Using Roam Research to manage the firehose of information in venture capital — part 3

In part 1, we explored the information problem in venture capital. In part 2, we got started using Roam to get a feel for the basics.

In this piece we will explore how to build a workflow using Roam’s powerful Smartblocks extension that you can get at roamjs.com.

Stop thinking about ‘the how’ and start taking notes

I like to boot up and run my day with a workflow which I automate in Roam.

When I get to my screen in the morning, I run my Daily Flow smartblock and then just start working through it. I don’t need to think about what I am going to do next or where to put something, I just let it pull me through the day with some consistent discipline and structure.

In 1 second my days is already laid out in a way that is optimal for me. I find this a very positive start.

Get your extensions setup

Go to roamjs.com and install the following extensions:

• Smartblocks: this is a powerful and versatile way of scripting Roam, initially developed by @TfTHacker and now re-built and maintained by @dvargas92495
• Google Calendar: this extension pulls in your Google Calendar for the day into Roam.

The instructions are clear on RoamJS so get them setup and then come back here.

Get started with my Daily Flow template

• Copy my template from here: Daily Flow template
• Create a [[Templates]] page in your graph and paste it in. You can put your templates anywhere but I like to put them in one place.
• Go to your Daily Notes Page and type ‘xx’ and you should see Daily Flow in the menu that pops up. Run it.

Walking through the resulting pattern

Here is what appears with notes on how I use it.

Day:: [[Friday]] — 08:22 start

I create a day of the week link so I can quickly get to all my Fridays with a click. I mark the start to see whn I get to my screen each day.

• 🙏🏻 Here’s an idea
• Quote: Our futurism is not nihilistic like cyberpunk and it avoids steampunk’s potentially quasi-reactionary tendencies: it is about ingenuity, generativity, independence, and community. #Quotes
• This is a random block that has been tagged with a #Quotes to inspire me from prior notes.
• 🤾‍♂️ [[Morning Routine]]
• Fast:: How many hours did I fast (or intend to fast) for?
• Workout:: How many minutes did I work out and what did I do?
• Feel:: How do I feel?
• DND:: Did I drink last night? Trying not to in the week.
• Focus:: {{[[slider]]}} Is all this leading to me starting the day with a clear mind?
• [[Yesterday & Today]]
• This is my consistent habit at the start of the day. I feel good as I mark each one as DONE.
• {{[[TODO]]}} Start focus playlist Because I work better with certain music.
• {{[[TODO]]}} Review and followup Roam from [[January 7th, 2022]] Quick link to yesterday so that I can do any followups required and remember what I learned.
• {{[[TODO]]}} Atomic Essay Prompt to begin my day with a short post to think out loud.
• {{[[TODO]]}} Tweet news from portfolio Quick look at Twitter and repost any interesting news from my portfolio and community.
• {{[[TODO]]}} Emails Get to Inbox Zero.
• 🏴‍☠️ Agenda
• This is where the Google Calendar extension drops in my agenda for the day. I then add [[links]] to people’s names etc and build daily notes under each block as I have each session.
• 09:00 First meeting
• 10:00 Second meeting
• 💎 Learning, Thinking, Building
• Here I add all the notes outside of the agenda. e.g. notes on a paper or ideas that come to me. I have other smartblocks for those that I will share later.
• [[👝 Inbox Capture]]
• I use Roam Bot and Zapier to push emails and Slack messages to Roam as tasks so that I collect everything in one spot. I Shift click this to open in sidebar. I’ll talk about this in a later post.
• 🔥 Get Shit Done
• I grab the latest 10 tasks that have been added to historical DNPs so that I can keep working through them when I have time.
• {{[[TODO]]}} 1
• {{[[TODO]]}} 2
• Ready!

Next, we will look at how to capture information in pitch meetings.

If you are using Roam in your work as an investor, I’d love to hear your ideas on how you have built your workflow. I am @philmorle on Twitter.

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