Re: How to use headlines and lists in Org to structure your thoughts?

[Jeff Horn <jrhorn424@gmail.com>]

Karl,

I've struggled with this a lot as well. I basically just use headlines
for sectioning, lists and text for everything else. Sometimes I
outline exclusively using headings until I start to write, at which
point most are demoted and expanded into paragraphs.

> I think these are the reasons for me to use lists a lot. But if I do
> so, I cannot define tasks in my texts - the core concept of Org. To
> solve this dilemma, I can think of two different approaches:

This has been frustrating for me as well! The saving feature for me
has been org-capture, which I've configured to save a link back to the
file from which it was called. As long as items show up in the agenda,
I'm less than picky about whether they show up in project notes.

> 1. Make it possible to use inline tasks withhin lists. This is what
>   Nicolas implemented (thanks a lot!!!) and what works very well. But
>   it is not a "nice" concept. We discussed this already and I
>   understand the reasons why Carsten and Nicolas himself have
>   reservations. It it only a workaround.
> 2. Make headlines behave like list items. This means enabling word
>   wrap for headlines and export the headlines as lists. If a headline
>   should be exported as a headline you could use a tag :HEADLINE:. If
>   this would be possible, I cannot see a reason why I should make
>   such extensive use of lists.

Having said that, I think having TODOs in list items would be useful
for me. I haven't followed the discussion regarding Nick's patches, so
something like the following may not be feasible:

- TODO A list item todo, with properties.
  :PROPERTIES:
  :NIFTY: t
  :END:

But, I can imagine using such a feature often.

Best,
Jeff

-- 
Jeffrey Horn
Graduate Lecturer and PhD Student in Economics
George Mason University

(704) 271-4797
jhorn@gmu.edu
jrhorn424@gmail.com

http://www.failuretorefrain.com/jeff/