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SortingFieldStones

The same shape may work in multiple locations. My field stones may fit under problem solving, general systems thinking, language, Satir Systems, management and other categories I haven't yet considered. My questions:

  1. How do you keep track of your field stones (filing cabinet, 3x5 cards, computer, etc)?
  2. How do you sort your field stones looking for those that fit?
  3. How would you improve what you're doing?

DonGray 2006.09.05

Hey Don,

I have used a personal Wiki (using the MoinMoin implementation for now) for a while now. Index cards when I'm out and about.

When I find myself going "I wish I could find all / any with . . . " several times for the same kind of thing, I make a category. "Sort" is too structured for what I have so far, and I won't even think about "organized."

The third one is three questions.

  • "What improvements?" well, if I had figured out doable for me right now mechanisms for making stuff work better, I'd be doing them.
  • "What would you like to be better?" The workflow-ish part, at least. I suspect if I can have the pile of work stimulate me somehow to do the next thing, I'll do the next thing more often. Similarly capture of found stones, and transcription from cards. The constraint here is my reaction to the slightest hint of being told what to do, especially by infernal machines. Same reason that despite years' interest in collecting info to help me stay in touch with people better, I can't use any of the contact managers I have tried. More nanny-nagging and scolding than database. If I wanted a boss, I'd have someone pay me.
  • "What mechanism are you using to move this forward?" When I have an itch, no matter how slight, and a little micro-solution that will help a bit, I'm doing that.

I have found that "The Weinberg is the enemy of the good" (The original seems a bit garbled - ed) in doing this. Between his writing book, his production, his obviously well-honed writing disciplines, and I infer an environment that helps him get all this done, well, trying to "be like Mike" and just do like Jerry is way too big a bite for me. So it is baby steps for me.

I've also noticed that using the Wiki as a spell checker and preview gets me to capture more stuff, as well as making what does get out there better. Somehow the different format helps me see what I've written better, even for casual letters and such. Even so, the first "sort" is "into the stone pile" and I'm underperforming on even that.

- JimBullock, 2006.09.05 (Yep, another small boulder for the pile.)

How do you keep track of your field stones (filing cabinet, 3x5 cards, computer, etc)?

I carry around 3x5 cards for initial capture of fieldstones.

<Stuff details>For a while I used the Hipster PDA but the cards got grotty so I splurged on a Levenger "Shirt Pocket Briefcase" for 3x5 cards which has three pockets and works well. I also carry a nice set of seven Pilot Precise V5 pens (seven colors) as it really helps me to make notes in different colors as the fancy strikes me. Don't ask me why. </Stuff details>

Back in the office I throw the cards into a file tray labeled "Fieldstones". Roughly once a week I go through the cards and file them into one of several Hog Bay Notebook files. (Hog Bay Notebook is a notebook/outliner program for the Mac.) I currently have several files:

  • Lessons Learned
  • Tech stuff
  • Travel
  • Conferences That Work (the book I'm writing)
  • Stories (non-book stories that I'm writing or might write some day)
  • Conferences (info on conferences I've run or am organizing)

I don't have a big problem categorizing my fieldstones. I occasionally review and refactor my Hog Bay files. Most fieldstones seem to fit into the classification schemes I dream up. But occasionally a new fieldstone initiates changes in an outline by sparking new connections or making me see an amorphous group of fieldstones in a new way.

How do you sort your field stones looking for those that fit?

Finding relevant fieldstones isn't hard - they are usually arranged near each other in the outliner and the search function will generally find what I want. But I am still struggling with sorting items. My current approach is to print them out on paper, cut them out and shuffle them around on a desk. Doing this in an outliner doesn't work for me. A program where I could do something analogous on my big monitor would be nice, but I don't know of one.

How would you improve what you're doing?

I don't review the fieldstone tray often enough, so stuff can pile up there. And I'd like a better way to sort and shuffle.

AdrianSegar 2006.09.05

I carry around a collection of 3x5 cards in a small pocket case. At home, I either file them, stick them up on a magnetic board, or transcribe and discard. I keep spare cards in several places around the house.

A neat trick for carrying spare cards is to use a DVD case with the DVD gripper broken or cut off. A DVD case will hold a collection of 3x5 and 4x6 cards, doesn't take up much briefcase space, and you easily replace the outside artwork with your own.

--DaveSmith 2006.09.06

I keep a small Moleskine with me. But most of the time, I'm in front of a computer, so I just mail a message home. All of them go into one file. (I haven't collected that much field stones yet.) They all look basically the same:
Feldstein 2006-09-06-12-48 Keywords, Tags
Here is the text of the field stone. <-- Source.

All field stones get a unique id which I derive from the current date and time. It is for easy reference later. Some times I add some keywords or tags in the headline. Then comes the field stone content. I always try to add a source at the end, be it a web page, a book or some conversation I overheard. I do not source things I thought of myself. The source icon (<--) I borrowed from Tom Gilb.

--MarkusSchnell 2006-09-06

Markus, I like it. Simple. Sortable. Folder Option (with Outlook). Search with desktop. Thank you for sharing your method. SteveSmith 2006.09.06
Silly newbie question, perhaps; but what is meant in this context by "field stones"?
(The downside to asking this question is that I advertise my ignorance; the upside to asking this question is that I suspect there's something really cool that the answer will point me towards.)
--EdmundSchweppe 2006.09.06

A "field stone" is something you gather as potential raw material for later work. The analogy is to stones gathered with the intent of building a wall. You might or might not be able to use individual stones, or you might find some useful in later projects.

"Fieldstones" is something JerryWeinberg talks about in one of his latest books: "Weinberg on Writing - The Fieldstone Method." Definitely worth reading. Even more so worth applying the method.

DennisCadena 2006.09.06

I am enjoying reading this. I have been gathering fieldstones for some 5 or 6 years. I have a 6" talk stack of 3x5 cards. I haven't figured out a sorting method yet.

For EdmundSchweppe 's excellent question, I suggest people entering their own one-sentence description at DescribeFieldstoneOneSentence I am quite interested in reading how different people describe them.

DwaynePhillips 6 September 2006

I sort my fieldstones in several ways:
  • by file for things I think will turn into articles
  • by entries in a file for things I think will be part of a book
  • by writing about them on my blog

My version of "sort" is not very defined. That surprised me, and I'll have to think about that, because it's not the way I am on projects--except for the pre-writing part of my writing projects. Thanks, Dwayne! -- JohannaRothman 2006.09.10

That's at least four sentences.<g>
It's mixing metaphors, but I often pile the fieldstones up and let them compost. --DaveSmith 2006.09.11

See CompostingFieldStones.

A lot of my field stones are sitting waiting in my blog. Every so often I go through and put each post into a file with a descriptive title and put the file in a topic folder.

I aslo have an Articles folder, where I have articles I've started (maybe based on a fieldstone).

EstherDerby 2006.09.11

About half the fielstones I collect are for specific categories I have already set up on Hog Bay Notebook (in its current incarnation as Mori). These go right into those categories as my first-level sort, though from time to time, one of those moves into another category.

The other half are just things that contain energy for me, and I don't know where (or if) they will ultimately wind up. These go in the general stone pile (on Mori), which I sift through every so often when I've got a little time to spare or I'm just scanning for some inspiring idea. When a bunch of them cluster together, I might create a new category.

I used to keep them all on cards, and sort them that way. Now, can sort and link within Mori, or i clear my screen and make stickies out of them and move them around on the screen, just like you would stickies on a wall. This works for about 30-40 at a time, more if I had a larger screen, though that seems unnecessary so far. - JerryWeinberg 2006.09.17

Updated: Sunday, September 17, 2006