Scratchpad: A simple example to demonstrate the adaptability of TiddlyWiki

[bimlas]

It’s a good habit to write down the short-term thoughts / tasks in your head, instead of constantly repeating them so you don’t forget them ("mind like water", "close open loops" philosophy). These thoughts only take minutes, so there is no need to make a separate note of them.

For example, you search for a note and you see a sentence that needs to be corrected in another note during the search. Instead of keeping this short-term task in your head, write it down on a piece of paper. But why would you do that if you’re just using a note-taking program?

This simple solution provides a quick example of how easily TiddlyWiki can be customized to your needs and provides a useful solution:

• Go to https://tiddlywiki.com/empty.html
• Create a new tiddler, name as you want
• Add "$:/tags/SideBarSegment" tag
• Set the content to: <$edit-text placeholder="Scratchpad" default="" minHeight="1em"/>
• Save the tiddler
• To move the scratchpad to another position, open the tag's drop-down menu and drag-n-drop the current tiddler
  

Because the contents of the scratchpad are not permanent (it will be blank the next time you open the wiki), it requires that you use it for its intended purpose (and don’t start accumulating thoughts in it that you should write in permanent notes).

[TiddlyTweeter]

Bimlas

I like very much your comments on USAGE. How to fit use of TW to users immediate cognitive needs. The OP is a neat example. As are your several recent  comments on the power and simplicity of uncomplicated linking (rather than taggery).

You are  highlighting how much can be done almost effortlessly in TW. Indeed, IMO, the fundamental architecture of our tool, TW, lends itself to very elegant lightweight solutions.

Its an interesting question how much sophistication one actually needs to achieve aims?

Regarding the OP, its interesting because its "procedural" (i.e. its notes in flow to then type elsewhere or lose). That is likely very close to one very common working need--to "jot" a note as part of a wider compositional process--but also to jot a note and auto-discard it. Its the ACT of writing that can often be enough, then it enters mind, no need for it to be preserved. 

FWIW, I write, on paper, about 30 notes to myself a day. 95% of them I discard soon. About 1 in a hundred I may type into a computer wiki. Its the fit between processes of finding/honing and where bothering to record them in a wiki it gets interesting. I thought the OP understood that cognitive issue well.

Best wishes

TT 

[Lin Onetwo]

Hi Bimlas,

Actually I think tiddly (very small) note are OK in tiddlywiki.

I sometimes use Souk21/TW-commandpalette to quickly create tiddler that only have a title.

The only thing I afraid is forgating them, as they are orphan. I think if we can auto create tag or link for them, this can be solved. And we can pick them up if they sometimes show up in the fulltext search.

LinOnetwo

[Sasha VonB]

Hello Bimlas

Thank you so much for this ! I didn't know I needed it, but I'll use it for sure :D

Best regards

[bimlas]

Lin Onetwo,

I sometimes use Souk21/TW-commandpalette to quickly create tiddler that only have a title.

The only thing I afraid is forgating them, as they are orphan. I think if we can auto create tag or link for them, this can be solved. And we can pick them up if they sometimes show up in the fulltext search.

Write a tag in front of or behind the tiddler's title, e.g. "@Inbox Don't forget about..." or "Buy some milk @TODO"

In "$: / ControlPanel -> Info -> Basics -> Tags for new tiddlers" you can add a tag for new tiddlers, but this is not taken into account in the Command Palette.