:16,760
use I have a personal Google Drive and

315
00:12:14,030 –> 00:12:20,210
then what a Google Drive Thru G suite my

316
00:12:16,760 –> 00:12:22,610
company based accounts and then several

317
00:12:20,210 –> 00:12:23,660
others in a Dropbox and box and so and

318
00:12:22,610 –> 00:12:26,810
so forth so if you keep several

319
00:12:23,660 –> 00:12:28,880
different cloud storage containers you

320
00:12:26,810 –> 00:12:30,470
can search against all of those the big

321
00:12:28,880 –> 00:12:33,380
problem then is that if you have data

322
00:12:30,470 –> 00:12:35,690
sitting on your local computers the way

323
00:12:33,380 –> 00:12:38,030
that I’ve solved that is that the new

324
00:12:35,690 –> 00:12:40,520
sort of Google Drive is now being sort

325
00:12:38,030 –> 00:12:42,920
of consumed by the new branding which

326
00:12:40,520 –> 00:12:44,480
will be Google backup and sync so

327
00:12:42,920 –> 00:12:46,610
Google’s you know many people have been

328
00:12:44,480 –> 00:12:49,490
hearing about this idea by the time this

329
00:12:46,610 –> 00:12:51,260
is actually published you all will have

330
00:12:49,490 –> 00:12:53,450
heard about the fact that Google Drive

331
00:12:51,260 –> 00:12:55,310
is has somehow gone away it hasn’t gone

332
00:12:53,450 –> 00:12:57,830
away Google Drive has just been

333
00:12:55,310 –> 00:12:59,720
rewritten under a new name all of the

334
00:12:57,830 –> 00:13:02,060
same functions are there plus more and

335
00:12:59,720 –> 00:13:03,950
one of those plus more tools under

336
00:13:02,060 –> 00:13:07,130
Google backup and sync is the ability to

337
00:13:03,950 –> 00:13:09,950
take local Drive documents say I have a

338
00:13:07,130 –> 00:13:11,720
My Documents folder or or Documents

339
00:13:09,950 –> 00:13:14,270
folder on the Mac well you can take

340
00:13:11,720 –> 00:13:17,690
those and add them as selective sync

341
00:13:14,270 –> 00:13:19,310
folders up to Google Drive so instead of

342
00:13:17,690 –> 00:13:21,870
taking your Google Drive documents and

343
00:13:19,310 –> 00:13:24,000
bringing them down to your local dev

344
00:13:21,870 –> 00:13:26,100
stop you can also back up in essence

345
00:13:24,000 –> 00:13:29,040
it’s not really back up it’s really

346
00:13:26,100 –> 00:13:30,870
redundancy and synchronization but the

347
00:13:29,040 –> 00:13:33,210
point is is that now I have all of that

348
00:13:30,870 –> 00:13:35,670
information in Google Drive also for

349
00:13:33,210 –> 00:13:39,690
indexing so I know it’s on my local

350
00:13:35,670 –> 00:13:41,520
drives based on the the synchronization

351
00:13:39,690 –> 00:13:43,050
of those folders locally so it’s

352
00:13:41,520 –> 00:13:45,810
actually very very helpful for me to

353
00:13:43,050 –> 00:13:47,940
just to go to go to ot IX oh it’s yeah

354
00:13:45,810 –> 00:13:49,200
it’s ot IX o comm I have no idea how to

355
00:13:47,940 –> 00:13:52,860
pronounce that so I’m not even gonna try

356
00:13:49,200 –> 00:13:55,320
but um but you just go there you type in

357
00:13:52,860 –> 00:13:58,220
a search and it’s not perfect but now it

358
00:13:55,320 –> 00:14:01,500
is giving me a search against all of my

359
00:13:58,220 –> 00:14:03,270
systems as opposed to each silo at a

360
00:14:01,500 –> 00:14:04,830
time it’s interesting because this

361
00:14:03,270 –> 00:14:06,930
starts to branch into this whole

362
00:14:04,830 –> 00:14:09,200
conversation around and it’s an

363
00:14:06,930 –> 00:14:12,680
information architecture one between

364
00:14:09,200 –> 00:14:15,660
structure and search creation of

365
00:14:12,680 –> 00:14:19,740
hierarchical mapping and tags versus

366
00:14:15,660 –> 00:14:22,380
freeform search KB’s and I think with an

367
00:14:19,740 –> 00:14:25,290
external brain concept I think you’re

368
00:14:22,380 –> 00:14:27,390
driven more into the open search

369
00:14:25,290 –> 00:14:30,740
structure just because you would spend

370
00:14:27,390 –> 00:14:33,270
so much time trying to create a

371
00:14:30,740 –> 00:14:35,040
comprehensive architecture for this I

372
00:14:33,270 –> 00:14:37,440
don’t know that it would necessarily

373
00:14:35,040 –> 00:14:39,089
benefit at a certain way now you would

374
00:14:37,440 –> 00:14:41,160
have to have a basic architecture but

375
00:14:39,089 –> 00:14:42,750
you’re talking about like with Google

376
00:14:41,160 –> 00:14:45,959
Drive and I’m thinking about the same

377
00:14:42,750 –> 00:14:48,690
thing on one Drive that search ability

378
00:14:45,959 –> 00:14:50,820
as long as you have some reference that

379
00:14:48,690 –> 00:14:54,150
the thing that you’re looking for went

380
00:14:50,820 –> 00:14:56,730
in there then you can pull it back but

381
00:14:54,150 –> 00:14:58,650
there’s a trust as well I think if

382
00:14:56,730 –> 00:15:01,320
you’re gonna go down that path for an

383
00:14:58,650 –> 00:15:03,570
external brain the best investment you

384
00:15:01,320 –> 00:15:05,730
can make in your time is learning that

385
00:15:03,570 –> 00:15:08,550
search architecture that whatever that

386
00:15:05,730 –> 00:15:10,650
tool is this is inside out inside ways I

387
00:15:08,550 –> 00:15:13,140
mean I know Evernote for example has a

388
00:15:10,650 –> 00:15:16,230
crazy powerful search capability if I

389
00:15:13,140 –> 00:15:19,200
remember correctly and OneNote search

390
00:15:16,230 –> 00:15:21,420
capability doesn’t have the same type of

391
00:15:19,200 –> 00:15:24,120
structures you can put in but it’s very

392
00:15:21,420 –> 00:15:26,279
smart about how it reads content reads

393
00:15:24,120 –> 00:15:28,830
images and pulls information back as

394
00:15:26,279 –> 00:15:31,170
search context I think the same thing is

395
00:15:28,830 –> 00:15:33,660
probably applicable to onedrive and to

396
00:15:31,170 –> 00:15:35,180
Google Drive so if you spend time

397
00:15:33,660 –> 00:15:37,670
thinking about that

398
00:15:35,180 –> 00:15:39,260
and making sure that if I go in there

399
00:15:37,670 –> 00:15:40,700
it’s gonna be able to be indexed and I’m

400
00:15:39,260 –> 00:15:42,290
gonna be able to pull it back then I

401
00:15:40,700 –> 00:15:45,470
think you can start to build this stuff

402
00:15:42,290 –> 00:15:47,060
out it still doesn’t solve this problem

403
00:15:45,470 –> 00:15:49,100
I have though with again with the

404
00:15:47,060 –> 00:15:50,180
writing or the reading rather going

405
00:15:49,100 –> 00:15:52,610
through and saying you know I’ve got

406
00:15:50,180 –> 00:15:54,380
this 18 page web article that was really

407
00:15:52,610 –> 00:15:55,610
cool there was a paragraph in it that I

408
00:15:54,380 –> 00:15:57,740
cared about I didn’t care about the rest

409
00:15:55,610 –> 00:16:01,160
of it I have to find a way to get that

410
00:15:57,740 –> 00:16:03,350
nugget out with the connection yeah that

411
00:16:01,160 –> 00:16:05,960
almost comes to the idea of sort of a

412
00:16:03,350 –> 00:16:08,260
fluid markup right where you’re able to

413
00:16:05,960 –> 00:16:10,970
sort of highlight a paragraph and

414
00:16:08,260 –> 00:16:13,250
identify that with some level of markup

415
00:16:10,970 –> 00:16:15,710
not even visual markup but just some

416
00:16:13,250 –> 00:16:19,460
kind of markup that identifies that it’s

417
00:16:15,710 –> 00:16:20,660
important to your you know and important

418
00:16:19,460 –> 00:16:23,210
to your world in some way shape or form

419
00:16:20,660 –> 00:16:26,030
in the future I wanted to add to the

420
00:16:23,210 –> 00:16:28,910
comment you made about using using cloud

421
00:16:26,030 –> 00:16:31,760
drives I have started to use them myself

422
00:16:28,910 –> 00:16:33,590
I once again back to my sort of

423
00:16:31,760 –> 00:16:38,000
challenges that they’re poorly indexed

424
00:16:33,590 –> 00:16:39,740
they’re indexed at all but I have seen

425
00:16:38,000 –> 00:16:41,030
all this space on my hard drive which

426
00:16:39,740 –> 00:16:44,390
has resulted in my computer running

427
00:16:41,030 –> 00:16:47,270
quite a bit faster by putting iTunes up

428
00:16:44,390 –> 00:16:49,340
in the cloud so I used Google Drive and

429
00:16:47,270 –> 00:16:51,470
I’m using that capability you mentioned

430
00:16:49,340 –> 00:16:53,570
where you could store certain files on

431
00:16:51,470 –> 00:16:56,930
Google Drive but not on your own hard

432
00:16:53,570 –> 00:16:58,880
drive so I’m able to save my iTunes to

433
00:16:56,930 –> 00:17:01,850
the cloud but not have it saved locally

434
00:16:58,880 –> 00:17:03,890
and it understands that ok like when I’m

435
00:17:01,850 –> 00:17:05,900
saving iTunes files I’ll save it

436
00:17:03,890 –> 00:17:08,510
straight for the clothes so that’s a

437
00:17:05,900 –> 00:17:11,209
that’s a huge saving for me and I paid I

438
00:17:08,510 –> 00:17:13,730
think 2 or 3 bucks a month in order to

439
00:17:11,209 –> 00:17:17,209
get the extra 100 gig of google drive

440
00:17:13,730 –> 00:17:20,720
space but that’s oh that’s one win but

441
00:17:17,209 –> 00:17:23,570
but overall sort of the picture is still

442
00:17:20,720 –> 00:17:27,820
one of a mess where I I have Google

443
00:17:23,570 –> 00:17:30,770
Drive I love Amazon Drive of I have

444
00:17:27,820 –> 00:17:34,130
macro sauce version to use very very

445
00:17:30,770 –> 00:17:37,160
rarely I use Dropbox so I’m using all of

446
00:17:34,130 –> 00:17:39,290
these different drives but these

447
00:17:37,160 –> 00:17:41,000
external drives and create external

448
00:17:39,290 –> 00:17:43,330
brain I can even access some of them

449
00:17:41,000 –> 00:17:47,810
most of them from my for my smartphone

450
00:17:43,330 –> 00:17:49,010
but what’s the structure I it’s real

451
00:17:47,810 –> 00:17:50,420
hodgepodge

452
00:17:49,010 –> 00:17:52,160
I can’t say that I have like an

453
00:17:50,420 –> 00:17:54,380
architecture I have more of a

454
00:17:52,160 –> 00:17:56,330
hit-or-miss situation which leads to the

455
00:17:54,380 –> 00:17:57,860
problems that are mentioned it’s at some

456
00:17:56,330 –> 00:18:00,290
times and this is no happening I

457
00:17:57,860 –> 00:18:03,320
remember just like he said a paragraph

458
00:18:00,290 –> 00:18:05,990
from an article which is saved somewhere

459
00:18:03,320 –> 00:18:07,910
it could be an Evernote could be in

460
00:18:05,990 –> 00:18:10,460
Dropbox it could be on onedrive

461
00:18:07,910 –> 00:18:13,130
could be in so it could be in one of

462
00:18:10,460 –> 00:18:15,410
these many many many places and for me

463
00:18:13,130 –> 00:18:17,420
to F that should remember where did I

464
00:18:15,410 –> 00:18:21,290
save it under what context in which

465
00:18:17,420 –> 00:18:23,420
context which was the circumstance what

466
00:18:21,290 –> 00:18:25,400
was the the logic I used at the moment

467
00:18:23,420 –> 00:18:27,440
that I think it would fit into this

468
00:18:25,400 –> 00:18:30,620
folder or it would fit into this topic

469
00:18:27,440 –> 00:18:33,830
or it would fit so I’m I’m I’m know left

470
00:18:30,620 –> 00:18:35,810
with a plethora of sort of splintered

471
00:18:33,830 –> 00:18:37,970
choices and when I look at the overall

472
00:18:35,810 –> 00:18:39,530
landscape they don’t make any sense I’m

473
00:18:37,970 –> 00:18:41,960
wasting all the time as you could

474
00:18:39,530 –> 00:18:43,550
imagine doing searches or even deciding

475
00:18:41,960 –> 00:18:46,190
where to save something there’s a pause

476
00:18:43,550 –> 00:18:49,850
where I say to myself am I gonna see

477
00:18:46,190 –> 00:18:51,830
this in a place where I can find it well

478
00:18:49,850 –> 00:18:53,840
under what circumstances might I need it

479
00:18:51,830 –> 00:18:55,610
in the future okay then what keywords

480
00:18:53,840 –> 00:18:58,490
would I use then and where would i look

481
00:18:55,610 –> 00:19:01,730
for those to use those keywords and the

482
00:18:58,490 –> 00:19:03,500
whole thing is just a real it’s just a I

483
00:19:01,730 –> 00:19:07,310
said a hodgepodge and I wish there were

484
00:19:03,500 –> 00:19:13,280
some defining rules that I could apply

485
00:19:07,310 –> 00:19:15,500
some some useful set of like some

486
00:19:13,280 –> 00:19:17,660
guidelines I would I would I would love

487
00:19:15,500 –> 00:19:19,730
that I think that’s one of the areas

488
00:19:17,660 –> 00:19:22,400
that we have to look at the more I’ve

489
00:19:19,730 –> 00:19:25,100
been thinking about this I realized that

490
00:19:22,400 –> 00:19:27,710
you’re hitting right on the challenge

491
00:19:25,100 –> 00:19:29,900
point of this entire equation it’s not

492
00:19:27,710 –> 00:19:32,120
that the technology can’t do this for us

493
00:19:29,900 –> 00:19:34,730
it’s the fact that there are almost too

494
00:19:32,120 –> 00:19:37,370
many options there’s so many ways to

495
00:19:34,730 –> 00:19:39,230
approach this particular challenge that

496
00:19:37,370 –> 00:19:41,780
we look at and go okay I could put it

497
00:19:39,230 –> 00:19:43,760
here I could put it here none of them is

498
00:19:41,780 –> 00:19:45,380
a hundred percent solution which is

499
00:19:43,760 –> 00:19:47,660
realistic we’ll never hit a percent

500
00:19:45,380 –> 00:19:49,640
solution on any of these however in many

501
00:19:47,660 –> 00:19:51,260
of the cases I’m thinking that you know

502
00:19:49,640 –> 00:19:52,910
what maybe there is a consistent

503
00:19:51,260 –> 00:19:54,740
behavior and I go back to an experiment

504
00:19:52,910 –> 00:19:58,400
I did on myself a while ago where I

505
00:19:54,740 –> 00:20:00,110
tried to say okay could I use onedrive

506
00:19:58,400 –> 00:20:02,029
or in this case I was using Google Drive

507
00:20:00,110 –> 00:20:04,580
could I use Google Drive

508
00:20:02,029 –> 00:20:07,460
to reproduce everything I was doing

509
00:20:04,580 –> 00:20:09,739
OneNote could I use it not only to store

510
00:20:07,460 –> 00:20:12,169
the images that I move but could I also

511
00:20:09,739 –> 00:20:14,509
use it to store file attachments well

512
00:20:12,169 –> 00:20:16,909
those two natural functionality but how

513
00:20:14,509 –> 00:20:18,649
do I handle notes could I use it to take

514
00:20:16,909 –> 00:20:20,869
notes could I use it and that’s when I

515
00:20:18,649 –> 00:20:24,289
had to start to say okay does this make

516
00:20:20,869 –> 00:20:25,729
sense yes technically I could do it I

517
00:20:24,289 –> 00:20:27,259
could keep Doc’s I could store

518
00:20:25,729 –> 00:20:29,599
everything in the docs themselves create

519
00:20:27,259 –> 00:20:32,629
the pages in the architecture I could

520
00:20:29,599 –> 00:20:35,419
reproduce it then Google Drive would be

521
00:20:32,629 –> 00:20:37,700
my single system but again it didn’t

522
00:20:35,419 –> 00:20:38,779
solve every problem and just thinking

523
00:20:37,700 –> 00:20:41,839
about what we were talking about here I

524
00:20:38,779 –> 00:20:44,239
was playing around my my paint my reader

525
00:20:41,839 –> 00:20:45,889
of choice when it comes to stuff off the

526
00:20:44,239 –> 00:20:48,080
web is a tool called Instapaper

527
00:20:45,889 –> 00:20:50,839
I used to use pocket quite a bit loved

528
00:20:48,080 –> 00:20:52,399
pocket great tool instapaper has a nice

529
00:20:50,839 –> 00:20:55,759
feature though where it will strip down

530
00:20:52,399 –> 00:20:57,559
and clean up any web peach so it’s just

531
00:20:55,759 –> 00:21:00,769
the textual content which makes it

532
00:20:57,559 –> 00:21:02,839
wonderful on a mobile device but when I

533
00:21:00,769 –> 00:21:05,749
mentioned earlier learning the tools I

534
00:21:02,839 –> 00:21:07,820
just poked around inside Instapaper and

535
00:21:05,749 –> 00:21:10,489
I found an option that allows me to

536
00:21:07,820 –> 00:21:13,879
search the notes and the highlights I

537
00:21:10,489 –> 00:21:16,099
took so I literally sitting here now

538
00:21:13,879 –> 00:21:18,169
just solve that particular problem I had

539
00:21:16,099 –> 00:21:20,239
it has a folder architecture that I can

540
00:21:18,169 –> 00:21:23,269
leverage and it has the ability to go

541
00:21:20,239 –> 00:21:25,489
through and store an archived content so

542
00:21:23,269 –> 00:21:27,169
great functionality this is an

543
00:21:25,489 –> 00:21:29,719
opportunity for me to go down further

544
00:21:27,169 –> 00:21:32,210
down that path am I likely to run into

545
00:21:29,719 –> 00:21:34,070
another problem yeah it’s gonna happen

546
00:21:32,210 –> 00:21:36,769
pretty much guaranteed but I’m not gonna

547
00:21:34,070 –> 00:21:39,739
let that dissuade me from what appears

548
00:21:36,769 –> 00:21:41,779
to be a good procedural step for me

549
00:21:39,739 –> 00:21:44,559
moving words so I don’t think

550
00:21:41,779 –> 00:21:46,879
unfortunately there is a defined

551
00:21:44,559 –> 00:21:49,849
architecture you know there is no clear

552
00:21:46,879 –> 00:21:52,399
best practice for this mess my

553
00:21:49,849 –> 00:21:55,460
suggestion would be create a flowchart

554
00:21:52,399 –> 00:21:56,450
for yourself say okay this thing comes

555
00:21:55,460 –> 00:21:58,549
into my flow

556
00:21:56,450 –> 00:22:00,049
what am i likely to do with it and then

557
00:21:58,549 –> 00:22:02,450
how am I going to likely access that

558
00:22:00,049 –> 00:22:03,769
information there’s a net there’s an

559
00:22:02,450 –> 00:22:06,619
acronym I use all the time to help

560
00:22:03,769 –> 00:22:08,989
people understand the procedure in CPR

561
00:22:06,619 –> 00:22:11,059
on all your information it’s capture

562
00:22:08,989 –> 00:22:12,259
process report you’ve got to be able to

563
00:22:11,059 –> 00:22:13,609
get it in you’ve got to be able to

564
00:22:12,259 –> 00:22:15,289
manipulate it and you’ve got to be able

565
00:22:13,609 –> 00:22:16,220
to pull it back out at some point

566
00:22:15,289 –> 00:22:17,690
well if

567
00:22:16,220 –> 00:22:19,610
you look at all your information that’s

568
00:22:17,690 –> 00:22:22,400
coming through you should be able to

569
00:22:19,610 –> 00:22:25,039
define a process for yourself it may not

570
00:22:22,400 –> 00:22:26,510
be consistent destinations but you

571
00:22:25,039 –> 00:22:28,010
should be able to define a process for

572
00:22:26,510 –> 00:22:30,080
yourself that you can follow for the

573
00:22:28,010 –> 00:22:31,760
different types of information and then

574
00:22:30,080 –> 00:22:33,140
when you go back to look for it you know

575
00:22:31,760 –> 00:22:34,789
ok that type of thing would have gone

576
00:22:33,140 –> 00:22:36,440
through this little Plinko chart and

577
00:22:34,789 –> 00:22:41,150
wound up here so that’s where I’m gonna

578
00:22:36,440 –> 00:22:43,940
go look so the importance of the

579
00:22:41,150 –> 00:22:49,340
external brain comes there the reality

580
00:22:43,940 –> 00:22:51,230
is your brain is a tool for thing to

581
00:22:49,340 –> 00:22:55,909
make decisions to move forward not just

582
00:22:51,230 –> 00:22:58,370
origin for me and we tend to use it a

583
00:22:55,909 –> 00:23:00,770
lot more than what we should for storage

584
00:22:58,370 –> 00:23:02,690
what this external brain allows you is

585
00:23:00,770 –> 00:23:05,539
to really have the place where

586
00:23:02,690 –> 00:23:06,440
everything can be read you know when I I

587
00:23:05,539 –> 00:23:09,500
remember

588
00:23:06,440 –> 00:23:13,549
think the first time I I have a soda

589
00:23:09,500 –> 00:23:17,450
external brain was with a Cassie I first

590
00:23:13,549 –> 00:23:18,740
PDA this will date me was a Casio dude

591
00:23:17,450 –> 00:23:22,159
you flip it and then he had a little

592
00:23:18,740 –> 00:23:24,230
keyboard to stuff and I don’t remember

593
00:23:22,159 –> 00:23:26,960
even how it’s called but but I start

594
00:23:24,230 –> 00:23:29,000
putting creating notes I turn and I’ve

595
00:23:26,960 –> 00:23:30,830
been migrating those notes from the

596
00:23:29,000 –> 00:23:34,400
Casio to the Palm Pilots you know

597
00:23:30,830 –> 00:23:37,400
different versions of um violets to the

598
00:23:34,400 –> 00:23:40,039
iPhone so but the cool thing is I can

599
00:23:37,400 –> 00:23:42,289
look into and now that are searchable

600
00:23:40,039 –> 00:23:45,530
are even better because I can search for

601
00:23:42,289 –> 00:23:48,110
data that I know my brain don’t need to

602
00:23:45,530 –> 00:23:50,390
remember at all and that’s what we want

603
00:23:48,110 –> 00:23:53,600
for this external brain you know that

604
00:23:50,390 –> 00:23:56,330
allows me to are allowed my brain not to

605
00:23:53,600 –> 00:23:59,000
try to hold of information because my

606
00:23:56,330 –> 00:24:03,169
brain knows that it’s really on their

607
00:23:59,000 –> 00:24:06,409
fingertips and that allows me to to use

608
00:24:03,169 –> 00:24:09,620
my brain for what I think is just by my

609
00:24:06,409 –> 00:24:13,010
role that is make decision to think in a

610
00:24:09,620 –> 00:24:14,990
much more effective way than when I try

611
00:24:13,010 –> 00:24:17,539
to keep everything holding on my brain

612
00:24:14,990 –> 00:24:19,850
because I cannot or I should not and I

613
00:24:17,539 –> 00:24:22,179
understand is bad but on the sense that

614
00:24:19,850 –> 00:24:24,380
I don’t even know a phone number anymore

615
00:24:22,179 –> 00:24:26,720
you know I remember when I was a kid

616
00:24:24,380 –> 00:24:28,309
junior I don’t know ten fifteen you know

617
00:24:26,720 –> 00:24:30,500
your grandparents your uncles their

618
00:24:28,309 –> 00:24:32,390
friends and I don’t know a phone I

619
00:24:30,500 –> 00:24:36,320
I don’t know a lot of information

620
00:24:32,390 –> 00:24:38,150
because it’s all in the external brain

621
00:24:36,320 –> 00:24:40,880
all in the technology and the different

622
00:24:38,150 –> 00:24:45,320
places unlike that a ton of information

623
00:24:40,880 –> 00:24:48,220
but I think that also allow me to move

624
00:24:45,320 –> 00:24:50,480
forward and use my brain in better ways

625
00:24:48,220 –> 00:24:52,940
Thank You GU so I think that’s that’s

626
00:24:50,480 –> 00:24:54,590
really helpful to contextualize you know

627
00:24:52,940 –> 00:24:56,480
why the external brain is important and

628
00:24:54,590 –> 00:24:58,700
now we’re gonna again fast-forward to

629
00:24:56,480 –> 00:25:01,670
the some of the travails in in building

630
00:24:58,700 –> 00:25:05,840
and developing out an external brain

631
00:25:01,670 –> 00:25:06,800
system that works for you and and so I’m

632
00:25:05,840 –> 00:25:09,410
gonna I’m gonna start off with

633
00:25:06,800 –> 00:25:11,660
potentially trying to answer some of art

634
00:25:09,410 –> 00:25:13,490
and Francis’s questions as it relates

635
00:25:11,660 –> 00:25:15,800
and challenges as it relates to this so

636
00:25:13,490 –> 00:25:17,780
let me start let me start here with just

637
00:25:15,800 –> 00:25:20,930
sort of a flushing out of what I do and

638
00:25:17,780 –> 00:25:23,750
in terms of in terms of addressing it

639
00:25:20,930 –> 00:25:26,840
and then the particulars we can we can

640
00:25:23,750 –> 00:25:29,630
talk about as well so I always think

641
00:25:26,840 –> 00:25:31,880
that a hybrid of some kind of structure

642
00:25:29,630 –> 00:25:33,950
and then understanding how to search

643
00:25:31,880 –> 00:25:36,620
going back to arts earlier thoughts on

644
00:25:33,950 –> 00:25:38,180
this matter you need both I I really

645
00:25:36,620 –> 00:25:40,400
sincerely don’t believe that you can

646
00:25:38,180 –> 00:25:42,560
always find everything through the

647
00:25:40,400 –> 00:25:44,990
search and to some extent you don’t need

648
00:25:42,560 –> 00:25:47,420
to so therefore there is a way in which

649
00:25:44,990 –> 00:25:49,400
you can create a hybrid of that system I

650
00:25:47,420 –> 00:25:52,250
do that through creating what I call

651
00:25:49,400 –> 00:25:54,560
life categories and you can call this

652
00:25:52,250 –> 00:25:57,020
whatever you want but you in essence

653
00:25:54,560 –> 00:25:59,510
have to take your world and split it up

654
00:25:57,020 –> 00:26:00,890
into chunks into pieces of a pie if you

655
00:25:59,510 –> 00:26:02,900
want to think about it as slices of a

656
00:26:00,890 –> 00:26:05,570
pie but in essence you need to create

657
00:26:02,900 –> 00:26:07,940
some hierarchy of a folder structure or

658
00:26:05,570 –> 00:26:10,280
buckets of some kind and Evernote

659
00:26:07,940 –> 00:26:12,020
there’s sacks and notebooks in onedrive

660
00:26:10,280 –> 00:26:14,390
Dropbox Google Drive and otherwise

661
00:26:12,020 –> 00:26:16,940
they’re going to be folders but I think

662
00:26:14,390 –> 00:26:19,700
as few folders as possible that help

663
00:26:16,940 –> 00:26:21,500
contain the areas of your life and give

664
00:26:19,700 –> 00:26:24,860
you some example you might have a folder

665
00:26:21,500 –> 00:26:27,800
called personal finances a folder called

666
00:26:24,860 –> 00:26:30,650
legal a folder called health a folder

667
00:26:27,800 –> 00:26:32,210
called personal a folder called family

668
00:26:30,650 –> 00:26:35,570
whatever they might be and you’re gonna

669
00:26:32,210 –> 00:26:37,610
list those categories and those become

670
00:26:35,570 –> 00:26:39,410
the structure across all of your systems

671
00:26:37,610 –> 00:26:42,169
right so you might have those same

672
00:26:39,410 –> 00:26:43,999
folders become separate calendars

673
00:26:42,169 –> 00:26:46,190
in your calendar system so all your

674
00:26:43,999 –> 00:26:48,559
family events go on one calendar all of

675
00:26:46,190 –> 00:26:50,509
your work events go on your professional

676
00:26:48,559 –> 00:26:52,879
calendar all of your all of your

677
00:26:50,509 –> 00:26:55,549
meetings with your financial adviser or

678
00:26:52,879 –> 00:26:57,409
with your tax accountant or otherwise

679
00:26:55,549 –> 00:26:59,989
would go on your finances calendar and

680
00:26:57,409 –> 00:27:02,359
in essence a calendar allows you to see

681
00:26:59,989 –> 00:27:04,460
them all overlaid on top of one another

682
00:27:02,359 –> 00:27:06,739
but now they’re gonna be color-coded you

683
00:27:04,460 –> 00:27:09,139
can you can play with that data in a

684
00:27:06,739 –> 00:27:11,559
contextualized fashion you can create

685
00:27:09,139 –> 00:27:13,609
those same notebooks and stacks in

686
00:27:11,559 –> 00:27:16,489
Evernote you can create those same

687
00:27:13,609 –> 00:27:19,100
labels or folders in your Gmail or

688
00:27:16,489 –> 00:27:21,799
outlook right across the board now you

689
00:27:19,100 –> 00:27:24,320
have an overarching infrastructure that

690
00:27:21,799 –> 00:27:26,779
allows you to file that is move things

691
00:27:24,320 –> 00:27:28,399
out of your inboxes and then into the

692
00:27:26,779 –> 00:27:30,789
infrastructure very easily and naturally

693
00:27:28,399 –> 00:27:33,409
because because if they are all

694
00:27:30,789 –> 00:27:35,539
primarily the same then you’re not

695
00:27:33,409 –> 00:27:37,999
thinking so much about where things have

696
00:27:35,539 –> 00:27:39,440
to go once you get comfortable and it

697
00:27:37,999 –> 00:27:41,840
becomes habitual for you to move those

698
00:27:39,440 –> 00:27:43,190
things then search takes over at that

699
00:27:41,840 –> 00:27:46,009
point you know then you need to think

700
00:27:43,190 –> 00:27:48,230
about naming conventions tags and other

701
00:27:46,009 –> 00:27:50,149
mechanisms other kinds of markup or

702
00:27:48,230 –> 00:27:51,859
metadata that allows you to be able to

703
00:27:50,149 –> 00:27:54,019
search against that data but I think

704
00:27:51,859 –> 00:27:55,399
those big broad buckets help you to be

705
00:27:54,019 –> 00:27:57,109
able to say okay well I’m looking for

706
00:27:55,399 –> 00:27:59,509
something for medical well let me click

707
00:27:57,109 –> 00:28:01,009
on the medical label in Gmail or look on

708
00:27:59,509 –> 00:28:04,309
look in the medical notebook in Evernote

709
00:28:01,009 –> 00:28:06,379
and now the search is very much more

710
00:28:04,309 –> 00:28:08,450
defined so that if you look for receipts

711
00:28:06,379 –> 00:28:10,879
right you’re tat you tagged something as

712
00:28:08,450 –> 00:28:12,590
receipts you’re only looking in medical

713
00:28:10,879 –> 00:28:14,119
because you’re looking for medical

714
00:28:12,590 –> 00:28:15,619
receipts you’re not looking for receipts

715
00:28:14,119 –> 00:28:17,960
that you paid for for a recent family

716
00:28:15,619 –> 00:28:19,789
vacation right these things become much

717
00:28:17,960 –> 00:28:21,139
more natural and fluid for you and I

718
00:28:19,789 –> 00:28:22,940
think there’s a structure there an

719
00:28:21,139 –> 00:28:25,489
infrastructure there that with a little

720
00:28:22,940 –> 00:28:27,830
bit of modification it became it becomes

721
00:28:25,489 –> 00:28:29,960
very very useful for you as an

722
00:28:27,830 –> 00:28:31,940
individual in being able to blend both

723
00:28:29,960 –> 00:28:34,029
hierarchical structure you know

724
00:28:31,940 –> 00:28:37,220
broad-based hierarchical structure and

725
00:28:34,029 –> 00:28:40,009
search that goes though to the key of

726
00:28:37,220 –> 00:28:41,960
understanding how your system the tool

727
00:28:40,009 –> 00:28:44,269
itself works because you have to make

728
00:28:41,960 –> 00:28:46,759
sure that the tool supports that kind of

729
00:28:44,269 –> 00:28:48,970
narrowed search capability and you know

730
00:28:46,759 –> 00:28:51,799
how to get into that functionality

731
00:28:48,970 –> 00:28:54,769
absolutely I’m actually I had a question

732
00:28:51,799 –> 00:28:55,910
of art he mentioned CPR before capture

733
00:28:54,769 –> 00:28:57,740
process report

734
00:28:55,910 –> 00:29:00,380
and I wonder if he could tell us a

735
00:28:57,740 –> 00:29:03,060
little bit about the the subtasks that

736
00:29:00,380 –> 00:29:06,120
are under each of those headings

737
00:29:03,060 –> 00:29:09,180
sure that the idea for capture process

738
00:29:06,120 –> 00:29:12,080
report is when you think about the first

739
00:29:09,180 –> 00:29:14,820
step and the the capture piece that’s

740
00:29:12,080 –> 00:29:17,250
origin of the content itself that’s

741
00:29:14,820 –> 00:29:19,740
going to go into your system the trigger

742
00:29:17,250 –> 00:29:22,680
that indicates it’s an actionable piece

743
00:29:19,740 –> 00:29:24,360
of information and basically the

744
00:29:22,680 –> 00:29:27,510
compression how do you squeeze it into

745
00:29:24,360 –> 00:29:29,070
your system so if you think about the

746
00:29:27,510 –> 00:29:30,630
origin of the item you have all the

747
00:29:29,070 –> 00:29:33,030
disparate pieces you may have written

748
00:29:30,630 –> 00:29:36,240
text you may have online text web pages

749
00:29:33,030 –> 00:29:39,570
feed readers you name it the action part

750
00:29:36,240 –> 00:29:41,280
or the trigger part is what in that sets

751
00:29:39,570 –> 00:29:43,920
the flag in your brain either

752
00:29:41,280 –> 00:29:45,720
immediately or procedurally that that’s

753
00:29:43,920 –> 00:29:47,490
something that you need to retain that

754
00:29:45,720 –> 00:29:49,800
you’ve got to in your system and it

755
00:29:47,490 –> 00:29:51,690
doesn’t push it from the second sphere

756
00:29:49,800 –> 00:29:54,660
of influence which is important and

757
00:29:51,690 –> 00:29:56,160
accessible out to globally searchable or

758
00:29:54,660 –> 00:29:57,660
generally searchable something that you

759
00:29:56,160 –> 00:29:59,760
could probably go back and search in

760
00:29:57,660 –> 00:30:01,440
Google for and find again if you did too

761
00:29:59,760 –> 00:30:04,920
with just the vague recollection that

762
00:30:01,440 –> 00:30:07,850
you had seen it simple so really the sea

763
00:30:04,920 –> 00:30:11,160
has three main steps if we think about

764
00:30:07,850 –> 00:30:13,110
the pea and if I continue to use the the

765
00:30:11,160 –> 00:30:15,060
CPR analogy with that if you think about

766
00:30:13,110 –> 00:30:16,950
at that point you’ve completed the

767
00:30:15,060 –> 00:30:19,770
compression for our CPR compression

768
00:30:16,950 –> 00:30:23,070
blood is circulating air is circulating

769
00:30:19,770 –> 00:30:25,350
so the process is how does that piece of

770
00:30:23,070 –> 00:30:26,910
information that you’ve now grabbed move

771
00:30:25,350 –> 00:30:29,940
through your system is it

772
00:30:26,910 –> 00:30:32,730
one clear cycle where it’s going through

773
00:30:29,940 –> 00:30:34,080
just from point A to point B maybe going

774
00:30:32,730 –> 00:30:36,030
straight from whatever you’ve captured

775
00:30:34,080 –> 00:30:38,160
it to right into Evernote or does it

776
00:30:36,030 –> 00:30:40,230
have to go through multiple steps does

777
00:30:38,160 –> 00:30:41,880
it in my case it’s going from a feed

778
00:30:40,230 –> 00:30:43,590
reader to Instapaper

779
00:30:41,880 –> 00:30:45,840
where I’m then going to go through and

780
00:30:43,590 –> 00:30:47,490
review it and mark it up what happens to

781
00:30:45,840 –> 00:30:49,290
it then what’s the cycle of it and

782
00:30:47,490 –> 00:30:52,650
what’s it like its life cycle within

783
00:30:49,290 –> 00:30:55,890
that so P is not really individual steps

784
00:30:52,650 –> 00:30:58,200
it’s more of defining that life cycle

785
00:30:55,890 –> 00:31:00,690
the challenge with P is that it can be

786
00:30:58,200 –> 00:31:03,510
multiple parallel paths depending on

787
00:31:00,690 –> 00:31:06,540
what’s moving through it so you may have

788
00:31:03,510 –> 00:31:09,930
a different process execution for

789
00:31:06,540 –> 00:31:11,760
reading material versus maybe a brochure

790
00:31:09,930 –> 00:31:14,040
for something that you’re looking into

791
00:31:11,760 –> 00:31:16,350
purchasing different exercise different

792
00:31:14,040 –> 00:31:18,270
purpose for that content so

793
00:31:16,350 –> 00:31:19,440
instead of it being blood it may be air

794
00:31:18,270 –> 00:31:22,380
you want to follow those analogies

795
00:31:19,440 –> 00:31:23,580
finally the report part how are you

796
00:31:22,380 –> 00:31:24,929
going to pull it back and what are you

797
00:31:23,580 –> 00:31:26,429
going to do with that information when

798
00:31:24,929 –> 00:31:29,070
you look back so if you’re going to pull

799
00:31:26,429 –> 00:31:30,450
something back for your own use where

800
00:31:29,070 –> 00:31:32,549
are you going to do it or is it gonna be

801
00:31:30,450 –> 00:31:34,230
mobile is it gonna be desktop how do you

802
00:31:32,549 –> 00:31:36,000
want to be able to consume that again is

803
00:31:34,230 –> 00:31:37,590
it you just want the text or you want it

804
00:31:36,000 –> 00:31:40,980
to look like you originally saw it and

805
00:31:37,590 –> 00:31:42,870
third is it just you that’s going to use

806
00:31:40,980 –> 00:31:44,340
that information or do you need to be

807
00:31:42,870 –> 00:31:46,860
able to pull that information back and

808
00:31:44,340 –> 00:31:48,690
then share it with someone else well if

809
00:31:46,860 –> 00:31:50,640
you’re gonna have the sharing part there

810
00:31:48,690 –> 00:31:52,590
were the extended reporting that’s a

811
00:31:50,640 –> 00:31:53,610
whole different conversation because now

812
00:31:52,590 –> 00:31:54,570
you’ve got to think about well how am I

813
00:31:53,610 –> 00:31:57,240
going to get this system this

814
00:31:54,570 –> 00:31:59,669
information out of my system so I use

815
00:31:57,240 –> 00:32:03,150
the CPR analogy because I think if you

816
00:31:59,669 –> 00:32:06,510
break it down to those types of steps

817
00:32:03,150 –> 00:32:08,970
you can really wrap a process around

818
00:32:06,510 –> 00:32:10,620
this intangible stuff that you have

819
00:32:08,970 –> 00:32:12,600
coming in and how you’re going to

820
00:32:10,620 –> 00:32:14,250
manipulate it at a high level I’ll

821
00:32:12,600 –> 00:32:16,500
actually I’m in the process of writing

822
00:32:14,250 –> 00:32:19,710
an article right now but I’ll detail it

823
00:32:16,500 –> 00:32:21,659
out and more detail around how CPR truly

824
00:32:19,710 –> 00:32:22,770
works at least from my perspective when

825
00:32:21,659 –> 00:32:27,539
it comes to this kind of information

826
00:32:22,770 –> 00:32:32,190
life cycle and I think the the immediate

827
00:32:27,539 –> 00:32:36,990
value to me is its weight it’s a way to

828
00:32:32,190 –> 00:32:40,409
weed out the next day xDrive or the next

829
00:32:36,990 –> 00:32:42,210
storage software or the next external

830
00:32:40,409 –> 00:32:44,309
brain possibility that gets offered to

831
00:32:42,210 –> 00:32:45,299
me because chances are by the end of the

832
00:32:44,309 –> 00:32:47,130
week there’s gonna be something that’s

833
00:32:45,299 –> 00:32:49,980
gonna catch my eye I’m gonna say ooh

834
00:32:47,130 –> 00:32:52,860
nice bright shiny object ooh free

835
00:32:49,980 –> 00:32:55,710
storage whoo and I’ll go sign up for it

836
00:32:52,860 –> 00:32:57,480
with absolutely no plan in mind as to

837
00:32:55,710 –> 00:32:59,460
how it fits into anything else or what

838
00:32:57,480 –> 00:33:01,620
I’m gonna use it for but I’ll just use

839
00:32:59,460 –> 00:33:06,780
it I’ll sign up for it because hey it’s

840
00:33:01,620 –> 00:33:10,010
free but there’s a cost to doing that it

841
00:33:06,780 –> 00:33:12,659
doesn’t have to exclude new systems

842
00:33:10,010 –> 00:33:14,669
because if you think if I parallel it to

843
00:33:12,659 –> 00:33:16,470
something that a lot of us do anymore

844
00:33:14,669 –> 00:33:18,000
you know health tracking and you have

845
00:33:16,470 –> 00:33:20,100
your fitness tracker your Fitbit or you

846
00:33:18,000 –> 00:33:22,650
gear Pro or whatever you have that’s an

847
00:33:20,100 –> 00:33:24,540
information stream coming to you that

848
00:33:22,650 –> 00:33:26,730
has to be captured processed and

849
00:33:24,540 –> 00:33:29,940
reported on for it to be useful however

850
00:33:26,730 –> 00:33:32,370
that may not be going in to Google draw

851
00:33:29,940 –> 00:33:34,740
it may not be going into OneNote it may

852
00:33:32,370 –> 00:33:37,200
be going into a dedicated application

853
00:33:34,740 –> 00:33:39,570
that has a specific function to provide

854
00:33:37,200 –> 00:33:41,610
that information back however there is

855
00:33:39,570 –> 00:33:44,669
no way I can tell you what my average

856
00:33:41,610 –> 00:33:47,070
pulse rate was three weeks ago but I may

857
00:33:44,669 –> 00:33:49,799
want to know that at some point so if we

858
00:33:47,070 –> 00:33:52,230
look at this external brain process I

859
00:33:49,799 –> 00:33:54,419
can define for this type of information

860
00:33:52,230 –> 00:33:56,399
this is where it’s going to go and this

861
00:33:54,419 –> 00:33:58,679
is how I’m gonna call it but I have to

862
00:33:56,399 –> 00:34:01,470
go through the effort of mapping that

863
00:33:58,679 –> 00:34:03,330
for myself so that later on when I say

864
00:34:01,470 –> 00:34:04,379
hey I had this type of information what

865
00:34:03,330 –> 00:34:06,750
do I do with it

866
00:34:04,379 –> 00:34:08,609
I can look at my map and say oh okay

867
00:34:06,750 –> 00:34:09,899
that’s where it’s supposed to go and be

868
00:34:08,609 –> 00:34:11,909
able to put it there in a consistent

869
00:34:09,899 –> 00:34:14,550
behavior I think that’s the more I

870
00:34:11,909 –> 00:34:16,829
ponder this that’s where people get off

871
00:34:14,550 –> 00:34:19,290
the rails because they don’t create a

872
00:34:16,829 –> 00:34:22,169
map for themselves as to what their

873
00:34:19,290 –> 00:34:23,909
external brain should be they don’t give

874
00:34:22,169 –> 00:34:26,490
a little diagram of their neurons in

875
00:34:23,909 –> 00:34:27,899
their external brain something comes in

876
00:34:26,490 –> 00:34:29,700
it’s got to move through it’s got to

877
00:34:27,899 –> 00:34:31,619
come out and it should be consistent if

878
00:34:29,700 –> 00:34:33,149
I have to think about what that route is

879
00:34:31,619 –> 00:34:35,730
every time I’ve just made it more

880
00:34:33,149 –> 00:34:39,510
complex for myself not easier hence the

881
00:34:35,730 –> 00:34:41,790
need for a flow type exactly awesome or

882
00:34:39,510 –> 00:34:43,770
a mind map hey if you’re a mind map err

883
00:34:41,790 –> 00:34:46,020
and I love mind mapping I think it’s a

884
00:34:43,770 –> 00:34:47,220
fantastic tool mind mapping is a great

885
00:34:46,020 –> 00:34:48,869
way to approach this because it

886
00:34:47,220 –> 00:34:49,919
eliminates a lot of the core structure

887
00:34:48,869 –> 00:34:51,810
needed with a flowchart

888
00:34:49,919 –> 00:34:53,579
but it still gives you all those little

889
00:34:51,810 –> 00:34:57,149
boxes as to how something’s going to

890
00:34:53,579 –> 00:34:59,010
move aid to B to C to D so I did want in

891
00:34:57,149 –> 00:35:01,170
the time that we have left for our

892
00:34:59,010 –> 00:35:03,780
listeners to get a little bit of a

893
00:35:01,170 –> 00:35:06,150
framework in terms of if you’re if

894
00:35:03,780 –> 00:35:07,740
you’re new to the external brain concept

895
00:35:06,150 –> 00:35:10,170
and and you likely are new to the

896
00:35:07,740 –> 00:35:12,089
concept though you have been utilizing

897
00:35:10,170 –> 00:35:14,760
it in some way shape or form in your

898
00:35:12,089 –> 00:35:17,339
life already that is you probably have a

899
00:35:14,760 –> 00:35:20,609
contacts app right on your phone or on

900
00:35:17,339 –> 00:35:22,710
your computer or otherwise maybe you

901
00:35:20,609 –> 00:35:24,810
have a paper-based address book as my

902
00:35:22,710 –> 00:35:27,630
mom does my mom keeps still a thorough

903
00:35:24,810 –> 00:35:29,520
well annotated address book with every

904
00:35:27,630 –> 00:35:31,230
birthday and address and phone number

905
00:35:29,520 –> 00:35:34,140
with updates and so and so forth she

906
00:35:31,230 –> 00:35:37,500
she’s her own little computer and the

907
00:35:34,140 –> 00:35:40,380
idea though is that you take that area

908
00:35:37,500 –> 00:35:42,730
of your world and see how you’re

909
00:35:40,380 –> 00:35:46,060
fundamentally succeeding and

910
00:35:42,730 –> 00:35:48,580
for falling tripping up stumbling in in

911
00:35:46,060 –> 00:35:50,290
that process and try to shore it up try

912
00:35:48,580 –> 00:35:52,000
to figure out what are the missing

913
00:35:50,290 –> 00:35:54,640
elements just take that moment a

914
00:35:52,000 –> 00:35:56,200
reflection and review and then plan out

915
00:35:54,640 –> 00:35:58,180
a new way in which you’re going to

916
00:35:56,200 –> 00:36:00,070
address it there are some some basic

917
00:35:58,180 –> 00:36:02,920
fundamentals I used to I used to tutor

918
00:36:00,070 –> 00:36:05,260
reading in for elementary school

919
00:36:02,920 –> 00:36:07,510
students and we always talked about

920
00:36:05,260 –> 00:36:09,609
reading as decoding right understanding

921
00:36:07,510 –> 00:36:11,020
the parts of a word or those kinds of

922
00:36:09,609 –> 00:36:13,510
things basically as you’re taking

923
00:36:11,020 –> 00:36:15,430
information in how are you how are you

924
00:36:13,510 –> 00:36:17,500
breaking it into chunks that are

925
00:36:15,430 –> 00:36:19,060
relatable so what are the natural chunks

926
00:36:17,500 –> 00:36:21,310
that things are broken up into and

927
00:36:19,060 –> 00:36:23,380
that’s where in my sort of methodology

928
00:36:21,310 –> 00:36:25,030
you create that hierarchy

929
00:36:23,380 –> 00:36:27,040
what’s the hierarchy of things in your

930
00:36:25,030 –> 00:36:28,990
world then it’s comprehension do I

931
00:36:27,040 –> 00:36:31,960
understand the information that’s

932
00:36:28,990 –> 00:36:34,300
happening in my world so we we rely on

933
00:36:31,960 –> 00:36:35,800
decoding to comprehend right because we

934
00:36:34,300 –> 00:36:37,540
we need to break things apart and then

935
00:36:35,800 –> 00:36:39,640
we need to understand those individual

936
00:36:37,540 –> 00:36:41,350
components as well then comes to

937
00:36:39,640 –> 00:36:43,510
retention where am I going to put those

938
00:36:41,350 –> 00:36:45,820
chunks in order to be able to most

939
00:36:43,510 –> 00:36:49,690
appropriately access them at the right

940
00:36:45,820 –> 00:36:52,960
place and time right so that that nexus

941
00:36:49,690 –> 00:36:55,900
of those three points I need or want it

942
00:36:52,960 –> 00:36:58,630
right so need or want and then place in

943
00:36:55,900 –> 00:37:00,850
time where am I and at what times in my

944
00:36:58,630 –> 00:37:02,619
day week month year do I need that

945
00:37:00,850 –> 00:37:05,800
information or a specific date and time

946
00:37:02,619 –> 00:37:09,460
then there’s recall on the other side of

947
00:37:05,800 –> 00:37:11,710
that so at the point in which I need it

948
00:37:09,460 –> 00:37:14,200
at a place in time how do I bring that

949
00:37:11,710 –> 00:37:16,300
information out so that it’s relevant to

950
00:37:14,200 –> 00:37:17,680
me so you have a couple of components

951
00:37:16,300 –> 00:37:20,109
that you need to really deal with when

952
00:37:17,680 –> 00:37:22,690
it comes to building a an external brain

953
00:37:20,109 –> 00:37:25,330
and in almost every one of those

954
00:37:22,690 –> 00:37:26,830
categories of your life as as arts set

955
00:37:25,330 –> 00:37:29,320
at the top you know there are things

956
00:37:26,830 –> 00:37:31,090
that he might put into onedrive or

957
00:37:29,320 –> 00:37:34,450
Google Drive or otherwise that he

958
00:37:31,090 –> 00:37:37,270
wouldn’t put into OneNote and vice versa

959
00:37:34,450 –> 00:37:38,680
because it they satisfy different

960
00:37:37,270 –> 00:37:40,270
functions they have different features

961
00:37:38,680 –> 00:37:42,460
and I think we all have to take that

962
00:37:40,270 –> 00:37:45,970
into account as we’re developing and

963
00:37:42,460 –> 00:37:48,790
building out our our external brains I’m

964
00:37:45,970 –> 00:37:50,830
you bring an interesting comment and I

965
00:37:48,790 –> 00:37:53,859
hope my mother do not listen to this

966
00:37:50,830 –> 00:37:56,440
year because it’s important to remember

967
00:37:53,859 –> 00:37:58,870
that that external brain

968
00:37:56,440 –> 00:38:01,510
even if you share the information or not

969
00:37:58,870 –> 00:38:05,400
it’s meant to work for you my mother

970
00:38:01,510 –> 00:38:08,710
probably has your spray has her own

971
00:38:05,400 –> 00:38:11,650
documentation but it’s really nobody can

972
00:38:08,710 –> 00:38:14,800
use it because if you say oh let me find

973
00:38:11,650 –> 00:38:17,530
Rey well you know a normal person if we

974
00:38:14,800 –> 00:38:20,890
try to find information Rey will try the

975
00:38:17,530 –> 00:38:24,100
r4 right or the s4 Sydney Smith okay

976
00:38:20,890 –> 00:38:25,750
my mother may have it on the F and when

977
00:38:24,100 –> 00:38:27,190
you one their mother what does some they

978
00:38:25,750 –> 00:38:30,940
have well that’s friend of a booster it

979
00:38:27,190 –> 00:38:33,450
makes total sense okay that’s that’s how

980
00:38:30,940 –> 00:38:36,220
my mother has Asian yeah okay so

981
00:38:33,450 –> 00:38:39,360
whatever she had on that external brain

982
00:38:36,220 –> 00:38:42,790
of hers okay it’s really only accessible

983
00:38:39,360 –> 00:38:45,550
to her and nobody else unless you can go

984
00:38:42,790 –> 00:38:47,380
and think like her but but but that is

985
00:38:45,550 –> 00:38:49,830
important even if you have it on the

986
00:38:47,380 –> 00:38:52,750
digital don’t think it me to be on a

987
00:38:49,830 –> 00:38:54,730
particular way or or in a way that

988
00:38:52,750 –> 00:38:57,790
others can come and interact with this

989
00:38:54,730 –> 00:39:01,180
this is design or should be designed and

990
00:38:57,790 –> 00:39:04,120
built for you and if you need to put art

991
00:39:01,180 –> 00:39:05,260
Francis and Rey on the F because our

992
00:39:04,120 –> 00:39:07,960
friends are my kids

993
00:39:05,260 –> 00:39:10,210
that’s fine if you know that your brain

994
00:39:07,960 –> 00:39:12,940
will be able to retrieve it there

995
00:39:10,210 –> 00:39:14,440
instead of a star thinking oh great now

996
00:39:12,940 –> 00:39:16,330
I need to think of what is the name of

997
00:39:14,440 –> 00:39:19,030
this friend of my son that I have no

998
00:39:16,330 –> 00:39:22,840
clue and I think a star with an R or an

999
00:39:19,030 –> 00:39:27,250
S so building this brain external brain

1000
00:39:22,840 –> 00:39:29,770
also have those exclusive things and and

1001
00:39:27,250 –> 00:39:32,260
unique so keep it you know I agree there

1002
00:39:29,770 –> 00:39:35,230
thinks that their natural place is

1003
00:39:32,260 –> 00:39:37,480
droplet or pot or one net or Evernote

1004
00:39:35,230 –> 00:39:41,980
and it’s okay

1005
00:39:37,480 –> 00:39:43,870
as far as it’s built for you and for you

1006
00:39:41,980 –> 00:39:48,250
to find that information and you’re not

1007
00:39:43,870 –> 00:39:50,140
trying to make it so other scans I you

1008
00:39:48,250 –> 00:39:52,810
know you’ve hit it right on the nose

1009
00:39:50,140 –> 00:39:55,180
there I can’t help but think about the

1010
00:39:52,810 –> 00:39:58,210
axiom that says something’s not truly

1011
00:39:55,180 –> 00:39:59,620
lost until mom can’t find it I know

1012
00:39:58,210 –> 00:40:02,200
that’s the way it works in our house

1013
00:39:59,620 –> 00:40:04,900
because she’s coordinating you know

1014
00:40:02,200 –> 00:40:06,400
these four years these three crazy

1015
00:40:04,900 –> 00:40:09,999
little people running around the house

1016
00:40:06,400 –> 00:40:12,759
and also her spouse and being able to

1017
00:40:09,999 –> 00:40:15,309
keep things organized and know where

1018
00:40:12,759 –> 00:40:17,079
things are and Ray I think it’s it’s

1019
00:40:15,309 –> 00:40:19,209
great that your mom’s rocking a an

1020
00:40:17,079 –> 00:40:21,429
analog system I think that’s fantastic

1021
00:40:19,209 –> 00:40:24,429
because that’s her system and it works

1022
00:40:21,429 –> 00:40:26,499
for her and she’s able to to find what

1023
00:40:24,429 –> 00:40:28,449
she needs and knows that it’s there but

1024
00:40:26,499 –> 00:40:31,419
the most important part is she trusts it

1025
00:40:28,449 –> 00:40:34,419
she trusts her system it’s one of those

1026
00:40:31,419 –> 00:40:38,319
things I think we could talk about in

1027
00:40:34,419 –> 00:40:40,959
more detail when we think about system

1028
00:40:38,319 –> 00:40:42,759
transfers but yeah definitely build

1029
00:40:40,959 –> 00:40:45,369
build stuff up the way you are

1030
00:40:42,759 –> 00:40:47,919
that’s absolutely right on the target

1031
00:40:45,369 –> 00:40:50,829
there I do stuff there is two things

1032
00:40:47,919 –> 00:40:52,929
that I will consider or or there’s two

1033
00:40:50,829 –> 00:40:56,079
things I will live or would like to live

1034
00:40:52,929 –> 00:41:00,639
mine one is consistent the other one is

1035
00:40:56,079 –> 00:41:02,739
portability technology change on some of

1036
00:41:00,639 –> 00:41:06,369
that information will stay with you for

1037
00:41:02,739 –> 00:41:10,539
a really long so make sure that whatever

1038
00:41:06,369 –> 00:41:13,179
you build that external brain it can be

1039
00:41:10,539 –> 00:41:16,449
portal it can be exported it can be

1040
00:41:13,179 –> 00:41:19,449
taken to a different format because

1041
00:41:16,449 –> 00:41:22,959
there is nothing worse than have all

1042
00:41:19,449 –> 00:41:25,329
that fantastic brain outside all that

1043
00:41:22,959 –> 00:41:27,669
external brain all configure and all

1044
00:41:25,329 –> 00:41:30,879
that and then the platform you were

1045
00:41:27,669 –> 00:41:33,339
using disappearing or even worse trying

1046
00:41:30,879 –> 00:41:35,919
to get back to it in five years later

1047
00:41:33,339 –> 00:41:37,899
because you know it wasn’t so and so

1048
00:41:35,919 –> 00:41:39,969
piece of software and now there is

1049
00:41:37,899 –> 00:41:43,029
nothing that can open that file and is

1050
00:41:39,969 –> 00:41:46,719
completely incompatible so whatever that

1051
00:41:43,029 –> 00:41:48,999
external brain is and whatever platform

1052
00:41:46,719 –> 00:41:51,969
you decide to trust for that make sure

1053
00:41:48,999 –> 00:41:56,469
that you will be able to export you know

1054
00:41:51,969 –> 00:41:59,529
if years ago when Evernote came out

1055
00:41:56,469 –> 00:42:02,109
Evernote did not have a nice way to

1056
00:41:59,529 –> 00:42:05,019
export and was the reason I originally

1057
00:42:02,109 –> 00:42:07,779
walk away from it until they came with a

1058
00:42:05,019 –> 00:42:09,909
nicer way to export your notes because I

1059
00:42:07,779 –> 00:42:12,429
did not wanted to put up with all the

1060
00:42:09,909 –> 00:42:14,739
information as they were asking for or

1061
00:42:12,429 –> 00:42:17,709
you know or proposing that the software

1062
00:42:14,739 –> 00:42:20,169
could do but then not being able to take

1063
00:42:17,709 –> 00:42:23,109
this information out or at least not in

1064
00:42:20,169 –> 00:42:23,860
an easy way so pay attention to that

1065
00:42:23,109 –> 00:42:26,710
part

1066
00:42:23,860 –> 00:42:29,350
the portability yes you hope you are not

1067
00:42:26,710 –> 00:42:32,110
going to change platforms but as I was

1068
00:42:29,350 –> 00:42:36,040
discussing last week with somebody this

1069
00:42:32,110 –> 00:42:37,150
person leave on an Apple ecosystem okay

1070
00:42:36,040 –> 00:42:40,650
same as I do

1071
00:42:37,150 –> 00:42:43,300
iPhone everything work just came and

1072
00:42:40,650 –> 00:42:46,120
decided to change some of the machines

1073
00:42:43,300 –> 00:42:47,740
and now he got from work that he need to

1074
00:42:46,120 –> 00:42:51,580
use because that’s where the software

1075
00:42:47,740 –> 00:42:55,030
that they rely on is he got an Android

1076
00:42:51,580 –> 00:42:57,340
phone and an Android tablet so he has

1077
00:42:55,030 –> 00:43:01,330
two options he can carry two devices now

1078
00:42:57,340 –> 00:43:03,460
or he can move everything to Android the

1079
00:43:01,330 –> 00:43:07,120
second option is a it’s a viable option

1080
00:43:03,460 –> 00:43:09,520
except that now he needs to see what of

1081
00:43:07,120 –> 00:43:12,310
that information he can port in an easy

1082
00:43:09,520 –> 00:43:14,770
way and what of that information he’s

1083
00:43:12,310 –> 00:43:17,050
been having for years on the iPhone

1084
00:43:14,770 –> 00:43:19,810
he needs to copy and paste or even

1085
00:43:17,050 –> 00:43:22,750
re-enter all the information so make

1086
00:43:19,810 –> 00:43:26,020
sure regardless where you are what is

1087
00:43:22,750 –> 00:43:28,470
that portability factor for your

1088
00:43:26,020 –> 00:43:30,820
information for your external brain

1089
00:43:28,470 –> 00:43:34,120
great I think that’s a good place for us

1090
00:43:30,820 –> 00:43:37,750
to close out I want to wish everybody

1091
00:43:34,120 –> 00:43:39,370
the the foresight in terms of building

1092
00:43:37,750 –> 00:43:40,960
an external brain to make sure that you

1093
00:43:39,370 –> 00:43:42,790
are really thinking about how you can

1094
00:43:40,960 –> 00:43:44,560
develop it so that it fits into the

1095
00:43:42,790 –> 00:43:46,300
various categories of your life that

1096
00:43:44,560 –> 00:43:49,450
you’re capable of trusting it and I

1097
00:43:46,300 –> 00:43:51,460
think to to arts point about trust comes

1098
00:43:49,450 –> 00:43:53,500
o Gusteau’s point about consistency

1099
00:43:51,460 –> 00:43:55,360
right the more you consistently put the

1100
00:43:53,500 –> 00:43:57,430
information into the right places and

1101
00:43:55,360 –> 00:43:59,320
appropriately tag it and all those other

1102
00:43:57,430 –> 00:44:01,210
fun things then the better you’re going

1103
00:43:59,320 –> 00:44:03,340
to be able to back flow and search for

1104
00:44:01,210 –> 00:44:05,710
it find it in the appropriate folder or

1105
00:44:03,340 –> 00:44:08,080
notebook and then be able to search

1106
00:44:05,710 –> 00:44:10,720
those areas where that information might

1107
00:44:08,080 –> 00:44:12,280
be so with that here’s your productive

1108
00:44:10,720 –> 00:44:13,930
life this is productivity cast the

1109
00:44:12,280 –> 00:44:16,000
weekly show about all things personal

1110
00:44:13,930 –> 00:44:17,650
productivity I’m ray Sydney Smith and

1111
00:44:16,000 –> 00:44:19,480
I’m here with the gusto pen now dart

1112
00:44:17,650 –> 00:44:21,270
Galax and Frances Wade thank you

1113
00:44:19,480 –> 00:44:23,980
gentlemen for joining me here today and

1114
00:44:21,270 –> 00:44:26,230
take care that’s it for this

1115
00:44:23,980 –> 00:44:28,690
productivity cast the weekly show about

1116
00:44:26,230 –> 00:44:31,060
all things productivity with your hosts

1117
00:44:28,690 –> 00:44:34,920
ray Sydney Smith and Augusto panade with

1118
00:44:31,060 –> 00:44:34,920
Francis Wade and art Galax