new post: plain text journaling

5 files changed, 925 insertions, 12 deletions

diff --git a/docs/index.html b/docs/index.html
index 7b2b6b6..10ed746 100644
--- a/docs/index.html
+++ b/docs/index.html
@@ -40,15 +40,15 @@
     <tr>
         <td class=table-post>
             <div class="date">
-                03/09 — 2022
+                19/06 — 2023
             </div>
-            <a href="/posts/curing_a_case_of_git-UX" class="post-link">
-                <span class="post-link">Curing A Case Of Git-UX</span>
+            <a href="/posts/plain_text_journaling" class="post-link">
+                <span class="post-link">Plain Text Journaling</span>
             </a>
         </td>
         <td class=table-stats>
             <span class="stats-number">
-                9.6
+                8.9
             </span>
             <span class=stats-unit>min</span>
         </td>
@@ -57,15 +57,15 @@
     <tr>
         <td class=table-post>
             <div class="date">
-                28/08 — 2022
+                03/09 — 2022
             </div>
-            <a href="/posts/programming_on_34_keys" class="post-link">
-                <span class="post-link">Programming On 34 Keys</span>
+            <a href="/posts/curing_a_case_of_git-UX" class="post-link">
+                <span class="post-link">Curing A Case Of Git-UX</span>
             </a>
         </td>
         <td class=table-stats>
             <span class="stats-number">
-                6.2
+                9.6
             </span>
             <span class=stats-unit>min</span>
         </td>
@@ -74,15 +74,15 @@
     <tr>
         <td class=table-post>
             <div class="date">
-                02/08 — 2022
+                28/08 — 2022
             </div>
-            <a href="/posts/a_reference_counted_afterlife" class="post-link">
-                <span class="post-link">A Reference Counted Afterlife</span>
+            <a href="/posts/programming_on_34_keys" class="post-link">
+                <span class="post-link">Programming On 34 Keys</span>
             </a>
         </td>
         <td class=table-stats>
             <span class="stats-number">
-                1.6
+                6.2
             </span>
             <span class=stats-unit>min</span>
         </td>
diff --git a/docs/index.xml b/docs/index.xml
index c0277f1..eb43379 100644
--- a/docs/index.xml
+++ b/docs/index.xml
@@ -12,6 +12,247 @@
       <language>en-us</language>
       <copyright>Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0</copyright>
       <item>
+<title>Plain Text Journaling</title>
+<description>&lt;p&gt;I cobbled together a journaling system with {neo,}vim, coreutils and
+&lt;a href="http://www.fresse.org/dateutils"&gt;dateutils&lt;/a&gt;. This system is
+loosely based on &lt;a href="https://www.rydercarroll.com/"&gt;Ryder
+Caroll’s&lt;/a&gt; Bullet Journal method.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://u.peppe.rs/SpF.png"&gt;&lt;img
+src="https://u.peppe.rs/SpF.png" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id="the-format"&gt;The format&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;The journal for a given year is a directory:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;div class="sourceCode" id="cb1"&gt;&lt;pre
+class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;code class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;span id="cb1-1"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb1-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;λ&lt;/span&gt; ls journal/&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb1-2"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb1-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;2022/&lt;/span&gt;   2023/&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;In each directory are 12 files, one for each month of the year,
+numbered like so:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;div class="sourceCode" id="cb2"&gt;&lt;pre
+class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;code class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;span id="cb2-1"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb2-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;λ&lt;/span&gt; ls journal/2023/&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb2-2"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb2-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;01&lt;/span&gt;  02  03  04  05  06  07  08  09  10  11  12&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;We can now begin writing stuff down:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;div class="sourceCode" id="cb3"&gt;&lt;pre
+class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;code class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;span id="cb3-1"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb3-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;λ&lt;/span&gt; vim journal/2023/1&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Every month must start with a calendar of course, fill that in
+with:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre class="vim"&gt;&lt;code&gt;:read !cal -m&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Your entry for January might look like this:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;div class="sourceCode" id="cb5"&gt;&lt;pre
+class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;code class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;span id="cb5-1"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb5-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;λ&lt;/span&gt; cat journal/2023/01&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb5-2"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb5-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;    &lt;span class="ex"&gt;January&lt;/span&gt; 2023&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb5-3"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb5-3" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;Mo&lt;/span&gt; Tu We Th Fr Sa Su&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb5-4"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb5-4" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;                   &lt;span class="ex"&gt;1&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb5-5"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb5-5" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span class="ex"&gt;2&lt;/span&gt;  3  4  5  6  7  8&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb5-6"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb5-6" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span class="ex"&gt;9&lt;/span&gt; 10 11 12 13 14 15&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb5-7"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb5-7" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;16&lt;/span&gt; 17 18 19 20 21 22&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb5-8"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb5-8" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;23&lt;/span&gt; 24 25 26 27 28 29&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb5-9"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb5-9" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;30&lt;/span&gt; 31&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;I prefer planning week by week, as opposed to creating a task-list
+every day, here’s what I have for the first couple of weeks:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;    January 2023
+Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
+                   1
+ 2  3  4  5  6  7  8
+ 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
+16 17 18 19 20 21 22
+23 24 25 26 27 28 29
+30 31
+
+
+week 1
+
+done apply leaves
+done dload boarding pass
+moved reply to dan
+
+
+week 2
+
+todo reply to dan
+todo pack bags
+done travel insurance
+todo weigh luggage&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;I start the week by writing a header and each item that week is
+placed on its own line. The items are prefixed with a &lt;code&gt;todo&lt;/code&gt;
+or a &lt;code&gt;done&lt;/code&gt; signifier.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id="form-over-function"&gt;Form over function&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Right off the bat, the signifiers look very noisy, Even more so once
+we start introducing variety (I use “event”, “note” and “moved”):&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;week 1
+
+todo apply leaves
+done dload boarding pass
+todo reply to dan
+event fr trip
+note weight 68.6&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;We can clean this up with “abbreviations”
+(&lt;code&gt;:h abbreviations&lt;/code&gt;):&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre class="vim"&gt;&lt;code&gt;:iabbrev todo ·
+:iabbrev done ×&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Now, typing this:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;todo apply leaves&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Automatically inserts:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;· apply leaves&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;You can use &lt;code&gt;x&lt;/code&gt; and &lt;code&gt;o&lt;/code&gt; as well, but
+&lt;code&gt;×&lt;/code&gt; (U+00D7, MULTIPLICATION SIGN) and &lt;code&gt;·&lt;/code&gt; (U+00B7,
+MIDDLE DOT) are more … &lt;em&gt;gourmet&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;The other signifiers I use are:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;ul&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;&lt;code&gt;-&lt;/code&gt; for note&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;&lt;code&gt;o&lt;/code&gt; for event&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;&lt;code&gt;&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt; for moved.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;/ul&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Nit #2 is the lack of order. We can employ vim to introduce grouping
+and sorting. Select the list of entries for this week:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre class="vim"&gt;&lt;code&gt;vip         &amp;quot; line-wise select inner paragraph
+:&amp;#39;&amp;lt;,&amp;#39;&amp;gt;sort  &amp;quot; the markers &amp;#39;&amp;lt; and &amp;#39;&amp;gt; are automatically inserted,
+            &amp;quot; they mark the start and end of the selection&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;We end up with:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;week 1
+
+· apply leaves
+· reply to dan
+× dload boarding pass&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;The lines are grouped by their signifiers, segregating todo items
+from completed items. Luckily, MIDDLE DOT is lesser than MULTIPLICATION
+SIGN, so todo items are placed at the top. The same goes for
+&lt;code&gt;o&lt;/code&gt; and &lt;code&gt;x&lt;/code&gt; symbols, either set of signifiers will
+result in the same sorting order.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;We can shorten this select-paragraph-invoke-sort dance by setting the
+&lt;code&gt;formatprg&lt;/code&gt; variable:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre class="vim"&gt;&lt;code&gt;:set formatprg=sort\ -V&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Now, hitting &lt;code&gt;gqip&lt;/code&gt; should automatically group and sort
+the items for the week under the cursor, moving todo items to the top.
+Finding signifier glyphs that suit your sorting preference is a fun
+exercise.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id="syntax-highlighting"&gt;Syntax highlighting&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Adding color to items introduces another layer of visual distinction.
+In truth, I like to deck it out just because.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;First, create a few syntax groups:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre class="vim"&gt;&lt;code&gt;:syntax match JournalAll /.*/        &amp;quot; captures the entire buffer
+:syntax match JournalDone /^×.*/     &amp;quot; lines containing &amp;#39;done&amp;#39;  items: ×
+:syntax match JournalTodo /^·.*/     &amp;quot; lines containing &amp;#39;todo&amp;#39;  items: ·
+:syntax match JournalEvent /^o.*/    &amp;quot; lines containing &amp;#39;event&amp;#39; items: o
+:syntax match JournalNote /^- .*/    &amp;quot; lines containing &amp;#39;note&amp;#39;  items: -
+:syntax match JournalMoved /^&amp;gt;.*/    &amp;quot; lines containing &amp;#39;moved&amp;#39; items: &amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Add highlights to each group:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre class="vim"&gt;&lt;code&gt;:highlight JournalAll    ctermfg=12   &amp;quot; bright black
+:highlight JournalDone   ctermfg=12   &amp;quot; bright black
+:highlight JournalEvent  ctermfg=6    &amp;quot; cyan
+:highlight JournalMoved  ctermfg=5    &amp;quot; magenta
+:highlight JournalNote   ctermfg=3    &amp;quot; yellow&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;In my terminal, this is rendered like so:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://u.peppe.rs/Du6.png"&gt;&lt;img
+src="https://u.peppe.rs/Du6.png" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id="habit-tracking"&gt;Habit tracking&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;While this is not a part of my journaling system anymore, a few
+headers and an awk script is all it takes to track habits. My weekly
+entries would include a couple of habit headers like so:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;week 1 --------------
+
+× wake up on time
+× water the plants
+
+spend 7.5 7 10
+---------------------
+
+
+week 2 --------------
+
+· make the bed
+· go to bed
+
+spend 30 2.75 6
+---------------------&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Here, under the &lt;code&gt;spend&lt;/code&gt; header in week 1, are a list of
+expenditures accumulated over the week. The monthly spend is calculated
+with this awk script:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;div class="sourceCode" id="cb17"&gt;&lt;pre
+class="sourceCode awk"&gt;&lt;code class="sourceCode awk"&gt;&lt;span id="cb17-1"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb17-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="cf"&gt;BEGIN&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="op"&gt;{&lt;/span&gt;spend&lt;span class="op"&gt;=&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="dv"&gt;0&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="op"&gt;;}&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb17-2"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb17-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ot"&gt;/&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="ss"&gt;spend&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="ot"&gt;/&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="op"&gt;{&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="cf"&gt;for&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="op"&gt;(&lt;/span&gt;i&lt;span class="op"&gt;=&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="dv"&gt;1&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="op"&gt;;&lt;/span&gt;i&lt;span class="op"&gt;&amp;lt;=&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="dt"&gt;$NF&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="op"&gt;;&lt;/span&gt;i&lt;span class="op"&gt;++)&lt;/span&gt; spend&lt;span class="op"&gt;+=&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="dt"&gt;$i&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="op"&gt;;}&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb17-3"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb17-3" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="cf"&gt;END&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="op"&gt;{&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="kw"&gt;printf&lt;/span&gt; spend &lt;span class="st"&gt;&amp;quot;eur&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="op"&gt;}&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;And invoked like so:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;λ awk -f spend.awk journal/2023/01
+63.25eur&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;h3 id="reflection"&gt;Reflection&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Journaling is not just about planning what is to come, but also
+reflecting on what has passed. It would make sense to simultaneously
+look at the past few weeks’ entries while making your current one. To
+open multiple months of entries at the same time:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;λ vim -O journal/2023/0{1,2,3}&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Opens 3 months, side-by-side, in vertical splits:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;JANUARY ------------  │  FEBRUARY -----------  │  MARCH --------------
+                      │                        │
+Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su  │  Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su  │  Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
+                   1  │         1  2  3  4  5  │         1  2  3  4  5
+ 2  3  4  5  6  7  8  │   6  7  8  9 10 11 12  │   6  7  8  9 10 11 12
+ 9 10 11 12 13 14 15  │  13 14 15 16 17 18 19  │  13 14 15 16 17 18 19
+16 17 18 19 20 21 22  │  20 21 22 23 24 25 26  │  20 21 22 23 24 25 26
+23 24 25 26 27 28 29  │  27 28                 │  27 28 29 30 31
+30 31                 │                        │
+                      │                        │
+                      │                        │
+WEEK 1 -------------  │  WEEK 1 -------------  │  WEEK 1 -------------
+                      │                        │
+&amp;gt; latex setup         │  &amp;gt; forex               │  - weight: 64
+× make the bed        │  × clean shoes         │  &amp;gt; close sg-pr
+× 03: dentist         │  × buy clothes         │  × facewash
+× integrate tsg       │  × draw                │  × groceries
+                      │                        │
+                      │                        │
+WEEK 2 -------------  │  WEEK 2 -------------  │  WEEK 2 -------------
+                      │                        │
+× latex setup         │  - viral fever         │  &amp;gt; close sg-pr
+× send invoice        │  × forex               │  × plan meet
+× stack-graph pr      │  × activate sim        │  × sg storage
+                      │  × bitlbee             │&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
+&lt;h3 id="reducing-friction"&gt;Reducing friction&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Journaling already requires a solid amount of discipline and
+consistency. The added friction of typing
+&lt;code&gt;vim journal/$CURRENT_YEAR/$CURRENT_MONTH&lt;/code&gt; each time is doing
+no favors.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;To open the current month based on system time:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;div class="sourceCode" id="cb21"&gt;&lt;pre
+class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;code class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;span id="cb21-1"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb21-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;λ&lt;/span&gt; vim &lt;span class="va"&gt;$(&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="fu"&gt;date&lt;/span&gt; +&lt;span class="st"&gt;&amp;quot;%Y/%m&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="va"&gt;)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;To open all the months within a 2 month window of today, is a little
+trickier. The command we wish to generate is (if today is 2023/12):&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;div class="sourceCode" id="cb22"&gt;&lt;pre
+class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;code class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;span id="cb22-1"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb22-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;λ&lt;/span&gt; vim &lt;span class="at"&gt;-O&lt;/span&gt; 2023/10 2023/11 2023/12 2024/01 2024/02&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;And that is where &lt;code&gt;dateseq&lt;/code&gt; from &lt;a
+href="http://www.fresse.org/dateutils"&gt;dateutils&lt;/a&gt; comes in handy, for
+example:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;div class="sourceCode" id="cb23"&gt;&lt;pre
+class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;code class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;span id="cb23-1"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb23-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;λ&lt;/span&gt; dateseq 2012-02-01 2012-03-01&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb23-2"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb23-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;2012-02-01&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb23-3"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb23-3" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;2012-02-02&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb23-4"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb23-4" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;2012-02-03&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb23-5"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb23-5" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb23-6"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb23-6" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;2012-02-28&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb23-7"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb23-7" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;2012-02-29&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb23-8"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb23-8" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;2012-03-01&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;This script opens all months within a 2 month window of today:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;div class="sourceCode" id="cb24"&gt;&lt;pre
+class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;code class="sourceCode bash"&gt;&lt;span id="cb24-1"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb24-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="ex"&gt;λ&lt;/span&gt; vim &lt;span class="at"&gt;-O&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="va"&gt;$(&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb24-2"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb24-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;span class="ex"&gt;dateseq&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="dt"&gt;\&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb24-3"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb24-3" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;      &lt;span class="st"&gt;&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="va"&gt;$(&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="fu"&gt;date&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="at"&gt;--date&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="st"&gt;&amp;quot;2 months ago&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt; +%Y/%m&lt;span class="va"&gt;)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="st"&gt;&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="dt"&gt;\&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb24-4"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb24-4" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;      &lt;span class="st"&gt;&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="va"&gt;$(&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="fu"&gt;date&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="at"&gt;--date&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="st"&gt;&amp;quot;2 months&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt; +%Y/%m&lt;span class="va"&gt;)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="st"&gt;&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="dt"&gt;\&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb24-5"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb24-5" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;      &lt;span class="at"&gt;-i&lt;/span&gt; %Y/%m &lt;span class="dt"&gt;\&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb24-6"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb24-6" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;      &lt;span class="at"&gt;-f&lt;/span&gt; %Y/%m&lt;/span&gt;
+&lt;span id="cb24-7"&gt;&lt;a href="#cb24-7" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="va"&gt;)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
+&lt;h3 id="fin"&gt;Fin&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;You can find a sample vimrc file here: &lt;a
+href="https://git.peppe.rs/cli/journal/tree"&gt;cli/journal&lt;/a&gt;, along with
+a nix flake file to kick things off.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Plain text journaling can be just as much fun as a pen and paper.
+Throw in some ASCII art for each month, use swankier signifiers, or
+louder syntax highlighting. Don’t expect forgiveness from org-mode users
+though.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://u.peppe.rs/ZCK.png"&gt;&lt;img
+src="https://u.peppe.rs/ZCK.png" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
+<link>https://peppe.rs/posts/plain_text_journaling/</link>
+<pubDate>Sun, 18 Jun 2023 19:40:00 +0000</pubDate>
+<guid>https://peppe.rs/posts/plain_text_journaling/</guid>
+</item>
+<item>
 <title>Curing A Case Of Git-UX</title>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;Git worktrees are great, but they fall behind the venerable
 &lt;code&gt;git checkout&lt;/code&gt; sometimes. I attempted to fix that with &lt;a
diff --git a/docs/posts/index.html b/docs/posts/index.html
index 4ed7f2d..9fcc773 100644
--- a/docs/posts/index.html
+++ b/docs/posts/index.html
@@ -27,6 +27,23 @@
     <tr>
         <td class=table-post>
             <div class="date">
+                19/06 — 2023
+            </div>
+            <a href="/posts/plain_text_journaling" class="post-link">
+                <span class="post-link">Plain Text Journaling</span>
+            </a>
+        </td>
+        <td class=table-stats>
+            <span class="stats-number">
+                8.9
+            </span>
+            <span class=stats-unit>min</span>
+        </td>
+    </tr>
+    
+    <tr>
+        <td class=table-post>
+            <div class="date">
                 03/09 — 2022
             </div>
             <a href="/posts/curing_a_case_of_git-UX" class="post-link">
diff --git a/docs/posts/plain_text_journaling/index.html b/docs/posts/plain_text_journaling/index.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1ef9011
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/posts/plain_text_journaling/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,308 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <link rel="stylesheet" href="/style.css">
+    <link rel="stylesheet" href="/syntax.css">
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1">
+    <meta content="#ffffff" name="theme-color">
+    <meta name="HandheldFriendly" content="true">
+    <meta property="og:title" content="Plain Text Journaling">
+    <meta property="og:type" content="website">
+    <meta property="og:description" content="a static site {for, by, about} me ">
+    <meta property="og:url" content="https://peppe.rs">
+    <link rel="icon" type="image/x-icon" href="/favicon.png">
+    <title>Plain Text Journaling · peppe.rs</title>
+    <body>
+      <div class="posts">
+        <div class="post">
+          <a href="/" class="post-end-link">Home</a>
+          <span>/</span>
+          <a href="/posts" class="post-end-link">Posts</a>
+          <span>/</span>
+          <a class="post-end-link">Plain Text Journaling</a>
+          <a class="stats post-end-link" href="https://git.peppe.rs/web/site/plain/posts/plain_text_journaling.md
+">View Raw</a>
+          <div class="separator"></div>
+          <div class="date">
+            19/06 — 2023
+            <div class="stats">
+              <span class="stats-number">
+                138.66
+              </span>
+              <span class="stats-unit">cm</span>
+              &nbsp
+              <span class="stats-number">
+                8.9
+              </span>
+              <span class="stats-unit">min</span>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+          <h1>
+            Plain Text Journaling
+          </h1>
+          <div class="post-text">
+            <p>I cobbled together a journaling system with {neo,}vim, coreutils and
+<a href="http://www.fresse.org/dateutils">dateutils</a>. This system is
+loosely based on <a href="https://www.rydercarroll.com/">Ryder
+Caroll’s</a> Bullet Journal method.</p>
+<p><a href="https://u.peppe.rs/SpF.png"><img
+src="https://u.peppe.rs/SpF.png" /></a></p>
+<h3 id="the-format">The format</h3>
+<p>The journal for a given year is a directory:</p>
+<div class="sourceCode" id="cb1"><pre
+class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb1-1"><a href="#cb1-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">λ</span> ls journal/</span>
+<span id="cb1-2"><a href="#cb1-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">2022/</span>   2023/</span></code></pre></div>
+<p>In each directory are 12 files, one for each month of the year,
+numbered like so:</p>
+<div class="sourceCode" id="cb2"><pre
+class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb2-1"><a href="#cb2-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">λ</span> ls journal/2023/</span>
+<span id="cb2-2"><a href="#cb2-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">01</span>  02  03  04  05  06  07  08  09  10  11  12</span></code></pre></div>
+<p>We can now begin writing stuff down:</p>
+<div class="sourceCode" id="cb3"><pre
+class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb3-1"><a href="#cb3-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">λ</span> vim journal/2023/1</span></code></pre></div>
+<p>Every month must start with a calendar of course, fill that in
+with:</p>
+<pre class="vim"><code>:read !cal -m</code></pre>
+<p>Your entry for January might look like this:</p>
+<div class="sourceCode" id="cb5"><pre
+class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb5-1"><a href="#cb5-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">λ</span> cat journal/2023/01</span>
+<span id="cb5-2"><a href="#cb5-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a>    <span class="ex">January</span> 2023</span>
+<span id="cb5-3"><a href="#cb5-3" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">Mo</span> Tu We Th Fr Sa Su</span>
+<span id="cb5-4"><a href="#cb5-4" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a>                   <span class="ex">1</span></span>
+<span id="cb5-5"><a href="#cb5-5" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a> <span class="ex">2</span>  3  4  5  6  7  8</span>
+<span id="cb5-6"><a href="#cb5-6" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a> <span class="ex">9</span> 10 11 12 13 14 15</span>
+<span id="cb5-7"><a href="#cb5-7" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">16</span> 17 18 19 20 21 22</span>
+<span id="cb5-8"><a href="#cb5-8" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">23</span> 24 25 26 27 28 29</span>
+<span id="cb5-9"><a href="#cb5-9" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">30</span> 31</span></code></pre></div>
+<p>I prefer planning week by week, as opposed to creating a task-list
+every day, here’s what I have for the first couple of weeks:</p>
+<pre><code>    January 2023
+Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
+                   1
+ 2  3  4  5  6  7  8
+ 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
+16 17 18 19 20 21 22
+23 24 25 26 27 28 29
+30 31
+
+
+week 1
+
+done apply leaves
+done dload boarding pass
+moved reply to dan
+
+
+week 2
+
+todo reply to dan
+todo pack bags
+done travel insurance
+todo weigh luggage</code></pre>
+<p>I start the week by writing a header and each item that week is
+placed on its own line. The items are prefixed with a <code>todo</code>
+or a <code>done</code> signifier.</p>
+<h3 id="form-over-function">Form over function</h3>
+<p>Right off the bat, the signifiers look very noisy, Even more so once
+we start introducing variety (I use “event”, “note” and “moved”):</p>
+<pre><code>week 1
+
+todo apply leaves
+done dload boarding pass
+todo reply to dan
+event fr trip
+note weight 68.6</code></pre>
+<p>We can clean this up with “abbreviations”
+(<code>:h abbreviations</code>):</p>
+<pre class="vim"><code>:iabbrev todo ·
+:iabbrev done ×</code></pre>
+<p>Now, typing this:</p>
+<pre><code>todo apply leaves</code></pre>
+<p>Automatically inserts:</p>
+<pre><code>· apply leaves</code></pre>
+<p>You can use <code>x</code> and <code>o</code> as well, but
+<code>×</code> (U+00D7, MULTIPLICATION SIGN) and <code>·</code> (U+00B7,
+MIDDLE DOT) are more … <em>gourmet</em>.</p>
+<p>The other signifiers I use are:</p>
+<ul>
+<li><code>-</code> for note</li>
+<li><code>o</code> for event</li>
+<li><code>&gt;</code> for moved.</li>
+</ul>
+<p>Nit #2 is the lack of order. We can employ vim to introduce grouping
+and sorting. Select the list of entries for this week:</p>
+<pre class="vim"><code>vip         &quot; line-wise select inner paragraph
+:&#39;&lt;,&#39;&gt;sort  &quot; the markers &#39;&lt; and &#39;&gt; are automatically inserted,
+            &quot; they mark the start and end of the selection</code></pre>
+<p>We end up with:</p>
+<pre><code>week 1
+
+· apply leaves
+· reply to dan
+× dload boarding pass</code></pre>
+<p>The lines are grouped by their signifiers, segregating todo items
+from completed items. Luckily, MIDDLE DOT is lesser than MULTIPLICATION
+SIGN, so todo items are placed at the top. The same goes for
+<code>o</code> and <code>x</code> symbols, either set of signifiers will
+result in the same sorting order.</p>
+<p>We can shorten this select-paragraph-invoke-sort dance by setting the
+<code>formatprg</code> variable:</p>
+<pre class="vim"><code>:set formatprg=sort\ -V</code></pre>
+<p>Now, hitting <code>gqip</code> should automatically group and sort
+the items for the week under the cursor, moving todo items to the top.
+Finding signifier glyphs that suit your sorting preference is a fun
+exercise.</p>
+<h3 id="syntax-highlighting">Syntax highlighting</h3>
+<p>Adding color to items introduces another layer of visual distinction.
+In truth, I like to deck it out just because.</p>
+<p>First, create a few syntax groups:</p>
+<pre class="vim"><code>:syntax match JournalAll /.*/        &quot; captures the entire buffer
+:syntax match JournalDone /^×.*/     &quot; lines containing &#39;done&#39;  items: ×
+:syntax match JournalTodo /^·.*/     &quot; lines containing &#39;todo&#39;  items: ·
+:syntax match JournalEvent /^o.*/    &quot; lines containing &#39;event&#39; items: o
+:syntax match JournalNote /^- .*/    &quot; lines containing &#39;note&#39;  items: -
+:syntax match JournalMoved /^&gt;.*/    &quot; lines containing &#39;moved&#39; items: &gt;</code></pre>
+<p>Add highlights to each group:</p>
+<pre class="vim"><code>:highlight JournalAll    ctermfg=12   &quot; bright black
+:highlight JournalDone   ctermfg=12   &quot; bright black
+:highlight JournalEvent  ctermfg=6    &quot; cyan
+:highlight JournalMoved  ctermfg=5    &quot; magenta
+:highlight JournalNote   ctermfg=3    &quot; yellow</code></pre>
+<p>In my terminal, this is rendered like so:</p>
+<p><a href="https://u.peppe.rs/Du6.png"><img
+src="https://u.peppe.rs/Du6.png" /></a></p>
+<h3 id="habit-tracking">Habit tracking</h3>
+<p>While this is not a part of my journaling system anymore, a few
+headers and an awk script is all it takes to track habits. My weekly
+entries would include a couple of habit headers like so:</p>
+<pre><code>week 1 --------------
+
+× wake up on time
+× water the plants
+
+spend 7.5 7 10
+---------------------
+
+
+week 2 --------------
+
+· make the bed
+· go to bed
+
+spend 30 2.75 6
+---------------------</code></pre>
+<p>Here, under the <code>spend</code> header in week 1, are a list of
+expenditures accumulated over the week. The monthly spend is calculated
+with this awk script:</p>
+<div class="sourceCode" id="cb17"><pre
+class="sourceCode awk"><code class="sourceCode awk"><span id="cb17-1"><a href="#cb17-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="cf">BEGIN</span> <span class="op">{</span>spend<span class="op">=</span><span class="dv">0</span><span class="op">;}</span></span>
+<span id="cb17-2"><a href="#cb17-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ot">/</span><span class="ss">spend</span><span class="ot">/</span> <span class="op">{</span><span class="cf">for</span><span class="op">(</span>i<span class="op">=</span><span class="dv">1</span><span class="op">;</span>i<span class="op">&lt;=</span><span class="dt">$NF</span><span class="op">;</span>i<span class="op">++)</span> spend<span class="op">+=</span><span class="dt">$i</span><span class="op">;}</span></span>
+<span id="cb17-3"><a href="#cb17-3" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="cf">END</span> <span class="op">{</span> <span class="kw">printf</span> spend <span class="st">&quot;eur&quot;</span><span class="op">}</span></span></code></pre></div>
+<p>And invoked like so:</p>
+<pre><code>λ awk -f spend.awk journal/2023/01
+63.25eur</code></pre>
+<h3 id="reflection">Reflection</h3>
+<p>Journaling is not just about planning what is to come, but also
+reflecting on what has passed. It would make sense to simultaneously
+look at the past few weeks’ entries while making your current one. To
+open multiple months of entries at the same time:</p>
+<pre><code>λ vim -O journal/2023/0{1,2,3}</code></pre>
+<p>Opens 3 months, side-by-side, in vertical splits:</p>
+<pre><code>JANUARY ------------  │  FEBRUARY -----------  │  MARCH --------------
+                      │                        │
+Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su  │  Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su  │  Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
+                   1  │         1  2  3  4  5  │         1  2  3  4  5
+ 2  3  4  5  6  7  8  │   6  7  8  9 10 11 12  │   6  7  8  9 10 11 12
+ 9 10 11 12 13 14 15  │  13 14 15 16 17 18 19  │  13 14 15 16 17 18 19
+16 17 18 19 20 21 22  │  20 21 22 23 24 25 26  │  20 21 22 23 24 25 26
+23 24 25 26 27 28 29  │  27 28                 │  27 28 29 30 31
+30 31                 │                        │
+                      │                        │
+                      │                        │
+WEEK 1 -------------  │  WEEK 1 -------------  │  WEEK 1 -------------
+                      │                        │
+&gt; latex setup         │  &gt; forex               │  - weight: 64
+× make the bed        │  × clean shoes         │  &gt; close sg-pr
+× 03: dentist         │  × buy clothes         │  × facewash
+× integrate tsg       │  × draw                │  × groceries
+                      │                        │
+                      │                        │
+WEEK 2 -------------  │  WEEK 2 -------------  │  WEEK 2 -------------
+                      │                        │
+× latex setup         │  - viral fever         │  &gt; close sg-pr
+× send invoice        │  × forex               │  × plan meet
+× stack-graph pr      │  × activate sim        │  × sg storage
+                      │  × bitlbee             │</code></pre>
+<h3 id="reducing-friction">Reducing friction</h3>
+<p>Journaling already requires a solid amount of discipline and
+consistency. The added friction of typing
+<code>vim journal/$CURRENT_YEAR/$CURRENT_MONTH</code> each time is doing
+no favors.</p>
+<p>To open the current month based on system time:</p>
+<div class="sourceCode" id="cb21"><pre
+class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb21-1"><a href="#cb21-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">λ</span> vim <span class="va">$(</span><span class="fu">date</span> +<span class="st">&quot;%Y/%m&quot;</span><span class="va">)</span></span></code></pre></div>
+<p>To open all the months within a 2 month window of today, is a little
+trickier. The command we wish to generate is (if today is 2023/12):</p>
+<div class="sourceCode" id="cb22"><pre
+class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb22-1"><a href="#cb22-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">λ</span> vim <span class="at">-O</span> 2023/10 2023/11 2023/12 2024/01 2024/02</span></code></pre></div>
+<p>And that is where <code>dateseq</code> from <a
+href="http://www.fresse.org/dateutils">dateutils</a> comes in handy, for
+example:</p>
+<div class="sourceCode" id="cb23"><pre
+class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb23-1"><a href="#cb23-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">λ</span> dateseq 2012-02-01 2012-03-01</span>
+<span id="cb23-2"><a href="#cb23-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">2012-02-01</span></span>
+<span id="cb23-3"><a href="#cb23-3" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">2012-02-02</span></span>
+<span id="cb23-4"><a href="#cb23-4" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">2012-02-03</span></span>
+<span id="cb23-5"><a href="#cb23-5" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">...</span></span>
+<span id="cb23-6"><a href="#cb23-6" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">2012-02-28</span></span>
+<span id="cb23-7"><a href="#cb23-7" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">2012-02-29</span></span>
+<span id="cb23-8"><a href="#cb23-8" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">2012-03-01</span></span></code></pre></div>
+<p>This script opens all months within a 2 month window of today:</p>
+<div class="sourceCode" id="cb24"><pre
+class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb24-1"><a href="#cb24-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="ex">λ</span> vim <span class="at">-O</span> <span class="va">$(</span></span>
+<span id="cb24-2"><a href="#cb24-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a>  <span class="ex">dateseq</span> <span class="dt">\</span></span>
+<span id="cb24-3"><a href="#cb24-3" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a>      <span class="st">&quot;</span><span class="va">$(</span><span class="fu">date</span> <span class="at">--date</span> <span class="st">&quot;2 months ago&quot;</span> +%Y/%m<span class="va">)</span><span class="st">&quot;</span> <span class="dt">\</span></span>
+<span id="cb24-4"><a href="#cb24-4" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a>      <span class="st">&quot;</span><span class="va">$(</span><span class="fu">date</span> <span class="at">--date</span> <span class="st">&quot;2 months&quot;</span> +%Y/%m<span class="va">)</span><span class="st">&quot;</span> <span class="dt">\</span></span>
+<span id="cb24-5"><a href="#cb24-5" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a>      <span class="at">-i</span> %Y/%m <span class="dt">\</span></span>
+<span id="cb24-6"><a href="#cb24-6" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a>      <span class="at">-f</span> %Y/%m</span>
+<span id="cb24-7"><a href="#cb24-7" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="va">)</span></span></code></pre></div>
+<h3 id="fin">Fin</h3>
+<p>You can find a sample vimrc file here: <a
+href="https://git.peppe.rs/cli/journal/tree">cli/journal</a>, along with
+a nix flake file to kick things off.</p>
+<p>Plain text journaling can be just as much fun as a pen and paper.
+Throw in some ASCII art for each month, use swankier signifiers, or
+louder syntax highlighting. Don’t expect forgiveness from org-mode users
+though.</p>
+<p><a href="https://u.peppe.rs/ZCK.png"><img
+src="https://u.peppe.rs/ZCK.png" /></a></p>
+
+          </div>
+          
+    <div class="intro">
+        Hi. 
+        <div class="hot-links">
+            <a href="https://peppe.rs/index.xml" class="feed-button">Subscribe</a>
+        </div>
+        <p>I'm Akshay, programmer and pixel-artist.</p>
+        <p>
+        I write <a href="https://git.peppe.rs">open-source stuff</a> to pass time. 
+        I also design fonts: 
+        <a href="https://git.peppe.rs/fonts/scientifica/about">scientifica</a>, 
+        <a href="https://git.peppe.rs/fonts/curie/about">curie</a>.
+        </p>
+        <p>Send me a mail at [email protected] or a message at [email protected].</p>
+    </div>
+    
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+          <a class="post-end-link">Plain Text Journaling</a>
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+</html>
diff --git a/posts/plain_text_journaling.md b/posts/plain_text_journaling.md
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+I cobbled together a journaling system with {neo,}vim,
+coreutils and [dateutils](http://www.fresse.org/dateutils).
+This system is loosely based on [Ryder
+Caroll's](https://www.rydercarroll.com/) Bullet Journal
+method.
+
+[![](https://u.peppe.rs/SpF.png)](https://u.peppe.rs/SpF.png)
+
+### The format
+
+The journal for a given year is a directory:
+
+```bash
+λ ls journal/
+2022/   2023/
+```
+
+In each directory are 12 files, one for each month of the
+year, numbered like so:
+
+```bash
+λ ls journal/2023/
+01  02  03  04  05  06  07  08  09  10  11  12
+```
+
+We can now begin writing stuff down:
+
+```bash
+λ vim journal/2023/1
+```
+
+Every month must start with a calendar of course, fill that
+in with:
+
+```vim
+:read !cal -m
+```
+
+Your entry for January might look like this:
+
+```bash
+λ cat journal/2023/01
+    January 2023
+Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
+                   1
+ 2  3  4  5  6  7  8
+ 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
+16 17 18 19 20 21 22
+23 24 25 26 27 28 29
+30 31
+```
+
+I prefer planning week by week, as opposed to creating a
+task-list every day, here's what I have for the first couple
+of weeks:
+
+```
+    January 2023
+Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
+                   1
+ 2  3  4  5  6  7  8
+ 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
+16 17 18 19 20 21 22
+23 24 25 26 27 28 29
+30 31
+
+
+week 1
+
+done apply leaves
+done dload boarding pass
+moved reply to dan
+
+
+week 2
+
+todo reply to dan
+todo pack bags
+done travel insurance
+todo weigh luggage
+```
+
+I start the week by writing a header and each item that week
+is placed on its own line. The items are prefixed with a
+`todo` or a `done` signifier.
+
+
+### Form over function
+
+Right off the bat, the signifiers look very noisy, Even more
+so once we start introducing variety (I use "event", "note"
+and "moved"):
+
+```
+week 1
+
+todo apply leaves
+done dload boarding pass
+todo reply to dan
+event fr trip
+note weight 68.6
+```
+
+We can clean this up with "abbreviations" (`:h abbreviations`):
+
+```vim
+:iabbrev todo ·
+:iabbrev done ×
+```
+
+Now, typing this:
+
+```
+todo apply leaves
+```
+
+Automatically inserts:
+
+```
+· apply leaves
+```
+
+You can use `x` and `o` as well, but `×` (U+00D7,
+MULTIPLICATION SIGN) and `·` (U+00B7, MIDDLE DOT) are more
+... *gourmet*.
+
+The other signifiers I use are:
+
+- `-` for note
+- `o` for event 
+- `>` for moved.
+
+Nit #2 is the lack of order. We can employ vim to introduce
+grouping and sorting. Select the list of entries for this
+week:
+
+```vim
+vip         " line-wise select inner paragraph
+:'<,'>sort  " the markers '< and '> are automatically inserted,
+            " they mark the start and end of the selection
+```
+
+We end up with:
+
+```
+week 1
+
+· apply leaves
+· reply to dan
+× dload boarding pass
+```
+
+The lines are grouped by their signifiers, segregating todo
+items from completed items. Luckily, MIDDLE DOT is lesser
+than MULTIPLICATION SIGN, so todo items are placed at the
+top. The same goes for `o` and `x` symbols, either set of
+signifiers will result in the same sorting order.
+
+We can shorten this select-paragraph-invoke-sort dance by
+setting the `formatprg` variable:
+
+```vim
+:set formatprg=sort\ -V
+```
+
+Now, hitting `gqip` should automatically group and sort the
+items for the week under the cursor, moving todo items to
+the top. Finding signifier glyphs that suit your sorting
+preference is a fun exercise.
+
+### Syntax highlighting
+
+Adding color to items introduces another layer of visual
+distinction. In truth, I like to deck it out just because.
+
+First, create a few syntax groups:
+
+```vim
+:syntax match JournalAll /.*/        " captures the entire buffer
+:syntax match JournalDone /^×.*/     " lines containing 'done'  items: ×
+:syntax match JournalTodo /^·.*/     " lines containing 'todo'  items: ·
+:syntax match JournalEvent /^o.*/    " lines containing 'event' items: o
+:syntax match JournalNote /^- .*/    " lines containing 'note'  items: -
+:syntax match JournalMoved /^>.*/    " lines containing 'moved' items: >
+```
+
+Add highlights to each group:
+
+```vim
+:highlight JournalAll    ctermfg=12   " bright black
+:highlight JournalDone   ctermfg=12   " bright black
+:highlight JournalEvent  ctermfg=6    " cyan
+:highlight JournalMoved  ctermfg=5    " magenta
+:highlight JournalNote   ctermfg=3    " yellow
+```
+
+In my terminal, this is rendered like so:
+
+[![](https://u.peppe.rs/Du6.png)](https://u.peppe.rs/Du6.png)
+
+### Habit tracking
+
+While this is not a part of my journaling system anymore, a
+few headers and an awk script is all it takes to track
+habits. My weekly entries would include a couple of habit
+headers like so:
+
+```
+week 1 --------------
+
+× wake up on time
+× water the plants
+
+spend 7.5 7 10
+---------------------
+
+
+week 2 --------------
+
+· make the bed
+· go to bed
+
+spend 30 2.75 6
+---------------------
+```
+
+Here, under the `spend` header in week 1, are a list of
+expenditures accumulated over the week. The monthly spend is
+calculated with this awk script:
+
+```awk
+BEGIN {spend=0;}
+/spend/ {for(i=1;i<=$NF;i++) spend+=$i;}
+END { printf spend "eur"}
+```
+
+And invoked like so:
+
+```
+λ awk -f spend.awk journal/2023/01
+63.25eur
+```
+
+### Reflection
+
+Journaling is not just about planning what is to come, but
+also reflecting on what has passed. It would make sense to
+simultaneously look at the past few weeks' entries while
+making your current one. To open multiple months of entries
+at the same time:
+
+```
+λ vim -O journal/2023/0{1,2,3}
+```
+
+Opens 3 months, side-by-side, in vertical splits:
+
+```
+JANUARY ------------  │  FEBRUARY -----------  │  MARCH --------------
+                      │                        │
+Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su  │  Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su  │  Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
+                   1  │         1  2  3  4  5  │         1  2  3  4  5
+ 2  3  4  5  6  7  8  │   6  7  8  9 10 11 12  │   6  7  8  9 10 11 12
+ 9 10 11 12 13 14 15  │  13 14 15 16 17 18 19  │  13 14 15 16 17 18 19
+16 17 18 19 20 21 22  │  20 21 22 23 24 25 26  │  20 21 22 23 24 25 26
+23 24 25 26 27 28 29  │  27 28                 │  27 28 29 30 31
+30 31                 │                        │
+                      │                        │
+                      │                        │
+WEEK 1 -------------  │  WEEK 1 -------------  │  WEEK 1 -------------
+                      │                        │
+> latex setup         │  > forex               │  - weight: 64
+× make the bed        │  × clean shoes         │  > close sg-pr
+× 03: dentist         │  × buy clothes         │  × facewash
+× integrate tsg       │  × draw                │  × groceries
+                      │                        │
+                      │                        │
+WEEK 2 -------------  │  WEEK 2 -------------  │  WEEK 2 -------------
+                      │                        │
+× latex setup         │  - viral fever         │  > close sg-pr
+× send invoice        │  × forex               │  × plan meet
+× stack-graph pr      │  × activate sim        │  × sg storage
+                      │  × bitlbee             │
+```
+
+### Reducing friction
+
+Journaling already requires a solid amount of discipline and
+consistency. The added friction of typing `vim
+journal/$CURRENT_YEAR/$CURRENT_MONTH` each time is doing no
+favors. 
+
+To open the current month based on system time:
+
+```bash
+λ vim $(date +"%Y/%m")
+```
+
+To open all the months within a 2 month window of today, is
+a little trickier. The command we wish to generate is (if
+today is 2023/12):
+
+```bash
+λ vim -O 2023/10 2023/11 2023/12 2024/01 2024/02
+```
+
+And that is where `dateseq` from
+[dateutils](http://www.fresse.org/dateutils) comes in handy,
+for example:
+
+```bash
+λ dateseq 2012-02-01 2012-03-01
+2012-02-01
+2012-02-02
+2012-02-03
+...
+2012-02-28
+2012-02-29
+2012-03-01
+```
+
+This script opens all months within a 2 month window of
+today:
+
+```bash
+λ vim -O $(
+  dateseq \
+      "$(date --date "2 months ago" +%Y/%m)" \
+      "$(date --date "2 months" +%Y/%m)" \
+      -i %Y/%m \
+      -f %Y/%m
+)
+```
+
+
+### Fin
+
+You can find a sample vimrc file here:
+[cli/journal](https://git.peppe.rs/cli/journal/tree), along
+with a nix flake file to kick things off.
+
+Plain text journaling can be just as much fun as a pen and
+paper. Throw in some ASCII art for each month, use swankier
+signifiers, or louder syntax highlighting. Don't expect
+forgiveness from org-mode users though.
+
+[![](https://u.peppe.rs/ZCK.png)](https://u.peppe.rs/ZCK.png)