DonationCoder.com Software > The Getting Organized Experiment of 2007

My System - Index Card Centric

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app103:
As part of last year's GOE, I removed the dust from an application I used to love very much but forgot I had because I couldn't run it on my other PC (not enough RAM).

Everything I don't want to forget goes in my Post-it notes software, sorted in tabbed boards, with alarms. (The alarm center is one of the best features.) I have a monthly board, with 12 tabs, one for each month...a weekly board with 7 tabs, one for each day...a project board with a tab for each project, etc.

I can easily move notes between boards, add new ones, edit, etc. (repeating alarm on a note with a clickable link is how I never miss a GAOTD).

It's kind of a software version of mouser's index cards....except they make noise to remind you to read them.

Before going back to this method, I used to use envelopes instead of index cards, writing everything down on the envelopes, and including things related inside the envelopes. I still do that, but not as much now. (the software is cheaper and a lot less trash)

tomos:
Glad you posted about that Jesse

I'm working, well sort of coping, with A4 sheets of paper.
I bought index cards last year but my system didnt work - or maybe I didnt really get one going that suited me would be a better way of putting it.

I liked tiny index cards & considered setting up a row of them in front of my desk.
Say, one box for Job_X, one for Job_Y, Computer related, Ideas_X, Ideas_Y Etc, Etc

When you say..
I write it down on a 3x5 index card and file it in one of several card boxes i have on my desk-mouser (November 04, 2007, 07:16 AM)
--- End quote ---

could you give us an idea of how you organise/group the cards.

Is it per GTD ideas according to action needed or have you your own slant on it or something completely different?

mouser:
My current system is that i have 5 of these black boxes that hold the cards (shown and linked to above).  The boxes are perfect because when they open they have a front area and back area which is really a nice way to have 2 sections in each box.

I use the front section to hold the newest cards or the ones im working on at the moment.

One box is just for new blank cards, so i know right where to go when i need a blank card for a new task.  I love these color coded cards but i haven't really developed a system where the colors mean something, though i am trying to shift to that.

I use paper clips to group cards together that are similar.

I originally had sections in one box for tasks for Today/Tomorrow/This Week/This Month/Long Term.  I think this is a nice idea but in practice i don't use it that much.

Instead i seem to mostly just organize things by project.  So i have a section for each of my computer programs, a section for ideas, a box for DC ideas/tasks, and a box for the new job i am working on, etc.

tomos:
Instead i seem to mostly just organize things by project.-mouser (November 07, 2007, 10:20 AM)
--- End quote ---

that's the way I've been generally thinking too
might give that a go myself - I did do project grouping before but didnt have proper homes for them...

When I did use cards by project, & then planning - say,
today & the next couple of days,
I enjoyed being able to lay all the "active" cards out on the rug & move them around a bit to help get an overview

Dont know whether that's a throwback to childhood or just my "visual" preferrences  :)

mouser:
Minor update:
I now use a Dymo Label Writer to print big headings for different projects, and put these on a plain white card which is paperclipped along with 1-15 or so (todo) index cards in that group.  For certain projects i have multiple groups like "FARR 1" through "FARR 10".

The nice heading labels and small groups make things feel a lot more manageable and less chaotic:

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