Hipster PDA
{{Short description|Satirical pen and paper personal organizer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
The Hipster PDA is a paper-based personal organizer, popularized by Merlin Mann in 2004.{{cite web |url=https://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda |title=Introducing the Hipster PDA |website=43 Folders |first=Merlin |last=Mann |date=3 September 2004}} Originally a tongue-in-cheek reaction to the increasing expense and complexity of personal digital assistants (PDA), the Hipster PDA (said to stand for "Parietal Disgorgement Aid" and often abbreviated to "hPDA") comprises a sheaf of index cards held together with a binder clip. Following widespread coverage in the media{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/16/AR2005071600565_pf.html |title=This Retro PDA Doesn't Need Batteries |first=Mike |last=Musgrove |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=17 July 2005}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/sep/29/businesssense.businesssense5 |title=Who needs a PDA when I've got paper? |work=The Guardian |first=Leon |last=Ho |date=29 September 2005}} and blogs, the hPDA became a popular personal management tool, particularly with followers of David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology.{{cite magazine |last=Dickerson |first=John |author-link=John Dickerson (journalist) |date=1 October 2009 |title=The list is life: finding a new way to manage my day |url=https://slate.com/technology/2009/10/finding-a-new-way-to-manage-my-day.html |magazine=Slate}}{{cite magazine |last=Newport |first=Cal |author-link=Cal Newport |date=17 November 2020 |title=The Rise and Fall of Getting Things Done |url=https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-rise-and-fall-of-getting-things-done |magazine=The New Yorker}}
Although it began as a joke, or perhaps a statement about technology fetishism, the Hipster PDA rapidly gained popularity with serious users,{{cite web |url=https://slowburnproductions.wordpress.com/2006/07/15/hipster-pda-tips-for-people-obsessed-with-productivity-pr0n-but-bad-at-actual-productivity/ |title=Hipster PDA Tips for People Obsessed With Productivity Pr0n But Bad At Actual Productivity |publisher=Slow Burn Productions |date=15 July 2006}} with hundreds posting pictures of their customized hPDAs on photo sharing sites and exchanging tips on Internet mailing lists. Advocates of the hPDA claim that it is a cheap, lightweight, freeform organizer{{cite web |url=https://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/2005/06/the_hunt_for_th_1.html |title=Card Sharp |work=The Guardian |date=23 June 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090127060921/http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2005/jun/23/thehuntforth1 |archive-date=27 January 2009 |url-status=dead}} that does not need batteries and is unlikely to be stolen. Enthusiasts also design and share index-card-size printable templates for storing contacts, to-do lists, calendars, notes, project plans, and so on.
A Hipster Nano PDA uses business cards with blank backs and one that has a calendar on the back.{{cite web |last=Ho |first=Leon |date=17 October 2006 |title=How to make the Hipster nano PDA |url=https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/how-to-make-the-hipster-nano-pda.html |website=lifehack.org}}