What is your favorite low-tech tool?
Many of my friends tell me that it is the Post-it note. Some say they favor its less colorful cousin. - the tab .
Ask around. Some of your friends may have a stack of hidden index cards to learn a new language or as presentation notes for the next meeting. Apply them as memory aids and they become flash memory cards.
For me, the low cost index card comes to the rescue when life is full of details. The small rectangle of paper helps simplify with a few lines of text or a hastily drawn doodle. I use it to remind myself a bit of the countless Life Hack Tips How to Easily Organize and Remember All the Life Hack Tips You've Read How to Easily Organize and Remember All the Life Hack Tips You Read We forget things if we don't we repeat them That's bad news for the endless words of wisdom we read every day. The good news is that forgetfulness can be defeated. Read more I read every day.
And I'm not the only one who finds productivity in it..
Carl Linnaeus invented the token and is often regarded as a pioneer in information retrieval. People had problems with information overload even three hundred years ago. The term sounds familiar, doesn't it?
The deluge of information has flooded us again. So thankfully index cards are still around. And we can use them to sharpen our brains' capacity for lots of data. Head to the nearest office supply store and buy a battery. Or, save the cost and launch Microsoft Word. This is how you can get Microsoft Word for free. This is how you can get Microsoft Word for free. Don't want to pay for the full Microsoft Word experience? Don't worry, here are some ways to use Microsoft Word for free. Read more . It does a good job of creating index cards from scratch.
All you need now are the ideal measurements and the correct type of paper to print your index cards on. I'll leave that choice to you, since we chose one of the three methods.
Templates can save you a lot of time. Microsoft Word has a complete gallery of templates 10 templates to save time in the office 10 templates to save time in the office Are there documents that you write over and over again? Whether it's agendas, invoices, or meeting status reports, templates can make your job easier. We've collected 10 template ideas to save you time. Read More And, you haven't forgotten about index cards or flash cards. The way to reach them is through a search.
Open Microsoft Word. Go File> New . Type Index card in the search field.
Results are displayed as thumbnails and you can sort them visually or with the category list on the right. If you need a specific type of index card, try a search with that.
For example, you can type “flashcard” to search for flashcards. The template gallery has a variety of flash cards for basic English and math. Select the template and it will open as a new Microsoft Word document.
Use the index card as is or reuse it around your content. For example:how about the style of your fonts? How to Style Fonts in Microsoft Word to Make Your Text Pop How to Style Fonts in Microsoft Word to Make Your Text Pop Well-formatted text can grab your reader's attention and help it flow through your document. Here's how to add that finishing touch in Microsoft Word. Read More
Templates will not fill all needs. So a do-it-yourself approach will not only give you the power to create your own custom index cards, but it will also fit the printer you have at your disposal. The good news is that Microsoft Word makes the process easy.
Open a new Microsoft Word document. To set the correct size for index cards, go to Layout tab on the tape. Click the little arrow on the edge of the Setup page group to open the options.
About the Configure page panel click the tab for Paper . Scroll down the given paper sizes. If you get a size close to the desired number, select it. If not, select Custom Size which is the last option in the dropdown list. Enter the Width and Height according to the dimensions of the size of your index card. Click OK to set the dimensions.
You can also get to the same options by selecting size from the Design tab. The drop down list takes you to different paper sizes and More paper sizes command at the end. The same dialog box that we see above opens.
Index cards can be of different sizes. Wikipedia says that the most common size for index cards in North America and the UK is 3 by 5 inches. It is commonly known as the 3 by 5 card . Other available sizes include 4 by 6 inches, 5 by 8 inches, and ISO A7 size (74 by 105 mm or 2.9 by 4.1 inches).
If you want to keep them organized in a binder file, you may want to set a margin that allows room for a punch hole.
Set the print margins on the card from the default of 1" to Narrow .5". Go to the first button of the Layout tab that says Margins . Choose Normal (which is the default) or Narrow From the dropdown. Or any other dimension that is suitable for the look of the cards.
The Word document is now set to your custom dimensions. By default, Microsoft Word will print cards in portrait. Flip orientation between Portrait and Landscape if desired (Layout> Orientation ). For example, a recipe card would look better in portrait. A flashcard would be ideal with a landscape setting.
Design your index cards to suit your purpose. Your first blank index card is ready. Now you can fill it with any information you want. From Clipart to Illustrated Information The Best Websites to Download Free Images The Best Websites to Download Free Images Today's clipart needs to be modern, colorful, and less cartoony. Try these top 13 websites for free clip art downloads when you need to find the right image in no time. Read More
press Enter or do a page break to open the second page or, in this case, the second tab with the same dimensions. Create as many tokens as you want.
Open a blank Microsoft Word document. Go to the Post Office tab on the ribbon.
About the Create (Envelopes and Labels) panel click Tags . In the Envelopes and Labels settings choose the Tags tab, click Options .
the Options chart lists a large number of Label Vendors and they Product Numbers . You can use these preconfigured label templates to easily create index cards. The Label information To the right are the dimensions and required page size.
From the dropdown menu, select Microsoft or a seller like Avery letter from the United States . Scroll to an index card dimension (Avery number 5388 ) - will give you three 3" x 5" cards on an 8.5" x 11" sheet. This is an Avery standard for the type of index card chosen (I got the number from the Avery website). Select OK .
As with any print job, you should verify that the label dimensions and page margins are not larger than the actual paper size. Click Details to preview the dimensions. Adjust a setting like Page size depending on the size of the paper you plan to print on.
Microsoft Word as always allows you to create your own custom sized labels when the preset measurements don't help.
Select New Tag in the Tag Options box and type the dimensions in the Label details dialog box. The custom tag will be added to the list with the friendly name it attaches.
Click OK . In the Envelopes and Labels dialog, select New Document . The Microsoft Word document shows the three index cards marked by dashed border lines. All you have to do is insert the content, print it and cut it into three. Click New Document again to get the next sheet of tokens.
Paper May Still Be Your Deadliest Productivity App 6 Simple Reasons Paper May Still Be Your Killer Productivity App 6 Simple Reasons Paper May Still Be Your Killer Productivity App Paper may be just another tool powerful for productivity than a computer or touch device. You should not be immediately fired. Not convinced? Here are six reasons why the role is still relevant. Read more . A few extra bits of cardstock won't hurt it.
America's first female ambassador once said that the height of sophistication is simplicity. Long before she was wrongly attributed to Steve Jobs. Even Google has embraced this simplicity and brought back the index card in a new digital avatar.
The look and feel of everything from the Knowledge Graph to Google Keep is a subtle homage to the index card. in a Co.Design Article, said Matias Duarte, director of UX for Android.,
Now what about you?
Maybe you can use them as a memory index of alternative ideas like Maria Popova does? Or, be like Ronald Reagan, who used them to throw out his funny catchphrases? You can imitate Vladimir Nabokov and plot his entire book (or just next term's paper) on a series of index cards. At the very least, you can use them to leave love notes for your better half.!
Tell us about your own experience with tokens. And, add your best creative ideas in the comments to help us squeeze the benefits out of a simple stack of cards.
