I mean, I quit them right now, but it has been a long time brewing, so I am taking note of that right here, on my after-hours blog.
So, listen: I have tried GoodNotes and Notability, and I threw them out eventually because, really, I wasn’t really taking notes, although I bet I looked like I knew what I was doing at the time (that is a whole thing I need to get to talking about at some point, looking the part, rather than being the real deal).
All I did was load PDFs into either app, watch the files sync with a Cloud service, and doncha know! I felt accomplished, write some chicken scratch on the first 15 pages of each file, and then quit.
And now, after months of trying to make OneNote be my note taking app, I have snapped over how messy syncing OneNote Notebook is.
I’ll go into a bit of detail here, you can skip this paragraph, especially because I have no idea where I am going with this: I tried to rename several of these Notebooks, as OneNote calls them, just to see the names being dropped, not used, then older Notebooks showing up in the list of selectable Notebooks, with old content having been moved to new Notebooks, all for the sake of creating some sort of order out of the chaos of the previous, what, nine years now. And I couldn’t, and I tried, and it wouldn’t stick, and Cloud is basically just shit I can pat myself on the back for making some kind of progress in, same with typing over writing, it all sure feels like you are getting somewhere because suddenly there is more of something where there was none before, but, for what I am doing, and how my mind works, there is a simple truth.
I can only take useful notes using pen and paper. Drawing and sketching? Different, doesn’t matter there, but taking notes? I need paper. Same with reading. I need paper, and I also need the font to have serifs, because I need to understand, not just have an ease of reading experience, where the goal is to be done.
Having had the recent Windows reset forced upon me turns out to be actually good for me. Earlier, before I snapped, I have felt a deep morosity over yet again spending hours at the PC trying to make something work which had the human as the after-thought for its use, or what the Millenial designers call human-centered design.
So, OneNote went the same way GoodNotes and Notability went before, and I am back in control of a hand on a piece of paper.
Sure, this is my manifesto, let me just send it into the database so you can read it.
Hi, there is always an open space on the web where you can start again. At least, that is what I think. And, to be honest, I need to think that way, because if I wouldn’t, I couldn’t change myself in any way.
And what I need to start again, is to simulate my own graphic design study. I say simulate because I already have a degree for my thesis about how one could structure symbols and semiotics in space for living on Mars. One of my wilder things I have been up to in the past years.
So, it did take me around six years to actually get my degree, due to what turned out were physical, rather than psychological health issues, and I actually wonder about how I even got a degree in the first place (looking back, I didn’t feel precisely conscious at the time).
Why I am telling you this? Because I have been building a system for myself to go beyond what I have actually learned (and still recall) in my graphic design study, and in order to do that, I sort of need to “simulate” a study I did not have in the first place. Well-rested, not distracted, that sort of foundational situation, a foundation I did not have between 2017 and 2023. So, if you should have health issues, you should get help if you can, health seems to be a holistic state, a broken part affects the whole, as well as all the other parts, if you can get that.
The system I came up with is really simple: you take ECTS and GURPS as your basis, add in the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition, Bloom’s (revised) taxonomy, and deliberate practice research by Ericsson et al.
And, what you might end up with, can sort of look like this: something sort of an RPG system for skill advancement.
Level 0: Novice
Cognitive & Behavioral Profile (Dreyfus/Bloom) No systematic knowledge; relies on rules or external guidance Typical Practice Focus Orientation, following instructions, foundational knowledge Typical Hours for Breakthrough* 0–20 hrs
Cognitive & Behavioral Profile (Dreyfus/Bloom) Can plan and troubleshoot; applies knowledge with some independence; moderate judgment Typical Practice Focus Deliberate practice on specific skills; small projects; self-correction Typical Hours for Breakthrough* 100–300 hrs
Level 3: Proficient
Cognitive & Behavioral Profile (Dreyfus/Bloom) Holistic understanding; intuitive decision-making; adapts principles to context Typical Practice Focus Stretch projects, problem-solving in novel contexts; reflective practice Typical Hours for Breakthrough* 300–700 hrs
Level 4: Expert
Cognitive & Behavioral Profile (Dreyfus/Bloom) Deep tacit understanding; high adaptability; can innovate; self-directed Typical Practice Focus Advanced deliberate practice, cross-domain integration, mentoring others Typical Hours for Breakthrough* 700–1500 hrs
Level 5: Master, or Authority
Cognitive & Behavioral Profile (Dreyfus/Bloom) Recognized innovator; internalized skill; creates new paradigms Typical Practice Focus Leading projects, high-level synthesis, research/teaching others Typical Hours for Breakthrough* 1500+ hrs
*Hours indicate target deliberate practice hours; total invested time may be higher due to passive learning, casual exposure, or repetition.
You need deliberate practice, DP for short. But how much?
Well, way I figured it, for each level you are looking at the following target deliberate practice hours, and monthly DP goals, as a rough guide for everyone, especially the people stuck in /beg/ hell, like me:
This is a community project, so you absolutely can add your own ideas, comment whichever way you like, use or not use this system. I even added double spaces so that copying is easier, lol.
Below is essential reading material, if you want to read for yourself:
I’ll be brief: I have spent more than a week, since Friday the 13th, moving all of my backups out of the Cryptomator vault I have built inside my OneDrive Cloud folder, and am now using two external drives do backup my PC proper.
I thought I was very clever having using Cryptomator, and I sort of bet a lot of people feel the same cleverness I did: to build something awkward, and somewhat servicable.
But, ever since reinstalling my PC a few days ago (you can work from a cleaner slate, after all), copying files, and invariably losing files to the buggy interaction between Cryptomator and OneDrive Cloud, I have realized a very fundamental truth about Computers 2026:
they are not broken. There is nothing to fix. Watching Defrag.exe walk through its rectangles in the 90s is no way to do Computers in 2026. The Cloud is nonsense. I am a graphic designer. I am done with tweaks.
I have recently recovered my ideal workspace for my PC, and there is literally nothing to improve upon there.
I think I will use all of my Social Media presence to slowly connect with people who are interested in improvng their craft, over being done, over doing finished pieces.
If you feel that this is the community you also want, we will meet somewhere. I am putting my energy out there.
Until next time, where I will continue building that which I myself need the most.
Ich habe seit letzten Freitag jetzt sechs volle Arbeitstage gebraucht, um einen Bug in meinem Backup-System zu lösen. Hot Storage und Cold Storage schlagen die Cloud um Längen. Ich bin fast wieder arbeitsfähig.
Brushes von @kyle.t.webster während des Alumni-Abends von @fb_gestaltungundmedien_diploma und mit @eva_czajkowski, gehostet von @andreaskenlanig, ausprobiert: Ketchup- und Senfritter. Bin inspiriert vom heutigen Zoom-Meeting. Ich muss mal in mich gehen und fühlen, was ich will und was sich einfach (und im Moment richtig) anfühlt.
#note Ich wende probeweise meine neue #Taxonomie auch auf diese Archive an, also Domain.ObjectType.Context.Identifier[.Qualifier].
Daraus wird dann 🗄️Public.Archive.Social.2019 als Name für das OneNote-Notebook. #taxonomy #asca
Play the System ist angekommen. Ich sollte mir mal anschauen, was ich über Programmatische Gestaltung habe. Könnte interessant sein. Wünsche mir mehr davon, habe das Gefühl, dass es wenige (unter diesem Namen) kennen.
