NOTE: while this is a blog post, the blog post contains a useful tool that I'm promoting, so should not be considered as violating Show HN rules.

Hi HN -- this Substack contains a template of the Markdown-structured plain text document I have used to manage both my work and personal life since 2019 (personal one on my personal laptop, work one on my work laptop). This humble document can be considered a form of software, as it combines many of the most useful features of calendars, kanbans, and tiered backlogs into one uniform text user interface. It also has considerable capacity to represent task hierarchy, especially when used in its full directory tree form. The system is optimized for:

1. Short-term responsiveness: catch and throw ideas fast, like a boxer throwing and taking punches.

2. Long-term stability: when you have time, digest those quick hits into a more rational, organized, sustainable roadmap.

From my perspective, this document is a significant advance into the Pareto frontier of helpful structure and flexibility. Most personal management solutions contain either flexible but vague advice, or software designed to force you to do things a certain way. This system provides a comprehensive and coherent set of guidelines, but does not resist your process of figuring out what works for you.

The system was born in Sublime Text but can of course be used in any editor.

Since the last time I posted this, I've made many enhancements:

1. Description of full directory tree solution, involving many documents which "manually" link to one another.

2. "Daily Reminders" section, used to help you orient yourself and avoid the mistakes you tend to make in life. (I have Rumi's three gates of speech in there.)

Finally, preview of upcoming attractions: a simplified variant of this document is highly effective for taking meeting notes and improving the quality of your meeting participation. I'll be posting that soon! Enjoy!

Your thoughts and feedback are much appreciated!