Introducing the Hipster PDA


“I’ve found the perfect PDA,” I gushed. My friends perked up. Knowing how much of a geek I am, anything I was that crazy about was bound to be interesting. They leaned over and watched as I reached into my bag and brought out…

Hipster PDA
… my Hipster PDA.

“SACHA?!”


Introducing the Hipster PDA

One of the hottest topics in the productivity blogosphere right now is the Hipster PDA, a surprisingly effective low-tech way to organize your life. Grab a pack of 3″x5″ index cards and a fold-back clip and you’re set to go!

What’s so cool about the Hipster PDA?

  • Gets rid of worries. You don’t have to worry about running out of battery during a critical meeting. You can drop it and it will still work. Even if you dunk it in water, you’ll still be able to recover your data.
  • Grows along with you. Don’t be constrained by software or hardware limitations! You can easily experiment with different ways of planning, and you can expand your Hipster PDA’s memory simply by buying another pack of index cards
    at your nearest bookstore.
  • Helps you stay focused. The Hipster PDA helps you stay focused and on-track by not supporting addictive games like Tradewinds. To help you pass the time, the Hipster PDA comes with a few built-in two-player games like Tic-tac-toe and Hangman.
  • Organizes real-life data. Receipts? Business cards? Movie tickets? No problem! Just tuck them into the fold-back clip and process them when you get home.
  • Beams anything to anyone. You can easily “beam” information to other people–just scribble a note and give it to them. 3×5 index cards don’t crumple easily and can easily be shared with other people no matter what mobile device they use.

Here’s what you can do with your own Hipster PDA:

  • Get a good pen or mechanical pencil. Keep it with your Hipster PDA at all times.
  • Write down one task per index card. You can write down subtasks and notes there as well. Rip up the task card up after completing the task for a satisfying finish.
  • Alternatively, divide your tasks into projects and write down your tasks. Check the tasks off as you finish them.
  • Scribble notes and ideas down on index cards.
  • Write down a month calendar so that you can easily see when you have appointments.
  • Print important contact information on an index card. You can probably fit 50 names and phone numbers. Good backup if your phone is out of battery or gets lost.
  • Print birthdays on an index card, sorted by month and day.
  • Label your Hipster PDA with your contact information just in case it gets lost. (name, phone number, e-mail address)
  • Clip a cheap pen to your Hipster PDA for people who borrow pens. Never lend your good pen.
  • Keep newly-written cards in an “inbox” section (front or back) so that you can process them when you get home.

For more information, check out the following links:
43 Folders: Introducing the Hipster PDA
Technorati: Hipster PDA

Check back on Wednesday for tips on making the most of your Hipster PDA!

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June 4th, 2005
11 Responses
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Reader Comments

Comment Number:
1
Written by:
teena
Posted on:
6/4/2005 at 2:05 pm

hee hee! cool idea! this one goes top shelf with a mini-notebook and good ballpen (nothing beats cheap ballpens :) )

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
iBernie
Posted on:
6/4/2005 at 5:21 pm

I’m sold to this idea since this hipster pda solves one of my biggest headache which is Battery life but I only have one question: How do you play Bejeweled? (IMHO, the only essential app apart from the built-in PIM)

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
hoop
Posted on:
6/5/2005 at 2:24 am

It’s a PDA manufacturer’s dream come true! solves the problem of battery life, OS upgrades and pleases those tree hugger’s by being totally biodegradable :-)

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
mitch
Posted on:
6/5/2005 at 8:18 am

no need to worry abt possibly breaking your PDA when you accidentally happen to throw your bag (PDA inside) on the floor. also a good chance for you to see and use your oft-ignored handwriting :)

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Subgenius
Posted on:
6/5/2005 at 3:28 pm

This is a step in the right direction, with m-ph being a gadget rag out to push the latest and (not necessarily) greatest to all the ready and willing pseudo-geeks out there trying to impress with the latest gadgets. I take it m-ph doesn’t like this at all.

I see this as more of a political statement than an actual “device” you could actually use.

There’s actually an evolved version of the hipster, it’s called “filofax” (or clones). I had one in college when PDAs were non-existent. I worked much better than a deck of index cards… with the integrated pen “silo” and all…

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
Sacha Chua
Posted on:
6/5/2005 at 10:50 pm

Political statement or not, I _do_ actually use it, and I swear by the organizing power of index cards. I tried Filofax-style planners before, but I found paper too difficult to deal with. Giving people slips of paper made me worry about the paper getting crumpled and torn. Index cards are sturdy and easy to give away.

The entire rip-up-the-card-when-you’re-done-with-it is something I never thought of doing with the neat little task lists paper organizers encourage you to keep. Actually, I transfer my day’s scribbles to my laptop and _then_ throw the cards away. It keeps my deck of cards nice and fresh.

I don’t think of index cards and paper organizers as being on some evolutionary line, but rather as approaches that may complement each other. I bought 3×5 organizer refills and used the pre-printed month/year views in my deck of index cards, although the paper’s getting rather crumpled now. No doubt other people stick index cards and Post-It notes into their paper organizers and their pocket notebooks. =) Whatever works!

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. =) Don’t worry. The Hipster PDA isn’t just a statement; it’s a way of life. ;)

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
pow
Posted on:
6/6/2005 at 10:45 am

plus, you never have to worry about scratches on your display

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
Clair
Posted on:
6/7/2005 at 4:32 pm

I still miss my stock of 3×5 neon colored paper. I really prefer having my HPDA in neon colors :lol:

Comment Number:
9
Written by:
Zak Elep
Posted on:
6/7/2005 at 7:02 pm

Thank you again Sacha for this! You even made me one on the spot during the jazz concert last Friday… and now, I’m refilling it with more cards! :D Definitely a big help for my UPOU studies :))

Comment Number:
10
Written by:
Zenjon
Posted on:
7/24/2005 at 11:20 am

Some of these forms are indeed useful, especially when implementing GTD. But in essence, the entire system is really not a whole heck of a lot different/better than a “Pocket ” size filofax. Indeed, I have printed out some of these forms on plain paper, rather than card stock (which seems wasteful), used the Filofax 6-hole punch and incorporated them into my Pocket filofax. Advantages to my Filofax wallet planner over your GTD Hipster include: a place for cash, coins, credit cards. Leather pen/pencil loop. A vinyl envelope that can hold photos and/or stamps. A built-in sticky-note holder that also has sticky page markers. You get useful info pages like weights and measures (USA/Imperial/Metric), Celsius/Fahenheit conversion tables, lists of Notable Dates and Religious Festivals, and a listing of National Holidays for 32 different countries. These holidays are also on the individual relevant daily or weekly diary pages, as is moon phase. You can also buy world maps certain country maps and some major city maps including transportation Tube, Subway, etc. (London, Paris, New York, Chicago, etc.) You can get mylar covered divider taps, either preprinted (Diary, Notes, Information, Financial, Addresses) or blank ones that you could call whatever you want, for example Next Actions, Waiting For, Projects, Project Plans, Calendar. Plus a built-in inch/metric ruler that doubles as a page marker for your diary). A key element for me is portability, which is why I bought the Pocket size (The Mini is just too small, IMHO).

Gee, maybe those 80’s dudes knew what they were doing after all! Congratulations on a tasteful, but ultimately redundant re-inventing of the wheel.

Also, it’s easier to find a page with the looseleaf ff. To “beam” you just rip it out! Plus ça change, plus c’est la memo chose…

Comment Number:
11
Written by:
taorist
Posted on:
12/8/2005 at 1:54 pm

Try pocketmod with this and it’s GTD heaven