OmniOutliner-Users Digest, Vol 12, Issue 8

[L&L Pfeffer]

> Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2004 10:07:22 -0800
> From: Michael Sauer <msauer at unlv.nevada.edu>
> Subject: Use of OmniOutliner for Non-hierarchical Information
> I wanted to ask people how they use OmniOutliner to represent, process,
> and think through non-hierarchical information.  What I mean by
> non-hierarchical information are things that usually are represented as
> links to other things that lead to reading in a non-linear fashion.

I find most of my information falls into broad categories, often with 
some sort of order to them. [Do Any Time; Do after House is Sold but 
before moving; etc.] Or the info may fall into thematic groupings: Old 
house cleanup; Searching for a new school, etc.

These examples are from an outline I'm working on, listing all the 
things I need to do before a (possible) job-based relocation of our 
family. Here's my broad Structure:

Earliest Steps
   Declutter
   Prepare house for sale
   Set up file system
Sell Current house
   Find RE Agent
   Collect paperwork
   Sales Tips (gleaned from the 'net, newspaper, friends, etc.)
School Issues
   etc., etc.

Many of the steps are really unrelated, but fall into either 
time-sensitive things or subject sensitive. I decide where I would 
first look for the info, then put it there.

For *really* random thoughts, I use Graffle, putting each thought into 
a box, then drawing lines to relate thoughts. Usually a structure 
emerges out of the mess.

--Liz