1/ After the conversation with @cortexfutura and @rjnestor the other day I started to think about explaining what I mean by the necessity of process to non-techie @RoamResearch newbies. A thread...

#roamcult

2/ One of the main benefits of Roam is the lack of dictated structure, and the magic serendipity and intelligence Roam can demonstrate and enable because of that lack of structure.

3/ This is also one of the main downfalls for new users. Many #Roamans give the advice to just dive in there. Dump all your information in and start backlinking. I have worked in process engineering for long enough to know that, for most people, that won't work.

4/ At least not for long-term adoption. It will work for people who intuitively, and perhaps unconsciously implement process (which to be fair are probably coders and techies who are the primary early adopter audience of Roam), but it won't work for the rest of us.

5/ Especially those of us who are aiming for a specific RESULT. In the case of my course - a thesis/dissertation or paper.

6/ You must have process before implementing a system. I've seen enough disastrous corporate deployment of CRM systems to know that.

7/ So make sure you understand what your goal is of using Roam and implement a process to guide you toward that result. You can start with an easy Daily smart block that directs your daily usage. But eventually you will have to expand wider than that.

8/ I have a Ultimate Life Process, a Content Creation Process, a Research Process, a Fiction Process, a Project Sharing Process, etc... all of which are tied to what I want to get OUT of Roam. Not what I put in.