1. Nick Ramsay Said,

   I’ve got exactly 51 folders in Windows Mail which I use for sorting and organizing my email. I don’t filter email into those folders anymore because that took too much jumping around to read the new stuff. Instead, everything comes into my main inbox folder, then I read each item and either delete or move. I’ve got thousands of emails now, but my inbox is either empty or contains the most important, must do, must reply messages.

   I’ve tried a few things-to-do software tools, but the most successful for me has been a simple Excel spreadsheet - it makes the perfect whiteboard.

   How do you manage your things-to-do list, Tori?

2. The Chemist Said,

   uh oh… Are you asking me about how I stay organised? You might be sorry you asked because I could talk you ears off (or would it be type you eyeballs out…? maybe not). I will give you the short version.

   My current system is one I’ve been refining for the last year or so. I use notebooks to capture all of my thoughts and ideas that I want to remember. And I use little notepads to capture all the projects and “to do” items.
   When I say “all” I really mean it. I am on number 15 of my inch-thick notebooks (with writing on both sides of the page!). Having one place (as opposed to many loose papers) where I store everything is the key. I take my notebook everywhere. And I safe the first three pages for a table of content and number each book in the series. I told my sister about my method and she says I’m the world’s biggest nerd. If only…

   I love reading books and picked up a few that touched on productivity awhile ago.
   One really good one is Getting Things Done (GTG), by David Allen. GTG, has found a sort of cult following with productivity-minded techies and lifehacker.com is always talking about it.

   Even better though is First Things First by Stephen Covey (the author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). His book showed me that I do many urgent things (”fires”) instead of doing many important things. The more one can schedule the really important things first the better. If you put rocks (important things) into a bucket first you can fit sand in too, but if you put sand in first, good luck with the rocks

   Also there are some good sources online, like 43folders.com

   I like your simple excel sheet idea. I’ve tried many software tools too (like rememberthemilk.com) but, for me, actual pen and paper cannot be beat (as a capturing tool). Ideas come to me at unexpected times, so I like being able to capture them when they do. I might not be at the computer.

3. Nick Ramsay Said,

   And I save the first three pages for a table of contents and number each book in the series.

   That is what I’ve been missing! From now on, all my notepad notes will use this tip! Thanks

4. Daily J » Topic » The DailyJ Interview Recipe: 2 parts L 1 part j-e Said,

   [...] day because I woke up in the middle of the night with a dozen ideas in my head. So I grabbed my trusty notebook and wrote down this [...]

Add A Comment