Introduced in 2004 by Merlin Mann, a San Francisco-based writer and curator of the popular "lifehack" website 43 Folders, the Hipster PDA (hPDA) is the ultimate unplugged personal organizer. An hPDA consists of a stack of 3x5 cards and a binder clip. That's it.

In the years since, the lifehack community has responded to Merlin's great idea with an astounding range of innovative adaptations. Among the most popular is the use of Rollabind rings in place of the binder clip. This technique (which I've been using exclusively since June 2006) reached its pinnacle of achievement with the recent introduction of the Levenger CircaPDA product line.

The templates are designed to to mimic the most useful note-taking and organizing functions of an electronic PDA in a 3x5 format. Each template has been repeatedly field-tested and refined in my own hPDA.

Inspired by Laurent Baumann's brilliant Flat WhiteBezel icon set, the templates are designed to take maximum advantage of the limited real estate of the 3x5 card. The design favors writing space over boundaries. The borders and text are gray to allow your writing to dominate the page.

Templates are now available as both .png graphics and scalable vector .pdf documents. Simply click on the preferred file type. Templates can be printed as-is or inserted into a formatted document. They can be resized to fit everything from a 3x5 card to a daily organizer to an 8.5x11 sheet.

Kvet.ch features an excellent article on how to print D*I*Y Planner hPDA cards (see the end of this page) directly to 3x5 cards for Mac users. The technique should also work nicely with the templates offered here.

The templates are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (see below). Suggestions for improvements and new templates are always welcome. If you would like to customize a template, I will be happy to send you the original OmniGraffle source file; in exchange, I can host your modified templates to share with other users.

cover sheet .png .pdf	calendar (2010, first half) .png .pdf	calendar (2010, second half) new .png .pdf	address book .png .pdf	blank page footer (portrait) .png .pdf
blank page footer (landscape) inspired by Shirl .png .pdf	capture notes (portrait) .png .pdf	capture notes (landscape) .png .pdf	general purpose list .png .pdf	client to-do list .png .pdf

proofreader's marks (front) correction by Matt Tuley .png .pdf	proofreader's marks (back) .png .pdf

map (drop map images into template) .png .pdf	trip mileage (drop map images into template) .png .pdf	gas mileage tracker new .png .pdf

source notes: book (front) .png .pdf	source notes: book (front) 4-up created by Johan Lilius .png only	source notes: book (back) .png .pdf	source notes: correspondence .png .pdf
source notes: periodical .png .pdf	writing ideas (landscape) .png .pdf	writing ideas (portrait) .png .pdf

yarn sorting card (front) .png .pdf	yarn sorting card (back) .png .pdf	knitting needle list .png .pdf

the hPDAphone
main menu .png .pdf	agenda .png .pdf	to-do list .png .pdf	calendar 2009.5 -- new .png .pdf 2010.0 -- soon .png .pdf
notes .png .pdf	capture .png .pdf	matrix .png .pdf	addresses .png .pdf
actions .png .pdf	lists .png .pdf	ideas .png .pdf	projects .png .pdf

find out more about hPDAphone templates:

• boom
• one more thing...
• iphone wallpapers

• D*I*Y Planner templates by Douglas Johnston
• Templates submitted to D*I*Y* Planner by others
• Hipster PDA templates created by John Norris

CardNets are the next evolutionary step in card-based notetaking. While traditional note cards are stacked in linear sequence, CardNets let you create networks that express dynamic relationships among cards!

You can create networks that express as many different relationships between your notes as you can imagine. And don't worry about shuffling CardNets; by using the navigational icons to indicate spatial relationships between cards, you can impose as much or as little order as you want! In fact, CardNets are designed to be shuffled.

CardNets use the same design principles as the popular Active Voice hPDA templates. Inspired by Laurent Baumann's brilliant Flat WhiteBezel icon set, CardNets are designed to take maximum advantage of the limited real estate of 3x5 and 4x6 cards. The design favors creative space over boundaries. The elements are gray to allow your words and drawings to dominate the page.

CardNets are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 license (see below). CardNets were designed with professional trainers, coaches, and educators in mind -- you are encouraged to print and sell CardNets as part of your instructional kits and programs!

CardNets are easy to learn. Every card has three components: navigational elements, identfication elements, and a notetaking area.

Navigational elements along the card edges consist of triangles and a label line. Fill in the triangles that show sequential relationships with other cards (preceding cards and next cards). The two rectangles serve as identification elements where you can write in a name, number, symbol, or other unique identifier(s) for the card -- or not, it's up to you. That identifier is what goes on the label lines between the navigation triangles of the cards that precede and follow it. Together, the navigational triangles and label lines serve as a breadcrumb trail through the flow of information. The notetaking area is where the content action happens. This is where you sketch the components of a design, lay out your strategic plan, corral all your lists, establish a project workflow, plot your next novel, or just keep a three-dimensional diary. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Currently available CardNets include the complete 3x5 Core set and blank 4x6 Core cards, available as both .png graphics and scalable vector .pdf documents. Simply click on the preferred file type. Templates can be printed as-is or inserted into a formatted document.

blank frame .png .pdf	todo list .png .pdf	contacts .png .pdf	list .png .pdf
map .png .pdf	mileage .png .pdf	note capture .png .pdf	isometric .png .pdf
large grid .png .pdf	small grid .png .pdf	.png .pdf	.png .pdf

blank frame (portrait) .png .pdf	blank frame (landscape) .png .pdf
more coming soon!

PaperJamming templates help you manage your files on the fly by distilling professional information management practices into clear, easy-to-grasp guidelines. Templates are available for Core Files (permanent files that you keep to fulfill legal, business, and contractual requirements), Administrative files (standardized files that support your business functions, such as templates and forms, timesheets and invoices, and some types of correspondence), Project files (files of every type related to specific projects that you're working on), and Reference files (things that you did not create yourself, but collected to assist with a Core, Administrative, or Project activity, such as a magazine or book).

Templates come pre-loaded with guidelines for the most common types of files created and used by freelancers. Plus, there's a blank template for listing extra files. Put the templates in your hPDA so you can manage files on-the-go, or drop them into file folders for easy reference. Or create a binder of frequently-used templates that you can add to and subtract from as needed. Whatever works best for you, and however you organize your work, PaperJamming templates can help.

Best of all, PaperJamming is compatible with just about every great organization technique out there. Are you implementing GTD? A Franklin Covey fan? Can’t live without your D*I*Y Planner? Do you file everything into 43 Folders? Think of PaperJamming as a freeware widget that runs on those operating systems.

find out more about paperjamming:

• paperjamming: file management 2.0
• paperjamming for freelancers
• paperjamming your computer

PaperJamming is all about finding ways to integrate file management into your personal business workflow. It's about recognizing that what happens to your files is as important as how and why you use them.

What you do with a file (e-mails, MS Office documents, photos, PDFs, blog entries, etc.) is determined by where that file falls on each of two scales:

• Type: Files have a function. They are classified as either Core (stuff you need to keep to meet legal, financial, and contractual requirements), Project (stuff you create for each discrete business activity), Administrative (stuff like forms, letterhead, and templates), or Reference (stuff you get from outside your organization).
• Stage: Files have a life cycle. You create them when they are needed and you discard them when they are no longer needed. Simple, right? The trick is understanding that needing a document is not always the same as using a document. Some files you need for a couple of days. Some you need for the lifetime of the business, even though you might only use them once.

You decide everything else -- where to store them, how to arrange them, what to name them, when to face them -- yourself, in a way that works for you. As long as you know what Type and Stage a file falls under, you know what to do with it and when it's supposed to be done.

Remember, while the guidelines suggested in the PaperJamming templates are based on sound records management principles, you should always check them against your actual financial, legal, and contractual requirements first.

Simply drop the "iPhone Wallpapers" folder in your "Pictures" folder on your Mac. The next time you sync your iPhone with your computer, iTunes will automatically copy the folder to your iPhone. (If you have set iTunes to sync a different picture folder, then just drop the "iPhone Wallpapers" folder in that folder.)

The wallpapers are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (see below). Suggestions for improvements and new wallpapers are always welcome. If you would like to customize a wallpaper, I will be happy to send you the original OmniGraffle source file; in exchange, I can host your modified wallpapers to share with other users.

When the sync is complete, tap on the "Photos" icon on the main menu screen. Select the "iPhone Wallpapers" folder and scroll to the desired wallpaper. Tap the image once, then tap the wallpaper icon in the lower left corner to select the image as your wallpaper.

Move and scale the image so that the horizontal lines above and below the image align with the edges of the upper and lower boxes that appear on the screen. When you're done, tap the image again to use it as your wallpaper.

That's all there is to it! The next time you wake your computer from sleep, the Active Voice wallpaper will be in place, ready for use.

january	february	march	april
may	june	july	august
september	october	november	december

main menu	agenda	to do list	calendar 2008.0
notes	capture	matrix	addresses
actions	lists	ideas	projects