Setting up Type as a quick capture interface for my TaskPaper journal

I found Type yesterday in the Club MacStories newsletter .

It is a simple app which let’s me append any text (with a timestamp) to plain-text files.

Basically a quick capture tool for running lists.

Append to selected file (from list of running files – a la Merlin Mann’s “runx” file scheme) – Actions – Help & Questions – Drafts Community

Mac Power Users #23: Workflows with Merlin Mann – Relay FM

LaunchBar can be also used to append text to plain-text files .

I haven’t kept any running list before in plain text; I just captured these ideas into Things directly.

I created a couple of new files using Type in my ~/Documents/Running Lists folder. Here are some examples.

Brainstorm.txt

Following the Natural Planning Model in GTD, sometimes the best way to figure out something is to start writing about it.

Free-form thinking environment for writing – Decoding Zettelkasten

Journaling can help us to clarify next actions – Decoding Zettelkasten

Debug.txt

Stole this idea from the Type app website .

It should be a log of steps I used to figure something out while programming.

Since this is just a capture file, steps must be migrated into proper how-tos later.

Meeting.txt

A quick log of any meeting I’m attending to capture what we are talking about at the moment quickly.

Type is focused on just one task: append text to these files. It doesn’t disrupt my workflow.

But I still treat these files as an inbox in a sense, so after I capture anything here, it should be processed.

Instead of introducing yet another inbox, I integrated these files into an existing one.

I’m big on having multiple capture tools, but just a couple of inboxes.

I made a shortcut that is triggered via Keyboard Maestro when I’m reviewing my TaskPaper journal .

The shortcut grabs all running files and then lets me pick one.

It grabs the content from the picked one, then appends it to my TaskPaper journal as a new entry.

Finally, it cleans the picked running list file, so it’s ready for the next batch of ideas.

Here’s a demo video .