I just had a truly teriffic, edifying, and illuminating conversation with chatgpt 3.5.
I'll note that my google search of the exact same thing produced far worse, and entirely useless, results.
Me
"what's a good shorthand to use in my journal to denote specific items on my unsorted task list that are due vs. achievable today vs. this week vs next week vs. at some point in the future"
ChatGPT
Certainly! To denote different timeframes for your tasks in shorthand, you can use a system that combines symbols and abbreviations. Here's a suggestion:
Due Today: Use a star (*) or an exclamation mark (!) before the task. For example: *Finish Project Proposal or !Submit Report.
Achievable Today: Use a plus sign (+) or an arrow (->) before the task. For example: +Email Client or ->Review Notes.
This Week: You can use a W or the abbreviation TW after the task. For example: Complete Blog Post W or Prepare Presentation TW.
Next Week: Use NW or an arrow pointing to the right (->) before the task. For example: NW Research Market Trends or ->Plan Team Meeting.
Future: Use an F or an ellipsis (...) before the task to indicate it's for the future. For example: F Learn New Software or ...Explore Training Opportunities.
This way, at a glance, you can distinguish the urgency and timeframe for each task. Feel free to adapt or modify this system to better suit your preferences. Let me know if you have any specific requirements or if you'd like further customization.
Me
i'd prefer none of these be longer than a single character; i'd also prefer them to be somewhat graphical while still being accomplishable within a single stroke. can you revise your suggestion accordingly?
ChatGPT
Certainly! Here's a revised suggestion with single-character graphical symbols:
Due Today: Use an asterisk (*) before the task. For example: *Finish Project Proposal or *Submit Report.
Achievable Today: Use a plus sign (+) before the task. For example: +Email Client or +Review Notes.
This Week: Use a vertical bar (|) after the task. For example: Complete Blog Post | or Prepare Presentation |.
Next Week: Use a greater than sign (>) before the task. For example: >Research Market Trends or >Plan Team Meeting.
Future: Use a tilde (~) before the task. For example: ~Learn New Software or ~Explore Training Opportunities.
These are short and graphical, and each can be accomplished with a single stroke. Let me know if this meets your preferences or if you have any further adjustments in mind!
Me
can you revise again, this time where all the single character notations are somehow thematically interconnected, e.g. like how on a clock, different angles of the two hands indicate a different potential urgency, akin to the doomsday clock counting down how close humans are to extinction
ChatGPT
Certainly! Let's create a thematic and interconnected shorthand inspired by the concept of a clock counting down. Consider the following:
Due Today: Use a dot (•) before the task. Represents the urgency of the current day.
Achievable Today: Use a plus sign (+) before the task. Represents the positivity and achievability of the day.
This Week: Use a forward slash (/) after the task. Represents the progress moving forward through the week.
Next Week: Use a backward slash (\) before the task. Represents anticipation and looking ahead to the next week.
Future: Use a circle (○) before the task. Represents the cyclical nature and the continuity of future tasks.
This thematic approach symbolizes a sense of time progression, from the immediate present (dot and plus) to the upcoming days and weeks (slashes and circle). Feel free to let me know if this aligns with your vision or if you have any specific adjustments in mind!
Me
this is great, thank you! I like indicating some tasks that are cyclical and might recur! do you have any other suggestions for additional stroke notations I could incorporate?
ChatGPT
Absolutely! I'm glad you liked the initial suggestions. For additional stroke notations, let's introduce symbols that signify specific characteristics of tasks:
Recurring Tasks: Use an infinity symbol (∞) before the task. Represents the ongoing and infinite nature of recurring tasks.
Priority Task: Use an exclamation mark (!) after the task. Indicates tasks that require immediate attention due to high priority.
Dependent Task: Use an arrow (→) before the task. Denotes tasks that are dependent on the completion of another.
Time-Blocked Task: Use a square (■) before the task. Represents tasks that are time-blocked in your schedule.
Creative Task: Use an asterisk inside a circle (*⭕) before the task. Signifies tasks that involve creativity or brainstorming.
Feel free to incorporate these symbols based on the specific characteristics or nature of your tasks. This adds a layer of detail and visual cues to your shorthand system. Let me know if you have any further preferences or if there's anything else I can assist you with!
I've already started using these newest notations in my physical journal. This was genuinely helpful. And I'm not even using ChatGPT 4.0 yet!
I'm a little worried to be honest. This was blindingly helpful. And I still feel like the dinosaur here because I typed all this out on my laptop; meanwhile, my more AI-savvy friends are already speaking full time to their ChatGPTs (across their phones, computers, watches, and soon, rings and pendants, no typing required. And (!!) now ChatGPT can speak right back to them, thereby freeing their eyeballs from excessive screen time. It's dizzying how finely the world is currently balanced between utopia and dystopia. I guess myopia is the real challenge here, because it's just so damn time consuming to consume* so much information per unit time. Blergh.
*(or be expected to produce)
uh, kbye? it's 3:17am.
Stay tuned next time for when I ask ChatGPT to help me fix my relationship* with time.
* time and I are taking time apart right now. The decision was mutual. Time will assuredly survive. It will keep on kicking (ticking?). And I, too, will keep on kicking, and screaming, my way through each day, staying up late until the next day's already begun. I believe my therapist would call this "Revenge Bedtime Procrastination."