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Discussion Forum > Color contexts

I'm nearing the end of yet another bound pocket notebook, for continuing my free-form AF1 list (interspersed with other pages of notes, logs, lists, etc.). In the last notebook, I kept two contexts – Home and Work – on separate pages, which worked okay. But in the new notebook, I'm going to separate the contexts by pen color, since I almost always have my Pilot 4+1 multipen with me. I will use black for work, and blue for home. Green is for adding and/or crossing out an urgent task that is done out of the normal order (i.e. when not on the current page). I reserve red for marking pages complete (X across the page number in the top outside corner. Previously, I had been alternating black and blue each day, but I think using color to remind myself subtly about the context will work better.

Has anybody else tried something similar?
September 19, 2011 at 19:15 | Registered Commenterubi
I tried the color idea for awhile but the result seemed cluttered. It was mentally draining to see the personal and work tasks interspersed.

Spatially separating them from each other seems to help -- either with the stalagmite/stalactite approach, or using separate notebooks, or using front of notebook for one, back of notebook for the other, etc.

For example, with the stalagmite/stalactite method, all the tasks are still together on one page, so I can review all of them if I want, but if I really just want to focus on one domain, it's easy to ignore the other domain.

With colorization it's not so easy to ignore the unwanted domain.
September 19, 2011 at 20:08 | Registered CommenterSeraphim
I've been doing something similar for a while, but rather than differentiating between home and work tasks (I work at home, all my tasks go on the same list) I use colour to highlight different types of task. So for instance items which have been designated 'areas of focus' by my line manager (and related subtasks) are highlighted in red, calls to make are highlighted in orange, errands in green and so on. This means that when I am about to go out to do an errand I can quickly scan my list for anything else I could do at the same time; when making calls I can spot any others on the same page; and when in work mode I can visually filter out non-work-focus items to concentrate on what I'm supposed to be doing... well, in theory at least!
September 20, 2011 at 19:28 | Registered CommenterPaul Taylor
I'm currently using background colours *only* on my recurring/unfinished tasks ...
* no background, new/unstarted tasks
* green - (bring home cash) general work tasks
* magenta - (hot) project tasks
* cyan - (blue sky) project tasks
* yellow - (highlighted) project tasks
* brown - (down-to-earth) home/web tasks
September 21, 2011 at 3:10 | Registered Commentersabre23t