Going radial
And just like all other brilliant things that came into my life, this one came to me at random, while I was looking for something else.
I think I was looking for a bag. Now I have already forgotten exactly what bag I was looking for. For all I know, I could have been looking for a book, or sunblock, or RCA cables. Whatever it was, it led to me to Patrick Ng’s blog, and the gorgeous nostalgic photos and the travel concept drew me in, and I just browsed and browsed and kept on browsing. Little did I know that I was being sucked into an entirely new world of technology-tinted analog.
And then I saw the Chronodex, and I fell in love with the idea straight away.
How wonderful to have an actual clock to mark my appointments on! By shading certain times, I can see at a glance if my afternoon was already full, or how much time I have allotted for a particular task, or if I have reserved enough time to make calls and send out emails. By using different colors, I can see how much of my days are spent on meetings, editorial work, production work, research, and reading. By blocking off certain times, I can dedicate that time to doing the more important tasks that need my concentration. There are so many possibilities with this format, and it’s not restrictive like the usual linear planners.
It can also be used for mind-mapping. Apparently a lot of people from the creative fields find this radial system really to their liking, because it allows for a more visual representation of actual time. With the Chronodex cores, the day is not just a series of hours that pass us by, but an actual pocket of existence that we can all grasp, make sense of, appreciate, and optimize. The day can now be seen as a wonderful, pliable tool that can tell us where we are at any given moment, like a compass of sorts, but referring to time instead of location.
A compass for time. How strange an idea, but in an amazingly efficient way.
Another advantage of this system is that it comes in printable files, giving me the freedom to lay out the cores according to how I need them, on the paper and notebook that I prefer. Here you can see that I have them on a week-to-a-spread layout, with cores only for the weekdays and none for the weekends.
Some people have laid them out day-to-a-page, allowing them more space on the paper to write down notes, reminders, and lists. Some have printed the cores out on sticker paper, and just stick that on their existing planners as needed.
There is also a Chronodex stamp in the works. And apparently there is even an iPad app for it.
Now, a couple of weeks into this system, I am loving it even more. And as I find myself being able to do more things in less time, I shall move to a core-to-a-page format soon, because I need more space on the paper for listing down actual unexpected and unplanned accomplishments for the day. Yes, I now have those. The Chronodex has helped me use my time more productively, leaving me more time for play, which in turn leads me to more creative discoveries, which of course I need to note down, because memory is a tricky thing.
If you are looking for a new system of organizing your days, this could be something that’s worth looking into. It has certainly worked wonderfully for me.
[Image credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
I think I was looking for a bag. Now I have already forgotten exactly what bag I was looking for. For all I know, I could have been looking for a book, or sunblock, or RCA cables. Whatever it was, it led to me to Patrick Ng’s blog, and the gorgeous nostalgic photos and the travel concept drew me in, and I just browsed and browsed and kept on browsing. Little did I know that I was being sucked into an entirely new world of technology-tinted analog.
And then I saw the Chronodex, and I fell in love with the idea straight away.
How wonderful to have an actual clock to mark my appointments on! By shading certain times, I can see at a glance if my afternoon was already full, or how much time I have allotted for a particular task, or if I have reserved enough time to make calls and send out emails. By using different colors, I can see how much of my days are spent on meetings, editorial work, production work, research, and reading. By blocking off certain times, I can dedicate that time to doing the more important tasks that need my concentration. There are so many possibilities with this format, and it’s not restrictive like the usual linear planners.
It can also be used for mind-mapping. Apparently a lot of people from the creative fields find this radial system really to their liking, because it allows for a more visual representation of actual time. With the Chronodex cores, the day is not just a series of hours that pass us by, but an actual pocket of existence that we can all grasp, make sense of, appreciate, and optimize. The day can now be seen as a wonderful, pliable tool that can tell us where we are at any given moment, like a compass of sorts, but referring to time instead of location.
A compass for time. How strange an idea, but in an amazingly efficient way.
Another advantage of this system is that it comes in printable files, giving me the freedom to lay out the cores according to how I need them, on the paper and notebook that I prefer. Here you can see that I have them on a week-to-a-spread layout, with cores only for the weekdays and none for the weekends.
Some people have laid them out day-to-a-page, allowing them more space on the paper to write down notes, reminders, and lists. Some have printed the cores out on sticker paper, and just stick that on their existing planners as needed.
There is also a Chronodex stamp in the works. And apparently there is even an iPad app for it.
Now, a couple of weeks into this system, I am loving it even more. And as I find myself being able to do more things in less time, I shall move to a core-to-a-page format soon, because I need more space on the paper for listing down actual unexpected and unplanned accomplishments for the day. Yes, I now have those. The Chronodex has helped me use my time more productively, leaving me more time for play, which in turn leads me to more creative discoveries, which of course I need to note down, because memory is a tricky thing.
If you are looking for a new system of organizing your days, this could be something that’s worth looking into. It has certainly worked wonderfully for me.
[Image credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
posted by Maryanne Moll | 12:14 AM
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