Enhancing Idea Generation with Daily Logging in Napkin
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Chapter 1: The Intersection of Ideas
Life sometimes brings together seemingly unrelated paths, leading to valuable insights. This was my experience recently when I stumbled upon a YouTube discussion featuring David Perell and Ali Abdaal, who were exploring the process of writing a first book. They were later joined by Michael Dean, who introduced an innovative method for organizing content visually.
Intrigued by this concept, I began searching for tools that could facilitate such organization and eventually came across Michael Dean’s Notion site. Among its features was a fascinating concept he called "logloglog," consisting of daily stream-of-consciousness entries. Michael emphasized that maintaining a log significantly contributed to the development of his ideas and essays.
Inspired by this, I spent a considerable part of my day and night diving into Michael’s resources, contemplating how I could implement a similar logging system using Napkin.
Section 1.1: Napkin as a Creative Tool
For some time now, I have been a beta tester for Napkin, an application designed to help users gather ideas, recognize patterns, and find inspiration. Until now, I primarily used it to save quotes—both my own and those from others—leveraging tags to create connections between various thoughts.
Recently, the introduction of Stacks has revolutionized my approach. This feature allows users to intentionally group thoughts together, whether for a book outline or a specific project. I have begun to explore its potential in depth.
Subsection 1.1.1: Structuring My Daily Log
Considering a method for my own daily log, I envisioned using Napkin. I set up a Stack divided into twelve months and initiated a few test entries. By tagging these with the date, #dailylog, and other relevant keywords, it became clear that this setup would be highly effective.
Section 1.2: The Power of the Widget
The brilliance of the daily logging system is encapsulated in the mobile widget.
Historically, jotting down thoughts involved several barriers—I needed to have a notebook or a note-taking app ready. Later, I would have to sift through these ideas and transfer them into a central system.
Now, with Napkin, I can instantly type my thoughts into the widget on my phone. By simply clicking Done, my musings are sent directly to my Napkin Inbox. Each day, I log into the Napkin app online, where I can enrich these thoughts with URLs, tags, and dates, and subsequently move them to the Daily Log stack.
Chapter 2: The Frictionless Experience
The process has effectively eliminated the obstacles previously associated with capturing ideas. I no longer need to think linearly; I can just log whatever crosses my mind, add appropriate tags, and let Napkin integrate everything seamlessly. Eventually, patterns and connections will emerge from this collection of thoughts.
Moreover, this method aligns perfectly with my Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) workflow, allowing me to easily export my thoughts to Obsidian.
The first video, Taking Notes for Work with Obsidian, offers valuable insights into effective note-taking strategies that complement my daily logging efforts.
Section 2.1: Embracing Curiosity
Michael Dean advocates for exploring a broad spectrum of interests, creating a multitude of connections, and then reflecting on them later. This approach particularly resonates with those of us who possess eclectic interests, as it encourages exploration without the constraint of finding a single niche.
I’ve found that often, it’s the unexpected avenues that lead to the most innovative ideas.
The second video, Note Taking Templates I Use in Obsidian (Obsidian Tour 2023), showcases various templates that can enhance the note-taking process, further complementing my use of Napkin for idea generation.
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