Getting Organized and Refocused

Finally getting back on track and setting some goals, one of which is to update this blog (and my others) more often.

I’ve recently discovered OneNote hiding in the Microsoft Office suite. At first glance, it seems to be a tremendously useful tool, and I’m a little upset that I haven’t even heard of it before. It’s great for organization, which is something that I lack when it comes to big projects. Along the left edge of the screen are Notebooks. This is where I set up the different projects I’m working on. For an example, I’ll use the RPG system I’m slowly designing, which is the first project I added. Along the top of the screen, I can designate different sections. In this case, I’ve got one for the Basic System, one for Combat, and one for Social Combat (until I figure out what I want to call it other than Social Combat). Once I’ve clicked on one of those, I can select different pages along the right of the screen. Under the Basic System section I mentioned, I’ve got pages for Traits, Skills, and the Basic Mechanic that I’ll be working with in this game. The bulk of the screen is whatever page of got selected. When I click on Traits, for example, I see my list of the Traits I’ve decided to use, my short descriptions of them, and a brief note detailing how I think they should work mechanically. Even on the page, everything is its own separate item, so I can move them around easily, placing something that I’ve just written right next to something I wrote last week. I can even toss in pictures or captured web sites.

As a basic brainstorming and organization tool, OneNote really seems like the way to go. I look forward to using it quite a bit more. Anyone else have any other programs or tools that help with this kind of thing, or any experience using OneNote?