productivity tools

Every so often, I remember why I have all these strange bookmarks taking up space on my Firefox Toolbar… I was saving them to share with you! Sunday seems like a good time for that, so let’s get on with it.

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Ok, I admit it. When I first saw the title, Happier.com, I cringed.

Oh joy, I thought. Another fluffy-duffy-sunshine-rainbows-and-unicorn site that’s going to chirp affirmations at me. But when I checked it out, I was *very* pleasantly surprised… that alone made me happier, so the site has already fulfilled the promise of its name !

[click to continue...]

The last installment looked at examples of digital and hardcopy organizational methods, used in combination.

1. Print out to-do lists, mindmaps and action plans. Having them in tangible form makes them more real, and allows items to be added on the fly.

• 2. Type handwritten notes into the appropriate software. It’s repetitive, but the process forces me to review the ideas, with the added benefit that notes/tasks are more likely to sink in and be remembered.

3. Scan in notes/sketches, and attach them to the appropriate project. Most task managers, (including my favorite ListPro)allow links to other files. Some, like Evernote, can import a scan directly into a note, and the pro version even does handwriting recognition, making scanned handwritten notes searchable.

A few more tips:

• If you organize best on the computer, but are more likely to work with or review a physical list, go with it. Print your task list.
  —-Include reminders about related electronic files
  —-Make checking your digital organization tools one of your listed tasks/action items.
• If you think best in long hand,, but review your digital information managers more frequently, transfer hand written notes into them. —-Include references to the related physical files/inboxes, etc.
  —-Make reviewing/sorting folders an action item/task.
• Don’t overdo it!
  —-If a paper note doesn’t need to be digitized, don’t bother converting it.
  —-If you don’t need a printout of a list, don’t make one.
  —-If you’re fine with having a file folder for your receipts, don’t scan them in.
  
  It can be really tempting to over organize, but by try to convert too much, or work against your natural work habits, and you’ll only confuse matters, bog down the workflow, and waste a heck of a lot of time.

Remember: Even if you converted every last bit of information into digital or paper form, you would still need a combined method. Personal Information Mangers will never replace your brain.

MindTweak: Your own mind is your best organizational tool:
organize accordingly.

Related Links:

• Paper or Pixels? Choosing A Productivity Preference
• Paper & Pixels: Combined Productivity Methods, Already In Place

Link Part One

Link Part Three

So, if a combined method digital and hardcopy is the solution, the trick is in how to combine them.

Turns out that I’ve already got one organized and combined system that serves as a great example:

Finances.

• Digital: I use Quicken to keep up with my accounts, but I ignore the automatic statement features. Entering the individual items manually keeps me of where money is going, and how much there is, in general I pay bills electronically, but not automatically, for the same reason; it keeps me more aware of running balances.
• Paper: We still use paper checks around here- archaic, I know. But actually writing the amounts out on the checks keeps me aware of what I’m spending. I balance the checkbook the old fashioned way.. entering check by check into the register. And when I reconcile it, i generally print up the statement, and check items off on the paper as well as in the software. The printout goes in the shredder, the carbon checks go into a box somewhere. And even though I do a lot of my business purchases and sales online, I print out the receipts, and enter them from that.

Yes, my method means extra steps. Yes, it takes more time than it could. Yes, it could be automated… in fact I’ve often thought I should automate the process, and occasionally felt guilty about not having done it.

But the truth is, without the physical aspects of the process, I don’t stay aware of my finances. I make more mistakes, and I’m more prone to overspending and overlooking bills. So being a bit less automated while slower, is more efficient in this case.

Now that I’m seeing the value in my mixed method, no more guilt.. in fact I think I’m pretty clever for doing it my way!

So.. I’ve got one working system, already in place. How about you?

You probably have some combinations of pixels and paper organizations set up, too.

—It’s likely that you keep both digital and physical copies of the most important address book information: you keep digital contact files, and store numbers on your phone, but a list of important numbers in your wallet or on the fridge comes in very handy.

— Maybe you have handwritten notes on movies you’d like to rent, as well as your Netflix list.

—Maybe you have collections of both digital and paper photos — prints of new favorites, scans of old favorites.

— Maybe you store info in email, but print it some of it out for filing in

Review what you already organize successfully. See how well the systems work, how natural the combination is, and why you don’t need to convert everything one way or another. You’ll learn from these systems, realize you’re a better organizer than you thought, and be able to apply what you learn to any new systems you set up.

MindTWEAK: Learn from your successes.

Related Posts:

• Paper or Pixels? Choosing A Productivity Preference
• Paper and Pixels: Tips for Combining Methods