This hits home in lots of ways and I'm going through a similar struggle and realizations.
Thing is, I used to have an excellent memory. I could recall a four year old blog post I read once and instinctively know, whether it would help me with my current task (or enough of it to solve it right away).
But now my memory is failing me (overload? stress? who knows). I still instinctively know I've read something related to something but I can't remember enough for it to help me, nor to find it again. I can't remember the punch-line, or if there even was one. It makes for the most boring and cringe anecdotes you've ever heard. "Oh, yeah! I read about that, there was a thing and then there was a conclusion. I'm not sure on the thing and the conclusion could go either way." Worthless. Yet I still go for it, because I'm used to remember enough of it for it to be helpful/relevant. Now I can barely trust what I do think I remember.
I've come to the same conclusion. Schema on write. But as is noted "It is a lot of work.". And I'm struggling. Because previously the very useful and rewarding "hoarding" (wasn't set out to hoard information, was just a side effect driven by curiosity) was dirt cheap. But now it takes a lot of work to condense, and it isn't at all clear that the effort is worth it. For sure it depends. But even the act of looking up condensed information tilts the scale a bit, you ~need to know that the thing you are looking for exists in the first place or it might just become another distraction. But it doesn't matter, I'm too tired for it anyway and my mind refuses to adapt. Wanting more, but I can't cope and gets nothing done.
More than a schema and order I need balance, perhaps by (forcefully?) constrain myself. Someone on HN tried text-mode-only linux ( recommend the read/skim https://dev.to/jackdoe/tty-only-1ijn ). Maybe. I am lost. (hence the ramble)
I'm motivated by the same experience. My memory is fading a little, perhaps due to the sheer volume of things I'm trying to remember, or age.
The part about anecdotes hit home, where I'll remember the description for something but not the name, or the name and how it's connected but not enough to really explain it. "I remember it made sense when I was reading it, you'll need to trust me" is not that great.
Agree with the subcomments, the work involved becomes smaller and smaller as your brain gets better at it - somewhat like journaling. If you're willing to put in the extra work at the beginning, it's also a great memory booster. Your brain learns to understand that you intend to remember something, so the connections feel stronger. I definitely recommend it. Even something like a short journal at the end of the day makes a big difference.
The biggest thing is being okay with letting some things go - which has been hard for me, yet has made a huge difference. If you don't have the time to properly put it down to be remembered, accept that it's likely to be lost and move on. If it's important or interesting enough, your mind will remember without the need to save it.
It's a tiny, tiny slice of things that I can ever pull out of the knapsack. Either I've forgotten enough that I don't have enough metadata (or even that they exist), or I remember enough that I can just find it again.
Schema on write becomes part of the daily ritual. Block out time to check emails, block out time to clean off your desk, block out time to save all your links and notes from the day. Ignore the voice in your head telling you this isn't productive time, because it is definitely productive. The ability to clock out with a clear head is liberating. And even the process of going through links, notes, etc. and categorizing ("filing") them helps me remember things anyway.
Comments
This hits home in lots of ways and I'm going through a similar struggle and realizations.
Thing is, I used to have an excellent memory. I could recall a four year old blog post I read once and instinctively know, whether it would help me with my current task (or enough of it to solve it right away).
But now my memory is failing me (overload? stress? who knows). I still instinctively know I've read something related to something but I can't remember enough for it to help me, nor to find it again. I can't remember the punch-line, or if there even was one. It makes for the most boring and cringe anecdotes you've ever heard. "Oh, yeah! I read about that, there was a thing and then there was a conclusion. I'm not sure on the thing and the conclusion could go either way." Worthless. Yet I still go for it, because I'm used to remember enough of it for it to be helpful/relevant. Now I can barely trust what I do think I remember.
I've come to the same conclusion. Schema on write. But as is noted "It is a lot of work.". And I'm struggling. Because previously the very useful and rewarding "hoarding" (wasn't set out to hoard information, was just a side effect driven by curiosity) was dirt cheap. But now it takes a lot of work to condense, and it isn't at all clear that the effort is worth it. For sure it depends. But even the act of looking up condensed information tilts the scale a bit, you ~need to know that the thing you are looking for exists in the first place or it might just become another distraction. But it doesn't matter, I'm too tired for it anyway and my mind refuses to adapt. Wanting more, but I can't cope and gets nothing done.
More than a schema and order I need balance, perhaps by (forcefully?) constrain myself. Someone on HN tried text-mode-only linux ( recommend the read/skim https://dev.to/jackdoe/tty-only-1ijn ). Maybe. I am lost. (hence the ramble)
I'm motivated by the same experience. My memory is fading a little, perhaps due to the sheer volume of things I'm trying to remember, or age.
The part about anecdotes hit home, where I'll remember the description for something but not the name, or the name and how it's connected but not enough to really explain it. "I remember it made sense when I was reading it, you'll need to trust me" is not that great.
Agree with the subcomments, the work involved becomes smaller and smaller as your brain gets better at it - somewhat like journaling. If you're willing to put in the extra work at the beginning, it's also a great memory booster. Your brain learns to understand that you intend to remember something, so the connections feel stronger. I definitely recommend it. Even something like a short journal at the end of the day makes a big difference.
The biggest thing is being okay with letting some things go - which has been hard for me, yet has made a huge difference. If you don't have the time to properly put it down to be remembered, accept that it's likely to be lost and move on. If it's important or interesting enough, your mind will remember without the need to save it.
It's a tiny, tiny slice of things that I can ever pull out of the knapsack. Either I've forgotten enough that I don't have enough metadata (or even that they exist), or I remember enough that I can just find it again.
Schema on write becomes part of the daily ritual. Block out time to check emails, block out time to clean off your desk, block out time to save all your links and notes from the day. Ignore the voice in your head telling you this isn't productive time, because it is definitely productive. The ability to clock out with a clear head is liberating. And even the process of going through links, notes, etc. and categorizing ("filing") them helps me remember things anyway.
Schema on read means not that schema shouldn't be written. Write the schema, keep it safe, but decouple the schema from the data.. that's it.