Productivity articles (page 4)
120 guides in this category.
CSV Files: Simple Tables in Plain Text
What CSV files are, how they are structured, how to edit them safely in a text editor and the common mistakes to avoid.
Read article →Naming Your Files So You Can Find Them Again
Practical file-naming habits for text notes, including dates, keywords and characters to avoid.
Read article →Recipe Notes in Plain Text: A Simple System for Cooks
How to keep your own recipes and kitchen notes in a plain text file, with a template and tips for tweaks and scaling.
Read article →Scanning Book and Magazine Pages Without Damaging the Spine
How to photograph pages from books, textbooks and magazines flat and legible, avoiding curved-text distortion, shadows and broken bindings.
Read article →Scanning ID Cards, Both Sides: Clean Copies for Applications and Verification
How to scan identity cards, driving licences and similar cards so both sides fit clearly on a page, plus sensible precautions for sharing them.
Read article →Scanning Oversized Documents: Posters, Drawings and Large Sheets
How to capture documents larger than A4 by scanning them in sections or from a distance, and how to keep text legible and pages in order.
Read article →Scanning Thermal Paper Receipts Before They Fade
Why till receipts fade within months, how to scan them properly while they're still legible, and how to store scans for returns, warranties and expenses.
Read article →How to Scan Whiteboards and Blackboards So the Writing Stays Readable
Practical tips for capturing whiteboard and blackboard notes as clean PDFs, dealing with glare, angles and faint marker, and organising meeting notes afterwards.
Read article →A Bullet Journal Style System in a Notes App
How to borrow the best ideas from bullet journaling, rapid logging, daily and monthly pages and migration, and use them in a digital notes app.
Read article →A Meeting Notes Template That People Actually Use
A simple structure for meeting notes covering decisions, action items and follow-ups, plus tips for capturing them quickly and sharing them clearly.
Read article →Linking Ideas With Tags: A Lightweight Take on the Zettelkasten
What the Zettelkasten note system is, why connected ideas beat isolated notes, and a simple tag-based version that works in any notes app.
Read article →Study Notes That Help You Remember, Not Just Record
Evidence-based habits for turning lecture and reading notes into revision material: active recall, spaced review and writing in your own words.
Read article →The Cornell Method for Notes: Adapting It to a Phone Notes App
How the Cornell note-taking system works, why it improves recall, and a simple way to set it up as a heading-based note on your phone.
Read article →Line Endings Explained: LF, CRLF and Why They Matter
Why text files from different systems sometimes look wrong, what line endings are, and how to keep your files tidy.
Read article →Markdown Basics: Formatting Notes Using Only Plain Text
A short introduction to Markdown, a simple way to add headings, lists and emphasis to plain-text notes, with examples you can type on any text editor.
Read article →Quick Lists That Work: Shopping, Packing and Errands
How to write short, practical lists in a text editor so they're quick to make, easy to scan and simple to reuse.
Read article →Text Encoding Explained: Why Files Show Strange Characters
What UTF-8 and other encodings are, why text sometimes turns into odd symbols, and how to avoid the problem.
Read article →Writing a First Draft in Plain Text and Why It Helps
How writing without formatting can speed up drafting, reduce distraction and make editing easier.
Read article →Keeping Scanned Documents Secure: Practical Tips
How to store, share and back up scanned documents — especially IDs and financial paperwork — without exposing them unnecessarily.
Read article →Going Paperless at Home: A Practical Starting Guide
A realistic, low-effort approach to reducing paper clutter at home by scanning and organising documents digitally.
Read article →How to Scan Documents Properly With Just Your Phone
A step-by-step guide to getting clean, professional-looking scans using your phone camera instead of a dedicated scanner.
Read article →How to Organise Receipts for Taxes and Expense Claims
A practical system for scanning and organising receipts so tax time and expense claims stop being a last-minute scramble.
Read article →PDF vs Image Scan: Which Format Should You Use?
When to save a scanned document as a PDF versus a plain image file, and why the choice matters more than it seems.
Read article →Scanning Documents for Job Applications: What to Get Right
How to scan certificates, ID proofs and reference letters properly for job applications, and mistakes that get applications flagged.
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