Archive for Tools
6) Organize your notes
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This is a two part answer and the answer is never the same for two totally different people. I spent many years thinking of perfect solutions, when there are no perfect solutions. Even though I believe in principles which can work for everyone, the means or method may not. Want to watch a cool video that explains this in unique way.
I used to be a big time list maker, note taker, write on a calendar and planner kind of guy. About a year ago, I completely went digital with all my lists and to do’s and everything else. Before that I read David Allen’s GTD book, and I decided to try it with paper and folders. The system worked, but so many of my projects didn’t work that way. I was using Basecamp to work on my biggest current project, and I had found Backpack to be so useful in managing just about everything else. Well I love 37 signals aforementioned products and use them more than any other applications except Google. I don’t plan on stopping my use of them, but actually probably increasing it. What I did realize a few months back was notebooks and small pocket notepads are still the best way for me to capture a quick list, idea or thought. It is still the best way for me to draw out a mindmap or brainstorm a project to determine next actions. I was inspired yet again by a very digital guy, who still says the pen and pad trump typing in a web based application. If it takes me 5 minutes to locate my laptop, open it, wait a second to refresh my wireless connection, open up backpack, find the appropriate page and then type out my thought, it will always lose to grabbing my moleskin notepad out of my back pocket or my notebook and getting the thought out of my head. Earl Nightingale was famous for saying that ideas are like wet slippery fish. I have found that to be true. The only substitute for the Moleskin back pocket notepad for me, has been using the digital recorder on my cell phone. The only problem I encountered was that when I did a weekly review, which was about as often as I would check my little digital notes to self, I would have to replay the message and type it out into backpack. I didn’t like the extra step. It wasn’t my typing skills either. I type over 45 WPM, which isn’t ground breaking but it’s not slow either.
I have decided to use Backpack more for reference, personal projects, sharing pages with customers (works great to develop a word press site- although I’m experimenting with Basecamp for that right now) and someday maybe categories. I use my large moleskin notebook to record video ideas, blog architecture, mindmaps of my marketing plan and many other things. I use my small notepad to list my next actions for the day and to make quick notes throughout the day. I take both of these and review them as collection buckets during my weekly review session (for GTD’ers). I am trying to use Tim Ferris note taking system linked above, but I haven’t mastered the techniques or organization just yet. I use a new page for each day in my small notebook.
GTD suggests that you limit your amount of collection buckets. This is hard to do in a digital world but right now I’m trying to work within these parameters.
- Gmail- Incoming messages, outgoing messages, waiting for, read/reviews, and next actions
- Google Reader- I read my feeds with this tool and use share and star as my filtering mechanism
- Delicious- it helps to have some broad tags like toreview, toread, toblog more on this in a future post
- Backpack- helps me stay on top of personal projects, customer projects and someday maybes
- Physical inbox- I still get mail, papers, business cards and other non-digital items that must be reviewed
- Large Moleskin- project notes, ideas, creative development, mind maps
- Small Moleskin- daily notes, reference, passwords to be indexed, phone numbers to be indexed
- Whiteboard- I have one behind my desk to record ideas when I’m working at my computer
A case could be made for Stumble Upon, if you really want the community to work as it should. I’m not there yet.
Also I like to review my reference folders using a File Map. If any name on the list prompts me with an open loop, I’ll take it through the GTD process.
Hope this helps. Maybe it’s not for you, but maybe it is for you.
2) Organizing my Backpack (the physical one)
Posted by: | CommentsOK, this video should be pretty self explanatory. I’m organizing my backpack for the first time in months. You know the thing I carry with me daily, transporting all my key work tools and belongings. I touch it everyday of my life. I put things in it, take things out and it’s probably with me more than my wife and kiddos. So why would it be one of the last frontiers of organization in my world? Because it became second nature and blended in.
This video is two parts and the second one cuts off at the end. My cell camera ran out of memory. Our main camera was out of batteries. We buy those things once a quarter and Murphy’s law got us. My Macbook isight camera was too stationary for this shot. I apologize for the muted somewhat bumpy shot, but listening to my explanation should help you tackle your own small organizing project.
Part 1
Organizing my Backpack from Bryce Raley on Vimeo.
Part 2
Organizing my Backpack part 2 from Bryce Raley on Vimeo.
Here are links to some of the items in the video.
A Digital Proficiency Test from Seth Godin
Posted by: | CommentsForget the changes happening each and everyday with web tools and technologies, how are you with the basics of productivity?
Organization is futile without developing the proper habits
Posted by: | CommentsOrganization is futile without developing the proper habits and mindset. Call it a new philosophy about stuff, or a call it whatever you like. The fact remains- if you organize your home, your email, your systems, your finances, your garage, your files, your office, your iphone, your computer, your calendar or your life; they will probably become disorganized very quickly if you don’t work hard to develop new habits and a new mindset.
Here are the most important tips I can summarize to get you moving with small daily improvements in your organization quotient.
- Eliminate- the more you eliminate off your calendar, next actions list, projects list- the more you eliminate from your office, home, finances, and life in general the simpler you will make it to keep organized.
- Seek simplicity- if there is a complicated way to o something and a simple way, choose the simple way. Go for the big picture. Sometimes simple may cost a little more on the surface but after you look at the hidden costs ( opportunity cost, cost of time, cost of gas, cost of diffusion, cost of distraction) you’ll come out ahead by choosing a simpler more focused option.
- Organize your stuff. After step 1 and 2 you shouldn’t have that much stuff left to organize. The proper process to organize just about anything (hat tip to all professional organizers like myself, NAPO and where I first learned this system- Julie Morgenstern) is as follows. Sort by putting like items together by association, then Purge by tossing, selling, giving away or recycling, then Assign the remaining items a home, then Containerize the items in their home, then continually Assess your system.
- Put your stuff back in it’s home right now. Form the habit of picking up your stuff and putting it back after you use it. We teach our kids this right? Put you toys up before we go to bed. Put your books in your locker before you leave school. Put the dishes in the sink. Put those toys up before you get more out. So, my theory is that if we teach it to our kids you better do it yourself or you’re a hypocrite and kids are the best hypocrite detectors. Not to mention the fact that your life will be less stressful when you know where things are.
- Implement David Allen’s GTD system to handle the rest of your productivity concerns. This system will help you organize your thoughts and close the open loops in your mind. It will teach you to collect your information with various tools, to process this information and then how to act on it. You’ll create next actions lists, tickler file systems, project plans and lots of other helpful systems for increased personal productivity.
