Method on Victor42

Where Will Our Generation's Last Words Be Written?

hi@victor42.work (Victor42) — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 14:23:00 +0000

In my previous post about AI-filtered news, some readers noticed a phone automation: “Send location to wife if I miss her call.” The comments were funny, but the idea is serious. While getting kidnapped is unlikely, unexpected things happen. It’s rational to prepare. We can record crucial information our families would need and ensure they receive it.

As an average office worker, I’m not managing a family business or company shares. I just need to list my assets and debts, leaving clues for recovery.

This boils down to three questions:

Where to store the info?
When and how to send it?
How to keep it secure?

Tackling these in order proved difficult. Existing solutions lacked either automation or security. I even checked dedicated apps, but their data security was dubious. Rethinking the order (2, 1, 3), I realized a calendar app is ideal.

I created a recurring monthly event with email reminders.

It’s set to email me. I then configured a filter in my email to forward it to my wife’s primary email if the body contains a specific keyword, like one at the start of my message.

The message itself is in the event notes. I list my assets: investments, savings, insurance, and usernames. For security, I omit passwords, only including the ID or phone number needed for a reset. I also list debts, primarily the mortgage, including the payment card, amount, and a reminder to keep it current.

But this would email my wife monthly – not exactly “last words.” So, I set up a second recurring event a day earlier, reminding me to delete the “last words” event – just that occurrence, not the series. This “negative trigger,” inspired by the Swordholder in The Three-Body Problem, is activated by inaction.

This prevents monthly emails and keeps the information out of my wife’s inbox, reducing the risk of leaks. Her data security habits aren’t as strong as mine. For added security, I created a separate, dedicated calendar account just for this, never used for sign-ups or other emails.

Naturally, I’ll inform my wife about this, if only to ensure she doesn’t change her main email.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Travel Planning

hi@victor42.work (Victor42) — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 17:32:00 +0000

Most people travel, but few plan meticulously. Accommodation, food, transport, tickets—it’s all interconnected. One change can throw everything off. This complexity discourages many from detailed planning. They book flights and hotels and wing it. But beneath the apparent spontaneity lies potential chaos.

As summer turns to fall, the weather’s perfect for travel. I’ve been deep in trip planning lately, which got me thinking: how do you systematically plan a trip? With a solid framework, travel planning becomes straightforward, turning a jumbled mess into a smooth process. Follow this, and you can create travel plans quickly and easily, without losing flexibility.

Breaking Down the Elements

Before I share the method, let’s start with the underlying logic.

Travel aims for enjoyment, but it’s still physical. Real-world needs apply. Coordinating these needs is the reason for a travel plan. The key to simplifying it all is almost too simple:

You can only be in one place at a time.

We’re bound by 3D space and 1D time. Your body must be somewhere, and you can’t be in two places at once. Time, too, marches on.

Therefore, planning a trip boils down to filling each moment with a location.

Obvious so far, but here’s where it gets useful:

Travel elements break down into time, location, and items. Time and location define your environment. You are the trip’s subject. You know you; what needs planning are your extensions (your stuff) – items.

We further break down time and location, laying out all the trip’s elements. I’ve separated “potential destinations” and “confirmed destinations” because sometimes destinations are limited by other factors, requiring choices. It’s not crucial, but it helps.

With the elements atomized, the question is: which ones do you decide first, and in what order?

Reassembling the Elements

The breakdown is fixed, but reassembly needs your input. What’s the trip’s purpose? To see something you’ve dreamed of, even if it’s a hassle? Or to simply relax and enjoy? Even with the same goal, focusing on efficiency versus total enjoyment leads to different travel styles.

I’ve identified two planning models based on my experience. I use different approaches depending on the situation.

A. Sightseeing Mode

Sightseeing mode prioritizes efficiency.

Efficiency = Total Happiness / Total Time = (Happiness at Destinations + Happiness in Transit) / Total Time

Here, destinations provide the most happiness per unit of time, while transit provides less, or even negative, happiness. If you enjoy transit equally, you likely prefer the other mode, discussed later.

“Destinations” aren’t just tourist spots. In Sightseeing Mode, an enjoyable journey, like a scenic coastal drive, is a destination, not transit. Typical “transit” is things like city subways or waiting in lines.

Minimizing transit time boosts efficiency. If teleportation existed, you’d skip the commute. High efficiency means the trip was “worth it.”

Planning order for Sightseeing Mode:

Consider getting to and from the destination city, in-city transport, and places worth seeing.
Decide how many days and nights to spend. This is limited by transport (train/flight schedules) and your vacation time.
Confirm destinations. Based on trip duration, decide if you can visit all potential destinations or need to prioritize. City transport is a constraint; some spots might be inaccessible or too time-consuming without suitable transport.
Book hotels and create a packing list. Research to find a conveniently located hotel. Trip length is crucial for hotel booking. Your packing list depends on destinations; hiking gear differs from beach gear.
Find restaurants or commercial areas. This can be skipped in big cities or if you’re not a foodie. It’s necessary when traveling with my toddler, who needs regular, specific meals. If there are busy areas near destinations (for lunch/dinner) or the hotel (for dinner), focus on those. If it’s remote, you need a concrete dining plan, like takeout or packed food.
Plan the daily itinerary: It’s almost done by now. This step is about adjusting the order, balancing morning and afternoon time, and ensuring a good overall pace.

There’s a Sightseeing Mode variation. Unlike the “9-to-5” version, those with ample time needn’t choose destinations due to time. They can visit everywhere, simply extending the trip. Other aspects are similar.

B. Vacation Mode

Vacation Mode prioritizes total enjoyment.

Total Happiness = Efficiency x Total Time

Here, you first maximize efficiency, minimizing unpleasantness. With constant happiness ensured, only time affects the total. If 3 days aren’t enough, try 5; if 5 aren’t enough, try 7, until you’re content.

Planning order for Vacation Mode:

Consider getting to and from the destination city, in-city transport, and how many days and nights to spend.
Book hotels. Find a hotel with great views or amenities, considering distance to transport hubs and in-city transport options. Public transport versus driving greatly impacts hotel choice.
List potential destinations and research local restaurants. Which easily accessible destinations are worth visiting? Any local delicacies you’re keen on? Research those.
Create a packing list. Items have no constraints, so consider this anytime.
Planning is essentially done. Just await departure.
For a more detailed plan, select destinations and combine them with preferred restaurants and areas to create a daily itinerary.

Differences Between the Two Modes

The modes seem distinct, but there are blurry areas. You might not be a “special forces” traveler or someone who just enjoys sleeping in a new city. Where do you fit?

The modes can produce identical itineraries, but the source of happiness differs:

Sightseeing Mode’s happiness comes from the physical world: locations. The more you explore, the greater the happiness. This mode accepts some transit unhappiness, compensated by destination happiness.
Vacation Mode’s happiness comes from the mental world: time. As fatigue and boredom build, marginal happiness decreases. To maintain happiness, this mode allows changing activities and destinations anytime.

Here’s an analogy: Imagine a day at Disneyland. How would the modes differ? It’s not hard.

If a trip offers great destination happiness (for Sightseeing Mode) and a well-paced itinerary keeps Vacation Mode constantly happy, both are satisfied, but their reasons differ.

If there are two attractions, one hard to reach but immensely joyful, the other easily accessible but mildly amusing, Sightseeing Mode chooses the former, Vacation Mode the latter.

Where does your happiness mainly come from? Or, where do you want it to come from on this trip?

These modes aren’t definitive. Everyone has preferences. The key is to lay out the elements, connect them, and draw your own travel planning flowchart. Use it repeatedly. You’ll find travel planning isn’t so hard. As you get better, you’ll travel more, increasing your overall happiness.

Putting It into Practice

Theory’s fine, but let’s apply this framework to a real trip, using the more involved Sightseeing Mode.

In April 2021, during the Qingming Festival, I road-tripped to Dunhuang with family and friends—four of us in total. I handled the itinerary, and everyone enjoyed it. Even two years later, we all consider it our most memorable trip. Here’s the travelogue: https://victor42.eth.limo/post-en/3596/

The travelogue shows the result. I’m sharing the planning process, which used the “9-to-5” Sightseeing Mode.

Prerequisites and Potential Destinations

Flying round-trip from Hangzhou to Dunhuang, with a 3-day Qingming holiday and 2 days of annual leave, flying was the only viable intercity option. So, I booked flights immediately.

The best I could manage, even using all 5 days, was a 5-day, 4-night itinerary. We’d leave early on day one, have half a day for sightseeing; sleep in on day five, and head straight back, arriving home at night. That left 3.5 days for actual exploration.

Dunhuang, a desert city, is susceptible to sandstorms, and many attractions are outside the city. Renting a car locally made sense, so I arranged that too.

For potential destinations, I quickly researched online and listed these:

Recommended Destinations

Yumen Pass
Yangguan Pass
Mogao Caves
Encore Dunhuang performance
Singing Sands Mountain and Crescent Spring
Yardang National Geopark (temporarily closed)

Other Destinations

Leiyin Temple (near Singing Sands Mountain and Crescent Spring)
Dunhuang Museum
White Horse Pagoda (near Dunhuang Museum)
Western Thousand Buddha Caves
Dunhuang Film City
Dunhuang Grand Show (near Singing Sands Mountain and Crescent Spring)
Silk Road Flower Rain performance
Yulin Caves
Suoyang City

Finalizing the Destinations

I checked the map and grouped potential destinations geographically. A useful tip: search for each on a map app and add it to your favorites. Zooming out shows a cluster of stars, clarifying how to group them. Just select the ones you want.

East Line

Mogao Caves
Encore Dunhuang performance

West Line

Yumen Pass
Yangguan Pass
Western Thousand Buddha Caves
Yardang National Geopark (temporarily closed)
Dunhuang Film City

South of the City

Singing Sands Mountain and Crescent Spring
Leiyin Temple
Dunhuang Grand Show

Guazhou Line

Yulin Caves
Suoyang City

Downtown

Dunhuang Museum
White Horse Pagoda
Shazhou Ancient City
Silk Road Flower Rain performance

Grouping helps significantly with the daily itinerary, essentially one group per day. But I held off on the itinerary, needing a crucial element: the hotel.

Hotel and Detailed Itinerary

Hotel

Hotels should be central, near attractions, downtown, or transport hubs. Within that area, I weighed facilities and value. I chose a hotel in downtown Dunhuang, close to the night market and shopping, and was very pleased.

Tip for finding hotels: use the map mode in the Ctrip app. It displays Dunhuang hotels, showing the cheapest room’s price.

The filter function is key. Hotel details are standardized, so filtering quickly narrows options. For instance, with kids, I’d select a non-smoking room. Applying the filter removes many irrelevant hotels from the map.

If you’re using a computer, it’s even easier. I’ve developed a browser extension that lets you compare multiple Ctrip hotels side-by-side. It gathers ratings, negative review rates, room types, floor area, window details, bed sizes, and smoking policies into a single Excel sheet, allowing you to compare everything at a glance and make your choice quickly.

Feel free to use it: https://github.com/greenzorro/hotel-comparer

The hotel was now booked.

Restaurants

I scouted restaurants near attractions or the hotel. That’s how I handled it for Dunhuang. I didn’t have kids then, and adults are flexible with food, so I skipped a detailed food guide.

Like finding hotels, use the map search in the Dianping app. It shows Dunhuang’s food scene. Locate yourself, zoom in, and you’ll see nearby restaurants. Note: use the app; the mini-program lacks this. Meituan’s app works, but it’s slower.

Without a food guide, distance is crucial when finding food on the go. Map mode is very efficient.

Daily Itinerary

The daily itinerary simply combines the hotel, attractions, and restaurants/shops, considering time. No new work here. The key is estimating visit durations to avoid over- or under-scheduling.

Note: for popular attractions, like the Forbidden City, book tickets in advance.

Packing List

The packing list is separate, not tied to time or place. Once attractions are set, consider it anytime. I usually do it last.

I love Excel. Anything data-related, I use Excel, including travel items. It’s overkill for solo adult travel, but forgetting one baby item can be disastrous, so careful checking is essential.

Why 4 columns? It’s a thorough checking system, from left to right:

To Bring: This spreadsheet is reusable, accumulating over time. It includes items for all seasons and activities. Before each trip, I select from this column.
To Pack: Items are either carry-on or checked. Leaving carry-ons at the hotel defeats their purpose (like diapers – I’ve learned the hard way). Use Excel’s filter on the first column, select items for this trip, then decide which are carry-on, checking them in the second column.
Packed: Start packing, prioritizing carry-ons. Refer to the second column and check this one for packed items.
Brought: With carry-ons mostly packed, filter the third column, showing unpacked items. These are either unpacked carry-ons or checked luggage items. Continue packing. You can skip checking columns 3 and 4 if you’re organized.

Packing List: https://my.feishu.cn/wiki/R7EAwcYX1ikNlukteCdcVhdinhb?from=from_copylink

Travel Plan Document

By following this workflow, your trip is planned out clearly—it’s not rocket science. However, up to this point, it’s all just mental planning. You need a proper “container” for this web of information, both for your own review and to share with your travel companions.

I have a travel itinerary template I’ve used for years. It’s essentially a series of fill-in-the-blank questions; once you plug the information into the right spots, your guidebook is complete.

The document is divided into several modules: Itinerary, Packing List, Tips, Candidate Attractions, and References. The first three are for you and your group; the last two are backend notes for your own use while planning. There’s a divider between them—once the plan is finalized, just delete the bottom half and share it with your group.

Time: Month/Day - Month/Day (X Days, X Nights)
Inter-city Transport: Mode of transport. Local Transport: Mode of transport. Accommodation: Hotel name & nearby attractions/districts (if any).

First, the itinerary starts with an overview—this is the core foundation of the entire plan. The critical constraints—inter-city transport, local transport, trip duration, and accommodation—are all condensed into this short paragraph. Once these are nailed down, you won’t drop the ball on the basics, even if you haven’t planned the specific daily sightseeing yet.

For multi-city trips, I expand it like this for better visibility:

Time: Month/Day - Month/Day (X Days, X Nights)
Inter-city Transport: Day X fly to [Place], Day X fly to [Place]… Local Transport: [City] Metro + Taxi, [City] Walk… Accommodation:

Dates (X Nights) at [City, Hotel]. Notes on location/attractions.

Dates (X Nights) at [City, Hotel]. Notes on location/attractions.

Dates (X Nights) at [City, Hotel]. Notes on location/attractions.

However, expanding it this way requires extreme caution because the dates are all interconnected. If you miss an edit and book tickets or hotels based on a typo, it’s a recipe for disaster. The cost of changing flights or overseas hotel bookings can be painful.

For tasks like this, the human brain isn’t as reliable as code. So, I built a spreadsheet tool. You fill in the table, and it auto-generates the itinerary overview, ensuring zero errors. You can simply copy it from the spreadsheet and paste it into your document:

Inter-city Transport: 17th fly to Bangkok, 19th fly to Phuket, 22nd ferry to Phi Phi Don, 27th ferry to Phuket, 28th fly to Hong Kong, 31st fly home. Local Transport: Bangkok Metro + Taxi, Phuket Bus + Taxi, Phi Phi Walk, Hong Kong Walk + Metro. Accommodation:

17-19 (2 Nights) at Bangkok Asia Hotel. Near Siam Center, convenient location.

19-22 (3 Nights) at Phuket Sugar Marina Hotel -POP- Kata Beach. Near Kata Beach.

22-27 (5 Nights) at Phi Phi The Cliff at PP. Tonsai Pier area, convenient but quiet.

27-28 (1 Night) at Phuket Nai Yang Beach Resort & Spa. Near Nai Yang Beach, close to airport.

28-31 (3 Nights) at Hong Kong Metropark Hotel Mongkok. Mongkok area, bustling commercial district.

Transport & Accommodation Planning Tool: https://my.feishu.cn/wiki/IbkAwYIi6ieFcbkuIjuckpJlnQb?from=from_copylink

Back to the template. I’ve already covered the Packing List. Tips and References are sections I haven’t mentioned yet. These are basically notes—valuable info recorded for the group (Tips) and for your own research (References).

I’ve shared the template as an online doc; log in to save or download it. There’s a blank version and a filled-out “Dunhuang Road Trip” version. Comparing them shows exactly how I use the system. If you’re planning a trip to Dunhuang this spring, you can practically use it as is.

Travel Template: https://my.feishu.cn/wiki/T5DdwSjGsiU61CkUYVBcPpgunCc?from=from_copylink Dunhuang Road Trip Guide: https://my.feishu.cn/wiki/SN3cw8YF8iqbl1k3rR5cc10Rn9b?from=from_copylink

Planning Flights for Complex Trips

Ever get stuck right at the beginning trying to sort out travel between multiple cities? It can be a real headache. This is especially true when you’re trying to find the best deals for a complex itinerary during peak holidays, like National Day or Spring Festival, when flight prices go wild.

I built a spreadsheet tool to tackle this. Here’s how it works:

Dates: List your potential travel dates.
Fares: Look up and record the lowest fare for each day.
Fill: Just fill in the white columns; the gray ones will auto-calculate.
Indicators: Yellow marks the cheapest fare for a leg. Red or green shows a big price swing from the day before (defaults to 15%, but you can change it).
Confirm: When you’ve picked a flight, check its box to keep track.

Step 2 takes the most time, but AI can speed it up. AI browsers like Comet and Atlas or AI agents like Manus and Minimax can handle it, but your standard chatbot can’t. You’ll need some decent prompting skills, or you might get incomplete or no data at all. Honestly, since this is something you only do a couple of times a year, doing it manually is still the most reliable approach.

The sheet supports up to 8 flight legs, plenty even for a multi-city European tour. Then again, if you have enough time for a month-long, multi-city journey, you probably aren’t too worried about penny-pinching on flights, haha.

Flight Planning Sheet: https://my.feishu.cn/wiki/SIbUw5N3ci79d2kySNqcItRHnYd?from=from_copylink

Travel Expense Tracking

Finally, expense tracking. Skip this if you don’t track expenses.

I’m sharing an Excel spreadsheet that calculates expense percentages and per capita costs, useful for splitting bills with friends.

Travel Expense Tracking Template: https://my.feishu.cn/wiki/Q76ywiamqiBKeTkTxhrcBW4MnVd?from=from_copylink

Port Mindset - From Automated Tasks to a Way of Life

hi@victor42.work (Victor42) — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 23:52:00 +0000

This is a rather abstract and rambling article, discussing a somewhat metaphysical topic. It touches upon information automation techniques, ponders the philosophy of life, and explores the methodology of methods. If you have the time, you’re welcome to read on.

Daily life and work involve a lot of trivial matters, which are irregular both logically and chronologically.

A typical scenario: You’re researching something on your computer, with a bunch of web pages open, relevant and irrelevant ones all piled up, and you’ve downloaded a few PDFs. Then a colleague sends you a file and discusses it with you. After the discussion, you give them some feedback, taking several screenshots to illustrate your points. It’s almost time to get off work, so you close your laptop and head home. The materials generated from these tasks remain on your computer, waiting for you to clean them up someday.

Most people I know are pretty laid-back, just letting things be. The consequence is a computer desktop full of files. When that “someday” finally arrives, they’ve forgotten what these materials are, whether they’re useful, and whether they can be deleted. If they don’t clean up, they’ll be searching through a haystack every day. If they do, they have to recall the origin of each file, delete the useless ones, and save the useful ones, which is quite time-consuming.

There’s another type, the organized ones, like those who always keep their email inbox empty. They believe in “a stitch in time saves nine” and are incredibly efficient. They remember even the most trivial things, using to-do lists or sticky notes, and handle them all as soon as they have time. They spend time now to save more time in the future. They feel genuine joy at the moment they clear their daily tasks.

I might lean towards the organized type, but not to that extreme. I’ve tried managing trivial matters with the latter method. Things were well-organized, but it made me very tired. I was in a state of slight anxiety until everything was done, which seemed detrimental to my mental health.

Instead of extreme organization, I believe that relaxation and a happy mood are more worthwhile goals. It is on this premise that we should try to establish order as much as possible. Until one day, during self-reflection, I realized that I had unknowingly established another operating mechanism, managing all aspects of life with a mindset similar to that of a seaport. And this is what this article is about.

Principles of the Port Mindset

Let me explain a few shipping terms first:

Demurrage and Detention: In the shipping industry, shipping companies and port companies are independent. When your goods are shipped across the ocean to a port, the shipping company usually allows you to continue occupying the container for free for a few days, which is the demurrage period. Your goods are stacked somewhere in the port, and the port company also allows you to stack them for free for a few days, giving you time to find a truck to take them away, which is the detention period.
Demurrage and Detention Charges: These are the opposites of the previous two terms. When your goods occupy the container for too long, the shipping company will charge you demurrage. When your goods are stacked in the port for too long, the port company will also charge you detention fees. This constraint mechanism prevents you from treating valuable transportation resources as warehouses and occupying them indefinitely.

The port mindset has two core principles:

Everything in the world is dynamic. Everything goes through an intermediate state from start to finish. Conceptually, accept the existence of this intermediate state. In action, proactively create buffer zones for loading and unloading in all aspects of life, temporarily storing electronic files, online content, physical objects, and even knowledge and ideas, to accommodate this intermediate state. Instead of mentally denying or ignoring the existence of the intermediate state, resulting in a lack of management of the intermediate state. When things come up, if they are not dealt with immediately, they are either forgotten in an instant or piled up.
Not everything needs a beginning and an end. Important things are handled on the spot at the port, and after handling, they are transferred to where they should go. Unimportant things will expose their insignificance after staying in the port for a while, and they will be destroyed on the spot. Time works magic, and the port is where the magic happens. Give it some time, and it will return you to peace.

After all, haste makes waste.

Using the port mindset to manage things facilitates scheduling and avoids omissions. More importantly, it has psychological significance. Because you know that these miscellaneous things have a formal temporary storage place, you can safely accept them staying here for a while. You won’t always be thinking about something undone (if you are the organized type), so you won’t feel anxious.

But for the laid-back type, even if a buffer zone is established, it will be used as a garbage dump.

This is not to belittle anyone. These tendencies aren’t fixed and must be considered in relation to specific matters. Everyone values different things. You might be laid-back about one thing but meticulous about another. Most people’s computers are a mess because they don’t think the digital world is important. Their order is established elsewhere, such as in their social circles. Similarly, things I don’t value will also be used as a garbage dump by me.

Back to the topic, how to avoid the garbage dump problem? It is to establish a constraint mechanism like a port to prevent the buffer zone from expanding uncontrollably, which is very crucial.

In terms of digital materials, there are many automated methods to clean up files and materials that have stayed too long, which will be discussed later. In terms of physical objects, you can force yourself to organize in time by limiting the capacity of the buffer zone. In terms of knowledge and ideas, time plays the most important filtering role.

By the way, let’s talk about the difference between to-do lists and the port mindset:

Different nature:
- To-do lists are just a tool. It is a specific software that you need to install and master its usage.
- The port mindset is a concept and attitude. Any place where information and materials are input can be regarded as a port. If you identify your computer desktop as a port, then it is. Nothing has changed, but you will have a new understanding of the desktop, seeing it as a distribution center for files. Many people do this, but they don’t realize it.
Different things stored:
- To-do lists only store concepts. They abstract every event in the digital and real world into a line of text and list them together for centralized management. But the specific materials related to the event are still in place. To-do lists are not good at managing files and materials.
- Ports store specific materials. They are some real locations, a folder on the computer, or a small paper bag at the door of the house. In the port, you can directly handle the corresponding things on the spot. Therefore, there is more than one port, but with some automated methods, there won’t be too many, and there won’t be a problem of scattering everywhere.
Different workload:
- Using to-do lists increases workload. Things are still there, still waiting for you to deal with. Your task is only postponed, not reduced at all. It’s even heavier, because you have to make an extra note in the software, and then check it off. For the matter itself, this recording behavior is extra and redundant.
- The purpose of the port mindset is to reduce workload. It is an upgrade and transformation of the places you are already familiar with. Here, you will naturally deal with important things in time, without reminders; unimportant things, or things that have been dealt with, let them disappear by themselves.

Digital Ports

In terms of digital materials, the essence of the port lies in the constraint mechanism, using a series of automated methods to clear away materials that have stayed too long. This demurrage and detention fee is much more expensive than a real port. It’s not a fine, but the direct destruction of overdue goods.

This seemingly dangerous destruction mechanism can first urge you to deal with it in time. More often, it can also be used in reverse: just let it be, let it clean up the materials for you, and truly liberate you.

The specific implementation of automated methods is just a brief introduction. These can be learned through public information. Tools change over time, but concepts stand the test of time. This article mainly shows what these methods can do and how to form a constraint mechanism.

Mobile File Port

I have a special folder on my phone, which is a distribution center for mobile files. I named it File Port. Things downloaded by different apps on the phone are stored in different places. Most apps are stored in the “Download” folder, WeChat is stored in its own location, Baidu Cloud has another place, and many content production software also output to their respective folders.

I use an automation app called Tasker to centralize them. Once there are new files in these locations, they are all moved to the File Port.

Tasker can also implement automatic cleanup. I have set some rules. Every night, Tasker will delete files that have been in the File Port for more than 7 days. My File Port can always remain relatively clean, files are easy to find, and it also saves storage space on the phone.

In this way, I need to deal with the things in the File Port within 7 days. But this is more than enough for me. Usually, I deal with them in one or two days, and then I don’t have to clean up myself. The useful ones are moved away, and the useless ones are waiting to be automatically deleted.

I have an Android phone. This capability may only be available on Android phones. I’m not sure about Apple. I don’t know if the openness of the system has improved over the years, probably not.

Call Recording Port

This is also a capability only available on Android phones. I record all calls and store them in the system-designated folder for future reference. But most of them are advertising calls that hang up within 5 seconds. There is no need to keep these. Too many recording files are inconvenient for future searches.

Tasker can implement cleanup by file size. I have set some rules. Every night, Tasker will delete files smaller than 100kB in the Call Recording Port, which filters out the truly useful recordings.

With some sync disks, these recordings can be synchronized to the computer or network disk, and then stored for a long time.

I use a third-party client of Dropbox, Dropsync, to synchronize mobile folders with the network disk, which even the official client can’t do.

The constraint mechanism of this port is relatively implicit. There are not many useful calls. Even if you make calls non-stop, there is a ceiling of 24 hours a day. It will not expand indefinitely. Time itself is the constraint mechanism. Therefore, you can rest assured to let it accumulate as a backup.

Computer File Port

This is similar to the mobile file port. But the advantage of the computer is that almost all software downloads are placed in the system’s download folder. I use the download folder as a port and deal with things directly here, eliminating the process of centralization. And my desktop never has any files on it.

Then there are some ways to achieve similar effects to the mobile file port. Windows can use File Juggler; I have it clean up files from 18 hours ago. Mac can use the system’s built-in Automator + Calendar; I have it empty the download folder at 9:30 am every day. In short, the purpose is to clear it daily.

The scope of cleaning is different from the mobile file port, but the constraint mechanism is the same. There are many more files processed on the computer every day than on the mobile phone. Only daily cleaning can maintain the port in a relatively high state of order.

I am used to dealing with temporarily generated materials in the download folder. After finishing the day, the results and intermediate products—the useful ones are stored, and the useless ones are left alone. As for things that cannot be dealt with in a day, implying they’re of higher importance, I will transfer them to a formal folder to deal with, a bit like project initiation.

Screenshot Port

Maybe most people use chat software for screenshots on the computer, without installing additional tools, but there’s a disadvantage: there is no record of historical screenshots. Sometimes you need to use a screenshot taken a few days ago; you have to go to the chat history to find it, or try to reproduce the scene of the screenshot.

I prefer to use screenshot tools like Snipaste, which do not rely on chat software. In addition to rich image annotation functions, more importantly, each screenshot can be saved to the folder I specify and can be reused.

Personal computers, work computers, and mobile phones have their own folders for storing screenshots. Since screenshots sometimes involve sensitive information, I don’t want to use a network disk to synchronize them. I use Resilio, which has no cloud, to associate them. The screenshots of the 3 devices are centralized; each device has a copy, and point-to-point synchronization is maintained.

Screenshots, especially screen recordings, still take up space, and old screenshots have no retention value. I have set some rules. Every night, Tasker will delete screenshots that have been in the Screenshot Port for more than 7 days. Since it can be synchronized, the ones on other devices are also deleted.

This port not only has a constraint mechanism, but also doesn’t need to be maintained. I take screenshots as usual, I can retrieve recent screenshots, and I can limit the number of pictures to a controllable range, so I don’t have to search through a haystack.

Browser Tab Port

Observing others using browsers, I found that most people belong to the “open only, no close” type. They often use the browser tab bar like this, and then close all the next day and start over:

I didn’t have this problem originally. I closed tabs very frequently, consciously closing tabs that were used in time. But this also has drawbacks: it takes up my time and interrupts my tasks. The common situation is that I click on a web page and open a new tab, and the original web page is useless. For a tab hoarder like me, I have to immediately close the original one. Even using shortcut keys Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Tab and then Ctrl/Cmd+W, which is faster than the mouse, is also quite troublesome.

Why not try to regard the browser as a port? Tabs are also digital materials, and they can also be managed with the port mindset. This trial was really great! I can also open only, no close, and not do those cleaning things.

This requires a browser plugin called Tab Wrangler, which can be installed in browsers that support the Chrome app store. I have set some rules. Tabs that have not been moved for more than 12 hours will be automatically closed by the plugin. When I wake up the next day, the browser is clean by itself. As for the tabs to be processed the next day, I only need to use the browser’s pin function; pinned tabs will not be cleaned up by the plugin.

The constraint mechanism of the browser tab port is very similar to the computer file port: daily cleaning. Useful tabs, actively save; most of them are useless, no additional processing is required.

My digital world ports seem numerous, but they are basically upgrades and transformations of existing locations, do not change the original usage habits, there is nothing to remember. The call recording port and the screenshot port don’t even need to be managed; they all run silently.

Physical World Ports

Can the port mindset be extended beyond the digital world to reduce the burden of life?

Absolutely. For many people, this is a matter of course: opening up a dedicated space to store items to be processed or sorted, and regularly cleaning to prevent excessive accumulation. Everyone is actually doing this, but they haven’t theorized it.

For example, during Double Eleven, the packages at home are bursting and there is no time to unpack them. Isn’t it just piled up at the door? At this time, this small space next to the shoe cabinet becomes a port, and some are unpacked every day when there is time.

Another example is the desk of the company’s finance department, with neat stacks of A4 paper on the desktop. This stack is for archiving after verification, and that stack is the reimbursement forms submitted by everyone. This is also a port, a distribution center for documents.

Therefore, there is actually nothing to say about establishing a port in the physical world. Everyone has already mastered this ability.

However, my home still has a special small port, which can be shown. I found a paper bag of suitable size, labeled “Inbox,” and hung it at the door to store time-sensitive paper documents.

What are “time-sensitive paper documents”? For example, a one-year car insurance contract, medical records required to apply for special additional deductions for personal income tax, or paper catering invoices collected for friends. These are all useful for a certain period of time, and after that, they become waste paper and do not need to be kept for a long time.

In the digital age, there are fewer and fewer such documents at home, but not completely absent, which is the troublesome part. If they are classified and placed with long-term materials, they are often forgotten to be cleaned up and accumulate more and more; if they are placed in a conspicuous place, some materials have a long validity period, and after being placed for half a year, they become backing paper. Can you still remember where it is?

At this time, a port should be opened for them. The constraint mechanism of the port in the physical world basically depends on the size of the space. The space opened up should not be too large, otherwise it will become a warehouse; it should not be too small, otherwise it will not be able to turn around. This requires a period of experimentation to find the right size.

In short, open up space for the intermediate state of the physical world and create a habitat. It is better to dredge than to block.

Financial World Ports

The object of the financial world is money. Of course, no penny is useless and can be destroyed, so the main problem here is the scheduling of funds.

I have many bank cards. Savings, financial management and daily expenses mainly rely on China Merchants Bank. Mortgage loans are deducted from China Construction Bank. There are also salary cards from various companies I have worked for. Funds are scattered everywhere, difficult to manage and count. Monthly income, mortgage repayment, and transfers are also very annoying. Is it possible to have a financial port for centralized scheduling?

Most domestic banks have a fund collection function, and it is cross-bank. Search in the corresponding bank app to find it. It can associate two cards from different banks, set rules to automatically schedule funds in the two cards.

Through fund collection, every day China Merchants Bank will transfer all the funds from the CITIC Bank salary card, leaving only 20 yuan balance to keep it active. At the same time, China Merchants Bank will ensure that there is at least 5000 balance in the China Construction Bank mortgage card every day for repayment. If it is not enough, it will transfer money. If the CCB card has a balance of more than 20,000 due to other people’s transfers, it will collect the excess.

In this way, this China Merchants Bank card becomes my financial port. Funds are concentrated here to the maximum extent and then used for financial management. Even if there are other bank cards in the future, and there are other forms of capital transactions, they can also be scheduled through here.

Thought World Ports

Furthermore, does the port mindset have a place in the world of thought?

Yes. Here, it has no physical form, no folders, no small paper bags. What needs to be done is to change your attitude towards information.

Information is divided into 3 categories:

Events: Something happened, you know it; this is an event. Due to the minimal long-term impact on the whole society, it is more of a talking point at the moment and has no value afterward. For example, in 2018, the movie “Dunkirk” won the 90th Academy Award.
Knowledge: You have learned a principle or a historical event; this is knowledge. This principle is very basic, not affected by human society, and plays a long-term role. Or this historical event has a major and long-term impact on the world, and you understand its causes and consequences. For example, the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident changed the attitudes and policies of countries around the world towards nuclear power.
Opinions: You have a certain view or attitude towards something; this is an opinion. Your opinion only exists in your heart. Everyone has different opinions on this matter. People with the same and opposite views as you even quarrel for a long time. For example, you think that the south of China should also have central heating in winter like the north.

Events are objective and short-term; knowledge is objective and long-term; opinions are subjective.

The information you receive daily from various channels is shaping and changing your thought world. A big problem today is that all 3 types of information are unreliable. Events are often false and spread by hearsay; knowledge is often wrong and misleading for profit; opinions are often extreme and force people to choose camps. Let such information shape or invade your thought world, and you will be ruined.

But accepting information is unavoidable and cannot be complacent. A huge amount of information comes every day. Accept it, you may eat too much garbage; verify it, how can you verify so much information?

Therefore, it is very meaningful to establish a port for the thought world. To establish this port is to accept the existence of the intermediate state of information in concept. In layman’s terms, it is to have a state of “Well, I have heard of it; I don’t know if it is true or false; I haven’t verified it yet.” If you see a piece of news or a popular science article, and your brain immediately wants to express your opinion, wants to scold the person in the news, or wants to forward this popular science to the family group, it means that the port of thought has not been established.

Don’t directly put the information you receive every day into your memory as facts, but let it stay in this “I have heard of it” port for a few days. In these few days, important things that are related to you, you will naturally recall, will verify, understand more details, form your own understanding and attitude, and finally officially incorporate them into your thought world. Those unimportant ones will no longer appear in your mind, and time will help you destroy them. Even if you think of it again someday, its state will become: “Well, I have heard of it; I don’t know if it is true or false; it is not important; I am too lazy to verify.”

Remember principle two of the port mindset? Not everything needs a beginning and an end. Forgetting is the constraint mechanism of the thought port.

Conclusion

From digital materials to the physical world, and then from the physical world to thought, the port mindset allows people to change themselves and actively fit into this changing and flowing world. Perhaps because it is close to the real way things work, people feel more relaxed and natural.

So what role does this abstract “port mindset” play in life? How to imagine these virtual ports?

The picture in my mind is: The port is a brave pass; it fights against chaos and disorder and leaves order to the land behind that needs to be protected. That land is your life, your time, your thoughts.

When Efficiency Obsesses Over Housework...

hi@victor42.work (Victor42) — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 12:30:00 +0000

Since having a kid, my housework starts after 9:30 pm. When chores pile up, my mind races, and I forget things. I’ll think I’m done, ready to relax, only to remember laundry. After hanging clothes, I sit, then remember the trash. As an efficiency nut, this is unacceptable. After some late-night pondering, I realized housework can be streamlined. It just needs some imagination and memory tricks.

Two problems arise when things get hectic: 1. Forgetting tasks; 2. Poor prioritization, leading to bottlenecks.

Avoiding Omissions

Let’s tackle forgetting. Why does it happen? Our brains struggle with unrelated items. Interruptions add to the memory load. You have to remember your original task and the interruption. After a few, you’re lost. This memory is linear, like a chain—break one link, and it’s broken.

“The faintest ink is better than the best memory?” Not here. Jotting notes on your phone is inefficient. Information detours through your fingers, phone, screen, and eyes. It’s slow. Your brain is faster. Bioelectrical signals are lightning-fast compared to fumbling with a phone. Plus, wet hands and housework don’t mix with phones.

Too much to remember? Create connections. Categorize. Understand each task, find common ground, and group them. This seems like more information, but it shifts the structure from linear to tree-like. It’s more robust, easier to recall. You only need the trunk; the branches (specific tasks) follow.

Commonalities in chores? Location is intuitive. Our brains excel at concrete images. You know your home. Standing in the living room, you know where everything is. Use this perspective. Two tasks in the kitchen? Imagine a neon “2” there. Three on the balcony? A neon “3.” You’ll remember the specifics upon entering the space.

For the abstract-minded, or those in smaller homes, categorize differently. Daily chores boil down to: washing dishes, clothes, and yourself. Infrequent tasks become “other.” Imagine a table, neon numbers – same principle.

Specificity boosts memory. Engage more senses. If a kitchen task is added, the “2” flashes and “dings” to “3.” Balcony tasks done? The “3” “sizzles” out, sparking.

How to recall specifics? Before adding to the number, mentally check: Is the item visible? If yes, great. If not, interrupt yourself, go place it in plain sight. It’s a real-life “snooze.”

Remembering the number is key. Even if you forget the task, you know something’s missing. Let the number hang there; you’ll likely remember.

Scheduling

The second problem, bottlenecks, often involves waiting for machines.

If everything were manual, this wouldn’t matter. Total time’s the same. But I need to wait for the washer before the next load, the dishwasher before prepping veggies, the sterilizer before the next batch of bottles.

Cooks know this. Juggling appliances requires mental timing. Apply this to housework. Add a ticking clock to the neon number’s corner. If a machine’s running in that space (or category), a clock appears.

Now, sequence matters. Prioritize starting the machines, then tackle manual tasks.

Conclusion

Using this, I visualize the neon numbers from my living room. Like a game, I start the clocks, then clear the numbers. It cuts down on forgetfulness, boosts efficiency, and even makes chores a bit fun.