Toile Card Keeper Wallet
Originally uploaded by misseskwittys.
I've tried various methods of keeping my index cards, the most recent involving nothing more than a stack of cards and a binder clip. However, if Natalie were to try GTD and felt a spur of DIY craftiness, this wallet might be perfect for her. Unfortunately, I don't think this would fit comfortably in my pants pocket :) I love the styling, though!
Natalie and I watched a segment on the television program "60 Minutes" regarding the trend of longer work-weeks in the U.S. To summarize, Americans have longer work-weeks than any other "civilized" country, yet we have the lowest level of output per hour worked. So, we spend more time working inefficiently than anyone else.
This got me thinking about the Getting Things Done (GTD) mantra I've subscribed to for the last 1.5 years. Unlike most business books which seek to make a person more productive only in the context of work, GTD seeks to make a person more productive and efficient in all aspects of their life. The most profound piece of advice I drew from GTD is to have a simple and effective system for tracking responsibilities so that I can focus on just one task at a time. The most critical element is that the system must be simple, reliable, and fast. Hesitation to use the system leads to distrust and fuels the distraction that it is intended to squelch.
The 60 Minutes program showed working professionals juggling cell-phones and PDAs while driving in rush-hour traffic, and married couples who hardly know each other. Why is this so? "Because they're so productive!" Well, not really. In my opinion, the tools are so ineffective that many hours of extra work are required to achieve a fraction of the goals of their users.
It's human nature to look for the "silver bullet" that will solve all your problems. But there is none. The real solution is to not take on so many problems, and to maximize the attention devoted to the problems you have accepted. Interestingly, the only way for me to become more productive was to acknowledge my inability to track tasks in my memory, and to reach out for help. In my case, help came in the form of a pile of 3"x5" index cards that I carry in my pocket at all times. I immediately capture a task on an index card once it enters my mind. The sooner I dump the idea to an index card means the sooner I can get back to whatever task I had been working on prior.
I found on Amazon the Moleskin featured in my last blog entry. It's only $10, so I think I'll grab one of these with my next order. One more thing for me to carry in my already-overloaded pants pockets!
My fascination with personal organization strategies in the vein of Getting Things Done remains alive and well. I enjoy looking at other people's interpretations of the book's suggestions, and many of the currently-popular web tools do a great job of encouraging the sharing of these ideas. The most popular mediums are blogs, photo-sharing (i.e. Flickr), and wikis.
While browsing photos on Flickr, I found what might be the basis for my next Hipster PDA incarnation. It uses the Moleskin 3"x5" card wallet to hold index cards which form the backbone of the Hipster PDA. This addresses many of the concerns I have with my current system: loose cards, geeky undertone, and little support for sorting cards. Plus, the sticker r0x.
I've been a follower of the "Getting Things Done" (GTD) methodologies since reading the book last January. The first and most "sticky" change I made was to use 3"x5" index cards to record items I need to do. The idea is to perform a brain-dump as soon as an idea occurs because the human brain does a poor job of recalling things out of context.
I've read a lot on the 43 Folders website about the popularity of the trendy Moleskin pocket notebooks. I have preferred the 3"x5" index card solution because it affords me the ability to dispose of cards that were for one-time notes (i.e. write e-mail to parents, etc.). Putting such notes in a Moleskin seems bad because those notes stick around for the life of the notebook. So, I've put off getting a Moleskin until a week ago when Natalie and I were buying art supplies for a drawing class I'm taking.
I finally figured out a good application for the Moleskin: lists. Long-term lists. Here's a good example: I'm at the grocery store looking for a bottle of wine. I know that I've tried many of them before, but can't remember which I liked and disliked. Maintaining a list of favorite wines would help solve the problem. Another good application would be too keep a list of favorite restaurants organized by type of food or environment.
Through the GTD methods, I've learned that I'm really good at solving immediate problems, but suffer at maintaining information about experiences had during abnormal contexts. Persisting that information in an organized medium seems like a good solution. I'm going to give it a try and will report on the success at a future date.
I read a post on BoingBoing a few weeks ago about an organization tool called a "Hipster PDA." It's comprised of index cards held together with a metal clip, and serves as a means for recording thoughts, reminders or tasks whenever inspiration strikes. The idea is derived from the book "Getting Things Done," which I've since purchased and found very useful.
Judging from the posts I've seen on the 43 Folders discussion site, everyone seems to have their own interpretation of how the Hipster PDA ought to be designed. In "Getting Things Done," the author suggests any system that makes the user most effective at collecting, and later processing, their tasks. The simplicity of the Hipster PDA makes it very adaptable, contrary to most digital PDA's that offer very little room for personalization.
Following is a photo of the Hipster PDA I've been using for the last two weeks:
