Ideas on FloCal

Managing Information Sources

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 19:56:56 +0800

This workflow helps you manage the flood of information you encounter when working on research projects.

First, recognize the different types and channels of information: videos, papers, books, social-media posts, web pages, recommendations from colleagues, and content from streaming platforms. Much of this arrives passively through subscriptions or RSS feeds, while other material is found actively via search engines or AI tools. The key is to select information based on your purpose instead of trying to consume everything that appears.

Second, consolidate relevant items in one place so they can support your projects and thinking. Web pages can be clipped, while papers and books are better stored as local files. I use Obsidian Web Clipper for web pages and Zotero for local files and references. Plugins can import metadata from local files into the same repository that holds clipped web pages. This consolidated library helps you focus on the most relevant material.

Finally, review the items you selected. I link each item to a project note and tag its review status (e.g., unread, reading, reviewed). This makes it easy to track progress and to see how much remains to be read. The figure below shows the review state for a particular project:

The list of information

In conclusion, stay selective when you are surrounded by countless information: choose relevant web pages, messages, papers, books, and videos; consolidate them in one place; and set aside time to review them systematically.

Qualities of Researcher

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 13:43:13 +0800

As an undergraduate student, I was puzzled about many research-related activities, although I found research work fascinating. Later, I participated in several research projects while preparing for my master’s degree and joined a modern research center as a research assistant. From these experiences I have some answers to my earlier questions. If you are wondering what research is or how to become a researcher, this article offers a few insights I would like to share.

What is research?

I think solving problems is the core of research. For a question that interests you or one assigned by your supervisor, the goal of research is to provide a valuable solution that improves efficiency, reduces resource use, or corrects earlier methods.

Although solving is important, finding and defining problems often consumes the most time. One situation is that you start by surveying the literature and other materials related to your topic, and from that survey you identify a problem that interests you. Another situation is that you observe an unexpected phenomenon and abstract it into a research question or model. After you identify a research problem, you usually face a large challenge and must split it into smaller, manageable subproblems. Meanwhile, unexpected issues often emerge during the research, so you will need to consult new papers or resources to refine your problem formulation or update your methods.

When you work through a set of issues and obtain a meaningful solution for a subproblem, sharing your process is important. Communicating your results may bring recognition, but more commonly it reveals hidden or neglected issues that become your next challenge.

How to become a good researcher

In my opinion, some important qualities help you overcome difficult problems during research. When you identify problems in your research area, the following abilities can save time and energy.

Receive and filter information
- To understand a problem, its formulas, or related concepts, you should read multiple sources and extract useful information from texts, videos, and talks. Some parts of this process can be assisted by AI tools.
Search for relevant literature
- Efficient literature search is a basic skill that lets you explore a topic deeply. It can also reveal alternative approaches for reframing or solving your current problem.
Critical thinking
- This quality is vital: it helps you identify logical flaws in previous work, define important problems worth solving, or discover new ways to tackle existing problems.

When you solve problems, the following two abilities are particularly useful:

Logical analysis
- Logical analysis involves applying rigorous methodologies, careful reasoning, and precise explanation to ensure you stay on the correct path.
Abstract modeling
- As an engineering student, I often simplify problems using abstract models and omit unnecessary aspects to make the problem tractable.

When you share your solutions with peers or others interested in your research, communication skills matter:

Writing and speaking
- These skills are essential across disciplines, but they are often neglected. Clear writing and oral presentation help you disseminate ideas widely. When you discuss your work with other researchers, you can collect valuable feedback and insights. Writing and speaking also help you organize your thinking.

Besides finding meaningful problems, solving them, and sharing your ideas clearly, you should reflect on your strengths and whether you enjoy your research topics. If you have a good problem and the necessary abilities, continue to concentrate on the problem and improve your skills—time is limited, so use it wisely.

Time Management With Apple's App

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 15:28:13 +0800

Have you ever been in a situation where you had so many things to do that you didn’t know how to get started? When I worked as a research assistant at a university, I struggled to balance preparing for the IELTS exam, managing interpersonal relationships, teaching and sharing skills with colleagues and students, and progressing my research and experiments while learning new concepts in biology. I often felt I needed a more efficient life. I tried many apps to reorganize my routines and read blogs, watched videos, and browsed social content for advice. Unfortunately, I felt overwhelmed and had little time to make real progress.

Gradually, I realized that focusing on the tasks themselves matters more than obsessing over time. If I keep experimenting with different ways to manage my limited time, I end up spending less time actually completing tasks. Now I want to share how I manage my time using only Apple Reminders and Apple Calendar.

List Your Current Tasks and Allocate Time

First, identify the tasks you need to handle.

For example: building my personal blog, reading papers related to my research, continuing English study, and reviewing foundational knowledge (such as linear algebra). I write these tasks down on paper. Also, don’t forget daily routines like waking up, eating breakfast, doing laundry, or showering.

Second, I prefer to schedule routines first because these activities rarely change and take a short amount of time. After scheduling routines, I allocate time for flexible activities that require more attention. Based on the importance and urgency of each task, I assign different time blocks.

For example, if I want to quickly build my website, I will allocate more time to it each day or week. Reading papers is important but not urgent, so I schedule shorter, regular sessions for it.

Finally, I add these tasks to Apple Reminders, setting specific times, alerts, and repeat rules. Creating lists is a good way to group similar tasks. I maintain multiple lists with different colors to indicate levels of effort; these can be viewed as tags in Apple Calendar (described later). In the figure below, red indicates tasks that require intense focus—this is my current allocation:

My current allocation

Overall, Apple Reminders gives me a small nudge that helps me form habits and handle tasks regularly and in order.

Do, Review, and Plan Again

At this stage, Apple Reminders acts like an assistant that tells me what to do. When I receive a reminder, I work through the tasks one by one and check them off as I finish. Another useful feature is that I can view reminders in Apple Calendar, which makes it convenient to review my daily schedule each evening.

Besides checking tasks in the morning and reviewing details, I assess my system based on completed and incomplete tasks to see whether it works for me. If a particular task repeatedly causes problems, I adjust the reminder settings. Similarly, when I reach a milestone, I update related tasks. This history helps me make better decisions, drive project progress, and improve my skills. The figure below shows tasks from a day when I was preparing for the IELTS test:

Daily tasks

In conclusion, I use Apple Reminders to tell me the next task and Apple Calendar to visualize when I do them; together they help me allocate time and handle activities more efficiently.

Some Drawbacks of This Plan

Although I find Apple Reminders and Calendar better than other apps for my needs, there are drawbacks.

Sometimes I want to track how much time I spend on a specific activity, but I can’t because time spans are not recorded.
I cannot easily review the progress of a whole project that has been split into many tasks.

If you have a better plan, please share it with me. Thanks!