Get Everything Done

My AF for a daytimer morphed. I decided fewer pages is better, so I created pages after the old was filled instead of daily. Then I added the folding hack to make 5 columns easily accessible concurrently. Then I added a recurring cOlumn to better use the space.

System:
4.5 sections exist:
Old is the AF1 closed lists. Many pages.
New is the AF1 open list.
Recurring is a single halfpage of recurring tasks. Goals are writ on the bottom of this page.
Active is tasks I have worked on and intend to resume shortly. Very few should exist uncrossed.

Process:
1. Do one old page. Af1 rules apply.
2. Scan recurring page. May do any or none. Use checkmarks rather than rewrite. Rewrite when page is full of checks or stale.
3. Do active Page. May do any. If none, cross something out.
4. Optional: Do New page. May do any.
5. Add items to Active only by rewriting from elsewhere. Only if you intend to continue. Keep very few here.
6. Add all other rewrites and all new items to the New page.
In my experience, given the recurring tasks stay on their own page, both active and new grow at the same pace. I keep these on the same page, and start a next page when either is full.

Paper Layout: (There are other approaches. For example, using facing pages, a bookmark, and writing the recurring items on the back page of the notebook.)


Write Active items on the outer column and New items on the inner column of a vertical-spined notebook. Use only the right page. When this page is full, I fold it in half, keeping both columns accessible. These are now Old pages. Attach a paperclip to the current old page.

Effect: Two old columns are visible in the center. Process those; may reenter something in Active. Recurring items are always visible on the left. Active items are always visible on the right. It's easy to peek at the new items which are under the stack of folded old pages. So processing goes Old (center pages), turn page, recurring (left), active (right), new (under right). Very smooth.

Digital Implementation:
Using OneNote it's trivial, not as fancy-seeming as the paper version. Many digital environments can replicate the effect.

I name one section Active. One section New. All other sections, the name doesn't matter.
Recurring tasks I keep as a note in the active section, and just check them done/undone.

Processing: I always visit the leftmost section. When I'm done with that, I move it rightwards, establishing a new leftmost section.
The active section I move past one Old section.
Old sections I move to the rightmost.
New section I move either past one Old section, or farther if I don't want to look at it for a while.

That's it!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48176889@N07/6097888930

The photos are upside down There's a couple other pics there too. The inside of the fold is blank. Also of note: the process has changed a bit but the folding is the same. It's always first and last page are visible. Middle pages are all folded.

The left column you see is active.
The middle pages are old, with the left being newer.
The right column has routine chores.
The new page is under the old pages under the left.
Once new/active is full, it gets folded down and I start another new page.
Full caveat: I found the process I wrote above too ponderous so I'm changing that. Not prepared to post the updated version.