Do you still organize your notes using index cards? I used to do this in college and I’d have a bunch of cards for each subject I took. I can’t recall using index cards regularly for my reporting. I did use the cards for at least one special report I wrote for The Freeman.

Through the years of using the computer, my handwriting has worsened (talk about using it or losing it — I do 98 percent of my writing on computers). Sometimes I’d even have a hard time reading what I just wrote hours earlier. I’m also a slob when it comes to keeping notes. I’d lose notebooks or pieces of paper on which I’d jot down ideas, websites I need to check and tasks I need to do. When I do manage to keep a notebook or a paper, though, my two sons would eventually find it and write or draw things on it.

When I saw the TiddlyWiki page written by Jeremy Ruston, I knew that my search for a good to do software has ended. The software was improved by Nathan Bowers in his GTDTiddlyWiki (GTD for Getting Things Done). Both scripts are open source.

A TiddlyWiki is a single page you can edit and re-use for your notes and to-do lists. Think of it as an index card catalogue that is hyperlinked and with a web page user interface. TiddlyWikis do not need a server software so they need not be online and can just be stored in your hard drive or a computer diskette or USB drive.

If you want to try it, I suggest you use GTDTiddlyWiki, not only is its design better, it also offers an empty template for download. The empty template is helpful because instead of having to delete the Tiddlers (or notes), you can immediately start from scratch.

Below are my notes as they would appear if I use index cards. If you insist on using index cards to organize your tasks or notes, check out how to build your own “hipster PDA” at 43 Folders.

Here are my notes organized using GTDTiddlyWiki