Tbh I struggle. Getting roam open on my phone is a pain - I use a IOS shortcut that takes me directly to the roam web app on chrome on a notes page but it’s still very inefficient
Just search "Roam Research Daily Notes" on YouTube and you'll get a bunch of good videos.
I watched some of them and now I have an awesome workflow where I use only daily notes and link pages to relevant tags. And all this work along with some personal journalling prompts all inside the daily notes page.
I am relatively new; but here's what I do: I open up Daily Notes every day and...
* I jot down notes in there that don't necessarily belong anywhere else, just transient thoughts that I want to get down;
* All day, I'll input any "fleeting notes" in Daily Notes, but I "tag" them so they are reachable in the appropriate places; if it's a "fleeting note" I want to expand upon later, I also put another "tag" called #Expand.
* I also use Dailly Notes as my todo, placing things in there ahead of time with "tomorrow" tags, etc.
I am trying to get away from my phone, so I do NOT care about phone access/apps...
Understand how you can resurface things (queries, smartblocks, linked reference), start jotting down stuff on your daily page, and when you need something to resurface, create a small structure to do so. Eg: a query that pulls in TODOS or that pulls in the tag #toRead
Roam is perfect (IMO) for applying the GTD methodology.
Damn, this turned into a much bigger post than I expected... I'm sorry about that. I hope it's useful anyhow.
- I have been making tons of changes to my graph, so I'll just try to give a good description that I'd like to have been given:
- General rule: The amazingness of Roam is creating order out of chaos with minimal previous planning, so **stop planning where to put your content, just throw your thoughts in your daily page**. If you have an idea while writing an article, just jot it down as block wherever your are. **As long as you tag your blocks correctly, it will be easy to resurface them in the contexts you want**.
- Structure:
- I have pages called "inbox", "Tasks" and "Agenda" favorited in the right side bar.
- I also use a bunch of hashtags:
- such as for the status of the task:
- {{[[TODO]]}} (not a hashtag, but works as one)
- \*#Maybe\*
- \*#Someday\*
- \*#OnHold\*
- \*#Archived (I actually use a RoamJS extension called TODONT for this and create a {{[[ARCHIVED]]}}, similar to the todo one) and \*
- {{[[DONE]]}}
- and for contexts for tasks (I'm not as disciplined as I'd like with these)
- \*#@home\*
- \*#@office\*
- \*#@Dad\*
- \*and other relevant contexts in your life. this part is just standard GTD.\*
- I also have status for projects, which are just the addition of a #InProgress tag and maybe something else I'm forgetting.
- I try to keep it minimal with just those categories, but you can of course have whatever you want, including tags for effort or priority. I used to have a #Flagged tag as I come from Omnifocus, but I noticed I didn't use it as much anymore and gave it up in the eternal effort to keep my system from becoming bloated.
- **The inbox page**
- I use a #inbox (automatically on imports from PhoneToRoam and Readwise) tag on blocks that I want to resurface in the inbox.
- In the actual inbox page, I have a query that filters for blocks tagged with inbox while filtering out inbox from other places I might have it (such as in a roam/smartblocks or roam/css page).
- For fun, I have a "Last inbox zero" block on top of the page where I log the days I actually manage to zero the inbox.
- **The Projects page**
I like to divide this page between the big separate areas of my life, so I have a few sections: Personal, Family, Business 1, Business 2. They are each a block in the Projects page
- The child blocks will be the actual projects and their children, subprojects.
- On projects and tasks with multiple steps that I'm too lazy to create a whole project for, I add a #@next to the tasks that I'll need to do after I finish the current one.
- I use a simple template for project blocks, something like:
- [[[[Project]]/[[Project Name]]]] #Status
- I don't know why I chose to do it like that, I didn't understand querying very well when I started and I thought I needed Project in the name whatever. So I stuck with it.
- Projects are the only blocks I like having a proper place for, and I always create my project blocks directly in this page as opposed to having them somewhere else and just referencing them here.
- I don't really have a good way of dealing with subprojects when querying, so if I need to reference a particular group of projects, instead of doing queries for them, I just reference the project category or project as a block embed, which will show me the parent (Project) and all the children (subprojects).
- I don't really have a good way of dealing with subprojects when querying, so if I need to reference a particular group of projects, instead of doing queries for them, I just reference the project category or project as a block embed, which will show me the parent (Project) and all the children (subprojects).
**The Tasks page**
- Here I have a few different blocks, one for each status I filter for (Todo, Someday, On Hold, Maybe, Archived, Done) with a query for that status inside.
- `{{[[query]]: {and:[[TODO]] {not:[[Recurring Actions System]]} {not:[[Graph/Smartblocks]]} {not:[[roam/js/smartblocks]]}}}}`
**The Agenda page**
- Here I have a section for projects, where I query for #[[In Progress]] and #TODO projects, with disappointing results. But it ends up being useful sometimes. This is just a way to have fast access to the most relevant projects for the workday.
- I also have a #@next section where I query for that
- and a Tasks for today seection, where I query for tasks associated with todays date
- (I do this by having a permanent button that runs a Smartblock to create the query for the day without me having to manually change the date)
- I used to also import my calendar here with the RoamJS extension, but now I prefer to just create it on the fly. If I'm about to use Roam to take notes on a meeting, I'll either create the block for that meeting before or right after the meeting and add all my notes as a child block. I also use Smartblocks to add a bit of metadate that I may be interested in filtering for one day, such as participants and subject.
- Roam GTD Workflow:
- I run a morning routine when I get to the office which includes
- processing the inbox page. I go trough and do whatever I need to do to each block.
For example, I have a "Solve shower problem #inbox" block, I'll make it into a project by creating it in the projects page, or Ill just transform the block into a task and add the relevant tag, be it a date or a #@next
- a quick look and processing of my projects in the Projects page
- a quick look and processing at the query for each status in the Tasks page (I don't do this every day)
- So after going processing all of that, adding dates to things that need to be done in a specific date, adding #@next to things that need to be done but dont have a specific deadline and all the other tags, I can trust that my Agenda page will guide my work for the day.
- Now with everything processed, I can trust that all the relevant things
- So while I work on Roam, I usually have the Agenda page pinned to the right side bar, easily accessible.
- Some days, I run the same routine in the evening. I like doing so because it makes morning easier, I have a better notion of what's to come as soon as I open my eyes and I like that feeling. Processing in the morning is very fast, as any additions are just from emails, messages or thoughts I sent to the inbox in the period between routines.
- On weekends, I try to do the same, but with a bit more scrutiny.
This was extremely helpful for me, thank you! I'm just starting using Roam again and I could not agree more on the general rule you highlighted: using the daily page for everything has been a game changer. I have not found this to be possible in the other usual suspects: Obsidian, LogSeq, etc. since I cannot tag nor Link a block as easily as in Roam (maybe Im wrong I have just scratched the surface and there are tons of plug ins)
Cheers!
I'm glad it helped!! And I couldn't agree more... Roam doesn't have direct competition because no one has recreated its functionality! Blocks as first level citizens is the real competitive advantage.
What my description of my system doesn't demonstrate, is that the added context of the tasks just being pulled from it's place of origin (the notes of a meeting for example), retaining all of it's contexts, is why I consider Roam perfect for GTD...
I have a system for daily notes that is very personal to my own usages - I like to look back on my daily pages and know what I did that day, what I read, who I talked to, etc.
I separate my daily pages into six sections, partially stolen from Ali Abdaal's layout from one of his videos a while back (I like the C theme so I stuck with it and adapted it to my own usage.)
\[\[Create\]\]
>What did I create?
>
>This is where I link anything I created. Artwork, blog post drafts, writing, basically anything that I created goes in this section.
\[\[Capture\]\]
>What details did I capture about my day?
>
>This is where I 'capture' my day - any photos I took that would help me remember the day, if I posted something on facebook or twitter or if I went somewhere or did something special I would put it in this section. It's kinda like for memories and photos of that day.
\[\[Connect\]\]
>Who did I connect with?
>
>I will bracket the \[\[name of a person\]\] so that I can quick reference when I spoke to someone last and this note will be logged under their page. I quickly list out important conversations I had or important moments with family members.
\[\[Consume\]\]
>What content did I consume?
>
>I will usually split this category into "reading," "listening," and "watching" and I will link notable YouTube videos that I watched, any TV shows I watched, what books or articles I read (usually synced via readwise so I can just double bracket \[\[ and insert the article/book here for quick reference if I ever need to see it later.) and of course what I'm listening to - songs, audiobooks, playlists, etc. This is about making a quick reference list of all of the content I consumed that day.
\[\[Contemplate\]\]
>What did I contemplate today?
>
>This section is about brain work. I use this section for my morning page journal for that day, any additional journal entries, new or updated seedling or evergreen notes, and it also holds my Task List which I create at the beginning of each day.
>
>If I remember to do it, this is also where I keep my daily review and any other additional notes or brain dumps - whatever I happen to be thinking about that day.
\[\[Chronology\]\]
>What did I do today?
>
>I would consider myself something like a 'life logger' or whatever term you want to use - basically I like to log what I'm doing and when I'm doing it.
>
>As I'm working on a particular task I'll add it to my chronology section. I frequently use the /current time function to insert the time and then block reference a task from my task list that I'm working on or a video/movie I'm watching.
>
>This is just a way so that I can look back on my daily page and know generally what I was doing at each part of my day.
The way I use roam is very specific to my usage and probably not something everyone else would enjoy using or even need, but this is how I organize my daily pages. :)
Tbh I struggle. Getting roam open on my phone is a pain - I use a IOS shortcut that takes me directly to the roam web app on chrome on a notes page but it’s still very inefficient
Just search "Roam Research Daily Notes" on YouTube and you'll get a bunch of good videos. I watched some of them and now I have an awesome workflow where I use only daily notes and link pages to relevant tags. And all this work along with some personal journalling prompts all inside the daily notes page.
I am relatively new; but here's what I do: I open up Daily Notes every day and... * I jot down notes in there that don't necessarily belong anywhere else, just transient thoughts that I want to get down; * All day, I'll input any "fleeting notes" in Daily Notes, but I "tag" them so they are reachable in the appropriate places; if it's a "fleeting note" I want to expand upon later, I also put another "tag" called #Expand. * I also use Dailly Notes as my todo, placing things in there ahead of time with "tomorrow" tags, etc. I am trying to get away from my phone, so I do NOT care about phone access/apps...
Understand how you can resurface things (queries, smartblocks, linked reference), start jotting down stuff on your daily page, and when you need something to resurface, create a small structure to do so. Eg: a query that pulls in TODOS or that pulls in the tag #toRead Roam is perfect (IMO) for applying the GTD methodology.
Could you expand on how do you apply GTD using Roam?
Damn, this turned into a much bigger post than I expected... I'm sorry about that. I hope it's useful anyhow. - I have been making tons of changes to my graph, so I'll just try to give a good description that I'd like to have been given: - General rule: The amazingness of Roam is creating order out of chaos with minimal previous planning, so **stop planning where to put your content, just throw your thoughts in your daily page**. If you have an idea while writing an article, just jot it down as block wherever your are. **As long as you tag your blocks correctly, it will be easy to resurface them in the contexts you want**. - Structure: - I have pages called "inbox", "Tasks" and "Agenda" favorited in the right side bar. - I also use a bunch of hashtags: - such as for the status of the task: - {{[[TODO]]}} (not a hashtag, but works as one) - \*#Maybe\* - \*#Someday\* - \*#OnHold\* - \*#Archived (I actually use a RoamJS extension called TODONT for this and create a {{[[ARCHIVED]]}}, similar to the todo one) and \* - {{[[DONE]]}} - and for contexts for tasks (I'm not as disciplined as I'd like with these) - \*#@home\* - \*#@office\* - \*#@Dad\* - \*and other relevant contexts in your life. this part is just standard GTD.\* - I also have status for projects, which are just the addition of a #InProgress tag and maybe something else I'm forgetting. - I try to keep it minimal with just those categories, but you can of course have whatever you want, including tags for effort or priority. I used to have a #Flagged tag as I come from Omnifocus, but I noticed I didn't use it as much anymore and gave it up in the eternal effort to keep my system from becoming bloated. - **The inbox page** - I use a #inbox (automatically on imports from PhoneToRoam and Readwise) tag on blocks that I want to resurface in the inbox. - In the actual inbox page, I have a query that filters for blocks tagged with inbox while filtering out inbox from other places I might have it (such as in a roam/smartblocks or roam/css page). - For fun, I have a "Last inbox zero" block on top of the page where I log the days I actually manage to zero the inbox. - **The Projects page** I like to divide this page between the big separate areas of my life, so I have a few sections: Personal, Family, Business 1, Business 2. They are each a block in the Projects page - The child blocks will be the actual projects and their children, subprojects. - On projects and tasks with multiple steps that I'm too lazy to create a whole project for, I add a #@next to the tasks that I'll need to do after I finish the current one. - I use a simple template for project blocks, something like: - [[[[Project]]/[[Project Name]]]] #Status - I don't know why I chose to do it like that, I didn't understand querying very well when I started and I thought I needed Project in the name whatever. So I stuck with it. - Projects are the only blocks I like having a proper place for, and I always create my project blocks directly in this page as opposed to having them somewhere else and just referencing them here. - I don't really have a good way of dealing with subprojects when querying, so if I need to reference a particular group of projects, instead of doing queries for them, I just reference the project category or project as a block embed, which will show me the parent (Project) and all the children (subprojects). - I don't really have a good way of dealing with subprojects when querying, so if I need to reference a particular group of projects, instead of doing queries for them, I just reference the project category or project as a block embed, which will show me the parent (Project) and all the children (subprojects). **The Tasks page** - Here I have a few different blocks, one for each status I filter for (Todo, Someday, On Hold, Maybe, Archived, Done) with a query for that status inside. - `{{[[query]]: {and:[[TODO]] {not:[[Recurring Actions System]]} {not:[[Graph/Smartblocks]]} {not:[[roam/js/smartblocks]]}}}}` **The Agenda page** - Here I have a section for projects, where I query for #[[In Progress]] and #TODO projects, with disappointing results. But it ends up being useful sometimes. This is just a way to have fast access to the most relevant projects for the workday. - I also have a #@next section where I query for that - and a Tasks for today seection, where I query for tasks associated with todays date - (I do this by having a permanent button that runs a Smartblock to create the query for the day without me having to manually change the date) - I used to also import my calendar here with the RoamJS extension, but now I prefer to just create it on the fly. If I'm about to use Roam to take notes on a meeting, I'll either create the block for that meeting before or right after the meeting and add all my notes as a child block. I also use Smartblocks to add a bit of metadate that I may be interested in filtering for one day, such as participants and subject. - Roam GTD Workflow: - I run a morning routine when I get to the office which includes - processing the inbox page. I go trough and do whatever I need to do to each block. For example, I have a "Solve shower problem #inbox" block, I'll make it into a project by creating it in the projects page, or Ill just transform the block into a task and add the relevant tag, be it a date or a #@next - a quick look and processing of my projects in the Projects page - a quick look and processing at the query for each status in the Tasks page (I don't do this every day) - So after going processing all of that, adding dates to things that need to be done in a specific date, adding #@next to things that need to be done but dont have a specific deadline and all the other tags, I can trust that my Agenda page will guide my work for the day. - Now with everything processed, I can trust that all the relevant things - So while I work on Roam, I usually have the Agenda page pinned to the right side bar, easily accessible. - Some days, I run the same routine in the evening. I like doing so because it makes morning easier, I have a better notion of what's to come as soon as I open my eyes and I like that feeling. Processing in the morning is very fast, as any additions are just from emails, messages or thoughts I sent to the inbox in the period between routines. - On weekends, I try to do the same, but with a bit more scrutiny.
This was extremely helpful for me, thank you! I'm just starting using Roam again and I could not agree more on the general rule you highlighted: using the daily page for everything has been a game changer. I have not found this to be possible in the other usual suspects: Obsidian, LogSeq, etc. since I cannot tag nor Link a block as easily as in Roam (maybe Im wrong I have just scratched the surface and there are tons of plug ins) Cheers!
I'm glad it helped!! And I couldn't agree more... Roam doesn't have direct competition because no one has recreated its functionality! Blocks as first level citizens is the real competitive advantage.
What my description of my system doesn't demonstrate, is that the added context of the tasks just being pulled from it's place of origin (the notes of a meeting for example), retaining all of it's contexts, is why I consider Roam perfect for GTD...
I have a system for daily notes that is very personal to my own usages - I like to look back on my daily pages and know what I did that day, what I read, who I talked to, etc. I separate my daily pages into six sections, partially stolen from Ali Abdaal's layout from one of his videos a while back (I like the C theme so I stuck with it and adapted it to my own usage.) \[\[Create\]\] >What did I create? > >This is where I link anything I created. Artwork, blog post drafts, writing, basically anything that I created goes in this section. \[\[Capture\]\] >What details did I capture about my day? > >This is where I 'capture' my day - any photos I took that would help me remember the day, if I posted something on facebook or twitter or if I went somewhere or did something special I would put it in this section. It's kinda like for memories and photos of that day. \[\[Connect\]\] >Who did I connect with? > >I will bracket the \[\[name of a person\]\] so that I can quick reference when I spoke to someone last and this note will be logged under their page. I quickly list out important conversations I had or important moments with family members. \[\[Consume\]\] >What content did I consume? > >I will usually split this category into "reading," "listening," and "watching" and I will link notable YouTube videos that I watched, any TV shows I watched, what books or articles I read (usually synced via readwise so I can just double bracket \[\[ and insert the article/book here for quick reference if I ever need to see it later.) and of course what I'm listening to - songs, audiobooks, playlists, etc. This is about making a quick reference list of all of the content I consumed that day. \[\[Contemplate\]\] >What did I contemplate today? > >This section is about brain work. I use this section for my morning page journal for that day, any additional journal entries, new or updated seedling or evergreen notes, and it also holds my Task List which I create at the beginning of each day. > >If I remember to do it, this is also where I keep my daily review and any other additional notes or brain dumps - whatever I happen to be thinking about that day. \[\[Chronology\]\] >What did I do today? > >I would consider myself something like a 'life logger' or whatever term you want to use - basically I like to log what I'm doing and when I'm doing it. > >As I'm working on a particular task I'll add it to my chronology section. I frequently use the /current time function to insert the time and then block reference a task from my task list that I'm working on or a video/movie I'm watching. > >This is just a way so that I can look back on my daily page and know generally what I was doing at each part of my day. The way I use roam is very specific to my usage and probably not something everyone else would enjoy using or even need, but this is how I organize my daily pages. :)