Thread by @Artifexx

Overwhelmed with too many things for your paper or project?

Create an academic command center.

Here is how to do it:
👇

1. In @obsdmd install the Kanban plugin

Kanban is a free community plugin.

2. Create a board

A board is just a special note in the vault. Right click any folder to get a new board.

Add as many columns or "categories" as you like.

Columns define the purpose of your board. e.g. organize literature, publication tasks or organization.

3. Add a card

Your cards can be anything.

- Text
- Image
- Link to a PDF

The column you add your card to has a meaning. Here I add a PDF to my reading list column.

After reading I might move it to "important papers", because it was relevant to my research.

4. View board as list

To quickly edit your board switch to the "markdown view".

- Open command palette (ctrl/cmd + P)
- Select "Kanban: Toggle between..."
- Edit the list
- Toggle again and see your new entry appear.

5. Structure your boards

Here are some ideas how you can structure your boards.

Generally a kanban board should be "alive" that means your tasks flow from left to right. But it is also fine to just use it as a static list.

For Todos:
- Backlog (Tasks that you might do eventually)
- Weekly Focus
- Blocked (Tasks blocked by someone else)
- Done

or in the Eisenhower Matrix:

- Important + urgent
- Not important + urgent
- important + not urgent
- not important + not urgent

For writing a paper:

- Reading list
- Section 1/2/3: Todos for parts of the paper
- Organization: Any auxiliary tasks

For a reading list:

- sort by domain
- sort by importance/interest

You get the idea.

A Kanban board mostly should be PERSONAL and task-specific. There is no all-size-fits-all solution.

A visual reference manager is a good alternative to a more static board (i.e. not great for todos, but great for reading-lists):

If you are keen to learn more about organizing your academic life:

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