You’re an ambitious and smart knowledge worker.
You want to produce more, better, faster, and… easier.
Keep reading…
What’s a Header?
In markdown, headers are a way to create sections inside your document.
You can create headers and sub-headers hierarchies up to 6 levels deep. You just need to use the symbol “#”.
Examples:
- # This is a level 1 header
- # This is a level 2 header
- # This is a level 3 header
What’s a List?
In markdown, lists are just a certain number of items enumerated one below the other.
You can also create hierarchies inside lists as many as you want.
Example:
Item 1
- Item 1.1
Item 2
- Item 2.1
- Item 2.2
Item 3
What’s the Problem?
As you see, headers and lists are quite similar.
When should you use one or another to perform at your best talking about your thinking process?
For me, it was confusing at the beginning.
When something’s confusing, you start mixing concepts and executing anarchical processes.
That’s not good for your PKM (aka “your life”).
What Was My approach to Solve the Problem?
I always try to base my life on mental models.
Using mental models equals an easier life. You don’t waste time to think, “and now, what do I do?”. You just follow the steps and criteria the mental model tells you.
You just “execute without thinking”.
When Do I Use Headers?
I identify headers as areas.
I use them to move from one context to another.
For example, I can create these areas when I’m working on an idea inside a markdown file:
- Concepts.
- Techniques.
- Tools.
As you see, they’re contexts totally different. I can focus on one of them and forget about the rest.
You gain focus and clarity.
When Do I Use Lists?
I use lists inside each header to develop my thoughts.
Lists allow me to outline.
It’s the real process of thinking.
For example, inside the “Concepts” header, I create these lists:
Concept 1
- Approach 1
- Approach 2
Concept 2
- Approach 1
- Approach 2
Similarities between Concept 1 and Concept 2
Divergencies between Concept 1 and Concept 2
Takeaways
- Differentiating headers and lists helped me a lot.
- Now, I can easily move my mind and thinking from one context to another.
- I can zoom in and out inside my lists to develop ideas.
- That can make you a better, faster, and “easier” thinker.
Photo by Alain Pham on Unsplash.