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Basics of Personal Information Management (Talk)

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The slide deck of this may consist of a different set of slides. I adapt according to last-minute ideas and time budget.

If you're interested in a particular topic, I may provide more scientific sources or books if you contact me. You'll find most of it in the Literature section below.

Talks Using (Parts of) This Slidedeck

Definition of PIM

You find a good introduction to my personal approach of Personal Information Management on tag page for PIM.

PIM is the umbrella term for many articles of mine. Therefore, you will find many interesting topics if you go down the rabbit hole on this blog. I recommend using the tag cloud and narrow down to sub-topics by choosing a second or third tag.

Mental/Cognitive Models

The issue with mental models (sometimes called "cognitive models") is widely covered in psychological research.

In my talk, I just mention the tip of the iceberg: my past brain differs from my future brain. And the brain of colleagues surely differ from my brain. We all have different experiences, interpretations, needs, feelings, ...

Find more articles via my tag psychology.

Desktop Metaphor

See my main article on that topic: The Desktop Metaphor: Once Awesome, Now Hindrance

You may also be interested in reading Evolutional Steps of Computer Systems.

Vocabulatory Problem

You may want to read the original paper "The Vocabulary Problem in Human-System Communication" by G. W. Furnas et al from 1987.

ABSTRACT: In almost all computer applications, users must enter correct words for the desired objects or actions. For success without extensive training, or in first-tries for new targets, the system must recognize terms that will be chosen spontaneously. We studied spontaneous word choice for objects in five application-related domains, and found the variability to be surprisingly large. In every case two people favored the same term with probability <0.20. Simulations show how this fundamental property of language limits the success of various design methodologies for vocabulary-driven interaction. For example, the popular approach in which access is via one designer’s favorite single word will result in SO-90 percent failure rates in many common situations. An optimal strategy, unlimited aliasing, is derived and shown to be capable of several-fold improvements.

(ACM OOOl-0782/87/1100-0964)

File System Limitations

Related:

Hierarchies Aren't Enough

Order of Orders

See David Weinberger's book in the Literature section below.

Multi-Classification

File management using file tags is my speciality. I wrote a PhD thesis about it (see Literature section). I also developed multiple tools that provide advanced ways of working with file tags: see "My File Management Method" section.

A fun read: Tagging Files With Windows 10

My File Management Method

My main article on thatis Managing Digital Files (e.g., Photographs) in Files and Folders. I also made a Demo: Advanced File Management

In case your're intersted in my personal chaos I call My Folder Hierarchy

Choosing the Right Tool

Please do refer to How to Choose a Tool.

Related:

Chin Up!

In case you might got the impression that everything is in perfect order on my side: Nobody's Perfect: My Personal PIM Debt

Literature

You may learn more about filer, piler, spring cleaner, filing strategies, ... in books like:

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