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Working Notes

My Digital garden of atomic notes on topics of interest. Half baked, work in progress notes waiting to be evergreen as time goes! About Working NotesAbout Working Notes
Working notes contains a collection of notes I have written over time, as a process to accumulate knowledge. These are my Second-brain / digital garden. The notes follow concepts from Zettelkaste...

Radical Delegation

Once we have too many things in our plate, Eisenhower Matrix becomes less usable, as there are too many things to get done, even after delegating and deleting. Radical delegation is for tasks in ...

Mac Malayalam Install

I use Key Magic with Mozhi Mapping to type phonetic Malayalam. Some times Mac might not allow you to install Keymagic from orginal source, in that case try download from Mac Download and install ...

How I use Bullet Journal

I am into Bullet Journaling since 2018 The system is extensible and customizable. Also, planning works for me better with analog systems than digital. My Journal is a rough notebook I jot m...

Ship-Show-Ask

Ship/Show/Ask PR with ability to make changes Changes are categorized to three Ship (Merge to main, without review) Show (PR and Merge to Main) Ask (PR, then discuss, then...

Design System Branching in Figma

Currently we follow ShipShowAsk format Ship Add to Design System Take care of feedbacks, and act on it Decision Documentation for Communication ...

Decision Documentation for Communication

For long term projects, without customer level 'release', (Eg While Implimenting a design System) it is good to have a time based change log Changelog as a consistent communication tool ...

Meetings are not the place to surprise people

It is always better to go to (conduct a) meeting with proper preparation and after providing clarity to the participants about the context. Good meeting checklist Bad meetings are time killers....

Good meeting checklist

Don't agree to join a meeting without an agenda. If not ask the organiser to write one Make sure it is not generic / abstract. If you are the one who is writing agend...

Third dimension to Eisenhower Matrix

Eisenhower Matrix suggests dropping things that are not important or urgent, but what if you want to do it (call a random friend and check how he/she is)? It suggests delegating urgent but notimpor...

Stop spending time on Wireframing

While Wireframing using pen and paper is an interesting way of communication that helps in building clarity over the idea – it is timeconsuming for nondesigners. Especially when nondesigner manag...

Focus on Outcome, not Output

Output measured based on scope, cost, and time, Outcome measured based on behavior, satisfaction, and Impact. (Impacts like ROI, Market share, etc., might be l...

Prioritize enablers and blockers

Before building a feature, try to understand if the problem is genuinely preventing someone from using the product or a nice to have in their user experience. Is this a real problem. ...

Look for rabbit holes

Finding solutions are usually a fastmoving, fastpaced process. It might not be a 'deeper' exploration, but a 'broader'. Once we have solutions, it's essential to slow down and...

Write your own issues

While building a feature for a product, it is faster if everyone on the team should write their own issues. This makes it easier to understand how clear they abound the end goal, thus setting up ...

Solve the problem not the feature

Users focus on their needs. They have goals and objectives. And that's their perspective. They are not worried about the product you are building. It is a common thing that users will ask for...

Software design should be opinionated

Chair that fits all buttocks is an old way of thinking. Software, by design, should be opinionated. It should have principles, a manifesto, and a targeted user persona. Building flexible soft...

Keep user experience discussions at the product level

User experience is the overall experience, and it has to be taken into consideration (and hence in discussion) at the product level and not at the feature level. The persona, flow learning curve,...

Design early to fail faster

Earlier you fail, it's better and cheaper. Start design in the ideation phase, even before setting defined goals or commitments. Thinking for visual designs provides enough space to think dee...

Changelogs as a consistent communication tool

Write changelogs Consistently. (I prefer Outline Notes format). It provides a clear idea of what the team has achieved and when. Also, it communicates to the user about new features, the value th...

Changelog as a consistent communication tool

Write changelogs Consistently. (I prefer Outline Notes format). It provides a clear idea of what the team has achieved and when. Also, it communicates to the user about new features, the value th...

Breadboarding over Wireframes

I recommend product people to create Breadboarding over Wireframing, as initial product documentation especially to interact with designers. Wireframes are too detailed. This Extra detailing kills ...

Multi-spectrum colors for data visualization accessibility

Monotone has its own aesthetic appeal. But there is a higher chance that it fails on accessibility due to color blindness. While choosing colors for data visualizations, pick colors across the ...

Brand tribe influence buying decisions

Buying rely on trust. A Brand Tribe is a group of customers trying to achieve similar goals, and they talk to each other. They congregate around a particular product or company that will empower th...

Brand differs from person to person

A Brand is NOT the logo, or identity, or consistency, or product itself. A brand is an individual's emotional feeling about a product, service, or company. It differs from person to person. O...

Strategic Laziness

There is no need that things you do has to be hard. Easier way to get things done is 'strategically' better. Ali Abdaal's The RAD System Reduce R...

Writing the way you think

The format of writing can change based on the intention of writing. It can be rapid logging bullet points, like what Bullet Journaling recommends, or Outline Notes so that their structure is defi...

Use the language the others are speaking

To have clarity in communication, it is good to be empathetic and use the language the others are speaking. Talk to a salesperson about how they can sell the products, not technology. Don'...

Non-linear Note making

Normal notes are linear, mainly focused on subjects, topics, and subtopics. It's a good way if the intention is to collect data. But Normal note taking fails to connect ideas ...

Lego-like structure

An easier way of understanding Atomicity is by comparing it with Lego Box. The Lego Box contains a set of 'blocks,' a basic unit of the game. Atomic Concept Lego Blocks are the smalles...

Design Debt as a Performance Indicator

Design debt is not maintained for documentation. Meeting standards is a basic quality expected in product building. Not following the standards will break standards while Implimenting a design Syst...

UID are not needed in Digital Zettelkasten

While Zettelkasten recommends having a Unique ID on every literature note made so that it's easier to refer, discover, and hence connect. I don't that as hyperlinks/backlinks a...

Slam it shut and move on

Stop seeing books or any source of knowledge as a measurement of success. Quantity of source is not the criteria of success. You don't have to consume 'full' content. You can skip. ...

Never brainstorm for a topic

The advantage of having atomic knowledge bases, like a Zettelkasten, is that you don't have to brainstorm for a topic. Looking into the slipbox and going thorough the connections will work as...

Making notes is the easiest part

It's easy to make notes. And there are many easier ways to make notes — like Copypasting or Quoting. What we miss while doing that is the intention of notetaking. Use notetaking to develo...

Lots of inputs and a strong filter

It’s better to be selective and read fewer, better articles than to be indiscriminate and read zilch. You need a strong filter, as the source of information is increasing in daily basis. PS: Read...

Insights are not tasks to be planned

Insights are the result of active thinking. Unlike an objective/goal, it cannot be planned. Most of the productivity methods, like Getting Things Done, are objectivefocused. There is a clear de...

Find interesting content and follow curiosity

Leaving your brain wandering and assuming that it will come with new subjects or ideas is a timeconsuming process. Instead of that, it is better to start from an exciting knowledge you have in yo...

Better Thinking over Better Note-taking

In Notetaking, Making notes is the easiest part, especially one with a focus and subjective intention. The content is already structured, primarily polished, and made with a purpose of revising tha...

Decide when to stop

Stop aiming for an ideal, perfect design. We'll never get there. Instead of keeping 'perfect design' as the benchmark, compare with the baseline — the current reality and how much thi...

Is this a real problem

There are two main definitions for the problem, A matter, or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome. An inquiry starting from given co...

UX templates for Stable Design

It is good to define designs topdown, as we need to Keep user experience discussions at the product level. Once we have clarity on design, convert those to UX templates. Similar to Impl...

User stories are obsolete

User stories are complex time and resourceconsuming 'rituals' built in the early days of software building. There are standards and expected features for common features that we don't...

Difference between Evergreen and Zettel

Evergreen Notes is very similar to Zettelkasten, and the core principles are almost the same. Difference Zettelkasten consider literature notes and permanent notes as a tool for buildi...

Nobody plays the role of the taskmaster

Assign projects, not tasks. There is no need for someone to play the role of a “taskmaster” who splits the project up into pieces for other people to execute. Splitting the project into tasks ...

Normal note taking fails to connect ideas

In standard notetaking, we sort by topics and subtopics, building a hierarchical tree structure of knowledge. The information is sorted and has a "flow," but chances of connecting two dif...

Implementing a design System

Design System is a collection of reusable Components, build using Atomicity and Subatomic Design Tokens particles that follow the guideline, behave consistently, and together work as the building b...

Design is Scaling

Design is not just about visual aesthetics. One reason businesses invest in design is that it defines the products, builds consistency, reduces the learning curve, thus attracts and retains custo...

Design sprints aren’t just for designers.

Design Sprints is a problemsolving process that provides validation to the solutions. The focus is on identifying and understand the problems and developing solutions, and not design. Here, desig...

Lean UX and Design Sprint

Lean UX follows a build > test > iterate loop, while Design Sprints follows unpack > ideate > evaluate > test > refine loop. Design Sprint is more about ...

Lettering Calligraphy and Typography are different

Calligraphy writing letters Single Stroke, hand movement, writing Lettering drawing letters Ideating, Modifying, Filling Typography mak...