Martin Hähnel

A Toolbox Presented As System

Many productivity or note taking systems are presented in a systematic fashion. If you ever have tried to implement a system as given, you probably have noticed that it doesn't really work. And at the same time not everything is a failure either. Some of the stuff does work, but some other stuff doesn't. What gives?

I think that it helps to think about it that way: A system like this is only ever a system for presentation purposes. In reality it will transform into a toolbox for you to explore, adapt and use as you see fit if you deconstruct it.

I imagine that one reason task-management systems and the like are presented as systems at all is because it makes presentation easier. It hides their history and the messiness of maintaining the system in practice, which is a good thing, since you're trying to get an understanding of the tools and not necessarily of the historical emergence in which these tools have been forged over time.

But here's the thing: A book or class or video can only ever present a snapshot of a system in time. And it's going to be presented in a way that makes presentation as well as consumption easier. The actual work is in looking at the elements of a system as tools, evaluating them and adapting them for your own use.

P.S.: This is somewhat similar to the Systems As Imagined vs. Systems As Found distinction, but not quite...