This page demonstrates the syntax for footnotes used in my extension to PHP-Markdown. To see the unprocessed version, visit index.text in thisdirectory.
Footnotes[^1] are added in-text like so:
- Its markdown editing feature combined with a clean and modern UI makes it really easy to capture your thoughts. One of my favorite features of Bear is its tagging system. Unlike OneNote where tags feel like an afterthought, tagging is the main core of Bear. Bear allows users to easily organize notes using a series of tags which act like folders.
- Markdown and footnotes so far. I'm referring to Markdown: Syntax at daringfireball.net, which seems to be primary source for Markdown syntax. Markdown is known to be based on already existing formatting in mails and newsgroups. In mails and newsgroup, I often see something like this for footnote and forwarded references: Blah, blah 1 blah, blah.
And with a matching footnote definition at the end of the document:
Note the caret/circumflex/hat ('^'). As with reference-style links, the line-break after the colon is optional.
Footnote Contents
As with list items, any subsequent paragraphs inside a note should be indented[^2].
Footnote definitions can, like reference-style links, be added in the middleof a document. There is no requirement that they stay at the end.
I'm experimenting right now but currently I use a combination of Goodnotes on the iPad for handwritten 'notes' and Markdown in Obsidian. Goodnotes captures what I write from lecture and readings while Obsidian helps synthesize everything. Also, I'm experimenting with not 'taking notes', per se, but writing questions down to answer instead.
Footnotes can contain any markup [^3], either Markdown or HTML, includingother footnote references. They cannot contain link or footnote definitions.
Inline Footnotes
For consistency with links, footnotes can be added inline ^4:
Inline notes will work even without the identifier:
Auto-numbering
As with links, it's up to you to keep the link identifiers unique. However,footnotes are auto-numbered, so you can use note names like [^bob] or [^apple][^apple] and still end up with a nice ordered list of numbers.[^numbers]
Footnotes are the mind killer.
Footnotes are the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my footnotes.
[^2]: This is the first paragraph.
is indented, but it isn't required. Thefirst line is enough.
[^3]: This is a pointless example footnote containing a raw HTML table.
[^numbers]: Since the numbering is done at run time, this will break link permanence if the document is edited. I don't consider that enough of a problem to worry about, but it's worth keeping in mind.
TIME & TASK MANAGEMENT
I capture notes in an analog notebook that I take with me everywhere I go. Any “to do items” from that notebook get transferred to task management software. I use a timer to complete tasks in 25-minute chunks to prevent procrastination.
Last updated: July 5, 2020
Mentioned:
Be Focused Pro (App)
Centered (App)
Goodnotes Markdown Code
I use a modified version of the note taking method called Bullet Journaling, which was invented by Ryder Carroll. I've been using Ryder's system since 2015. I've used all sorts of formats (small pocket notebook, larger format notebook, and digital using the Apple Pencil) and the best I've found is the hardcover Black n’ Red notebooks (my preference is the smaller 5 7/8' x 8 1/4' size). The paper is smooth, the wide rule makes quick work of notetaking in meetings or while reading, and it’s sturdy enough to be jostled around on my bike. Right now, I slip a Pentel Hybrid Technica 06 pen in the wire-bound spine so I always have a pen nearby. Occasionally, I’ll affix two Leuchtturm1917 pen loops to the side and carry my Pilot Vanishing Point, but I find even the quickest drying ink I know doesn’t dry fast enough for the Black n’ Reds. The bullet key Ryder recommends handles nearly everything I need and so that's what I use, too. However, I have use a caret-style bullet (^) to indicate when I’ve moved something over to Scrivener to manage (see more below). I advocate for a plainer, simpler method, as opposed to the multi-colored, sticker-clad sort you'll see if you go Googling.
While I used to manage everything in my bullet journal, I currently use it exclusively as a rapid logger. I take meeting notes with it, I read with a pen in hand and jot down things I want to synthesize in my Zettelkasten (more below), I draw diagrams, plan projects, note to do items as they occur to me, journal sometimes. To me, my bujo is a temporary storage device that is always with me and enjoyable to use (because of the nice paper and pen). I offload the task management and knowledge management bits to digital tools. I’ve experimented with digitizing my journals, but I haven’t yet found a reliable way to revisit them.
This section used to list Omnifocus as my task management solution, but in January 2020, I began to experiment with using Scrivener. I was becoming conflicted with the way I felt about my work, and about myself, when using Omnifocus. It’s as if the user flow of popular task management software (OF is not alone in this by a long shot) creates conflict between past and current self. I sit down to do a bunch of things that past-me thought I should do, but past-me is never good at guessing what present-me wants to do, and what’s more, past-me didn’t have the context that present-me has now, to decide what should be done when. I tried nearly everything to get this to feel better, but in the end, I abandoned the effort and chose a “dumber” tool.
That is not to say that Scrivener is dumb, of course. When it comes to writing manuscripts, it’s genius. But as a task management solution, it could be argued that it’s hardly better than paper. Thing is? Paper’s pretty great. After reading Adam Savage’s book, Every Tool’s a Hammer, and being impressed by his attempts to understand the physics of productivity, I realized that the difficulty I had with traditional task management software was three-fold: 1) the aforementioned past/current-me dynamic, 2) the inflexibility to fit projects into a certain meta-data mould, and 3) the lack of an easily scannable view of my progress. Scrivener fixes all of these issues.
Using some custom emoji and the app Rocket, I have created three states for my tasks: To Do, Doing, and Done. Per Adam Savage, this gives me a sense of momentum I can build upon. For example, here’s a list I’m working on now:
By glancing at the boxes on the left, you can easily see that I’ve done two items, am working on one, and have several yet to do. The circles on the right indicate my estimates for how many pomodoro sessions each item will take and which are completed so far. I can easily add a note or a link or a bulleted list under any item, and those things can have to do’s in them, or be purely informational. As I look back on work I’m in the middle of, or go back to see things I’ve done, I can quickly catch up to see where I left off. You can see this at play in an online training I’m preparing. I can easily scan to see I’m almost done, which gives me momentum to just knock it out.
Another advantage of using Scrivener for task management is that I can put nearly any type of file associated with the project next to the list(s) I’m using to manage it. This might be websites, images, emails, PDFs, even audio and video files.
For example, our water heater stopped heating water a couple months ago and it was still under warranty. I was able to manage the to do items of this project, such as contacting the dealer for a receipt, contacting the manufacturer for the part, and contacting the plumber for the repair, but I was also able to keep all the documentation for the project handy—emails between me and others, the photo of the serial number, my notes—so they were handy while I was dealing with those professionals.
Each Sunday, I review all my projects and plan which tasks I’d like to accomplish in the week ahead. I document these tasks on a note title “Active” and work from that list throughout the week, updating it as things inevitably change.
Goodnotes Markdown
I use a time-management strategy called Pomodoro Technique for tasks that I might otherwise avoid doing. I've used Pomodoros to prevent procrastination since 2011. I've used them rigorously and also on an as-needed basis. I particularly like to use them to estimate how long something will (or sometimes, in a strategic way, should) take. I do this with a set of emoji (see above). I also usually complete poms with a group of fellow PhD students in a private Slack channel. I use many tools to time my pomodoros: a regular kitchen timer, a Time Timer, the app Be Focused, and the app Centered. It’s sort of like using a piece of paper vs a white board vs a digital file to brainstorm, I find my timer needs vary and I’m not fully sure why.