Discussion Forum > 8 Folders
DAZ:
Actually that's the principle behind "Do It Tomorrow" except there's only one "folder" and that's labelled "Tomorrow".
I got the idea from someone (sorry, can't remember his name if he's reading this) who wrote to me saying that his time management method was to put all the papers he got every day into an expanding wallet with compartments labelled 1-31 ( http://tinyurl.com/goqtk5r )
He'd put the day's papers into the compartment with the same number as the current date, i.e. today is June 28, so he'd put the day's papers into the compartment labelled 28.
Then in one month's time he'd take everything out of compartment 28 and start actioning them. By that time he found that most stuff was either irrelevant or had got done anyway in the course of things. It saved him a great deal of work, he said!
Actually that's the principle behind "Do It Tomorrow" except there's only one "folder" and that's labelled "Tomorrow".
I got the idea from someone (sorry, can't remember his name if he's reading this) who wrote to me saying that his time management method was to put all the papers he got every day into an expanding wallet with compartments labelled 1-31 ( http://tinyurl.com/goqtk5r )
He'd put the day's papers into the compartment with the same number as the current date, i.e. today is June 28, so he'd put the day's papers into the compartment labelled 28.
Then in one month's time he'd take everything out of compartment 28 and start actioning them. By that time he found that most stuff was either irrelevant or had got done anyway in the course of things. It saved him a great deal of work, he said!
June 28, 2016 at 10:35 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
43 folders is a well known technique. They are labelled fore 31 days and 12 months. I found both numbers excessive, though i could see the months folder being effectively used for remembering annual things each year. Instead of this, a single folder with future items sorted by date should suffice unless you manage for some group that has tons of dated events like a church. But even here I resist. Instead, keep a calendar with dated things, and an alphabetical filing system.
June 29, 2016 at 18:29 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
I love my 43-folder perpetual 'tickler' files. I have one at home, and another at my work office. They give me confidence that I can arrange for anything to come back to me on any day in the future. I also keep a 'TickList' which is like an electronic tickler file; I use it to schedule reminders that are too vague to be calendar appointments.
The key to effective use of tickler files is that you must cycle today's folder, preferably first thing in the morning every day. You can train yourself to do this by placing something you need to carry or wear each day (e.g. key, wallet, watch) in tomorrow's folder each evening. Once you have confidence in the routine, you can stop this silliness.
The key to effective use of tickler files is that you must cycle today's folder, preferably first thing in the morning every day. You can train yourself to do this by placing something you need to carry or wear each day (e.g. key, wallet, watch) in tomorrow's folder each evening. Once you have confidence in the routine, you can stop this silliness.
June 30, 2016 at 22:49 |
ubi
ubi
ubi:
<< You can train yourself to do this by placing something you need to carry or wear each day (e.g. key, wallet, watch) in tomorrow's folder each evening. >>
Excellent idea.
<< You can train yourself to do this by placing something you need to carry or wear each day (e.g. key, wallet, watch) in tomorrow's folder each evening. >>
Excellent idea.
July 1, 2016 at 1:00 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Mark Forster:
Yes it's very similar to DIT, which is still my favourite time management strategy. I just found that I had a lot of things that simply couldn't be done tomorrow because they were needed on a specific day, so this just helps organise things a little bit more.
I like the sound of your friend's idea, but not sure I could leave some things for that long! I find that a week works best for me as a time frame for organising what to do.
Yes it's very similar to DIT, which is still my favourite time management strategy. I just found that I had a lot of things that simply couldn't be done tomorrow because they were needed on a specific day, so this just helps organise things a little bit more.
I like the sound of your friend's idea, but not sure I could leave some things for that long! I find that a week works best for me as a time frame for organising what to do.
July 3, 2016 at 11:57 |
DAZ
DAZ
Alan Baljeu:
"43 folders is a well known technique. They are labelled fore 31 days and 12 months. I found both numbers excessive, though i could see the months folder being effectively used for remembering annual things each year."
I agree - I found that to be excessive.
"Instead of this, a single folder with future items sorted by date should suffice unless you manage for some group that has tons of dated events like a church. But even here I resist. Instead, keep a calendar with dated things, and an alphabetical filing system."
I find that things tend to get mixed up using just 1 file - and it's hard to keep things in date order at times.
I find the 8 folders technique works because it strikes a balance between not having too many folders, but helping to separate bits of paper into the actual day they need to be done. It also means that you're not constantly sifting through just one file - if something isn't needed until Thursday, I can just pop it into that file and then forget about it until Thursday when I open that file up.
"43 folders is a well known technique. They are labelled fore 31 days and 12 months. I found both numbers excessive, though i could see the months folder being effectively used for remembering annual things each year."
I agree - I found that to be excessive.
"Instead of this, a single folder with future items sorted by date should suffice unless you manage for some group that has tons of dated events like a church. But even here I resist. Instead, keep a calendar with dated things, and an alphabetical filing system."
I find that things tend to get mixed up using just 1 file - and it's hard to keep things in date order at times.
I find the 8 folders technique works because it strikes a balance between not having too many folders, but helping to separate bits of paper into the actual day they need to be done. It also means that you're not constantly sifting through just one file - if something isn't needed until Thursday, I can just pop it into that file and then forget about it until Thursday when I open that file up.
July 3, 2016 at 12:02 |
DAZ
DAZ
Ubi:
I love your idea to ensure that the files get checked routinely! So far I've been remember to check my folders every day, but that might be just because it's my 'latest idea'. I think I might try putting things in them that I'll need to ensure I keep on checking them.
Like I said, this method works in a much the same way as the Tickler file, but with a much smaller number of folders, which suits me better. If something is needed in a few weeks, I just keep putting it in the weekend folder until the week when I'll need it. If something is for much later then I just keep it in the Monthly folder until the month when I'll need it.
I also really like your TickList idea - this is something I'd like to develop (maybe even as some sort of web app) that only uses 8 lists to manage tasks.
I love your idea to ensure that the files get checked routinely! So far I've been remember to check my folders every day, but that might be just because it's my 'latest idea'. I think I might try putting things in them that I'll need to ensure I keep on checking them.
Like I said, this method works in a much the same way as the Tickler file, but with a much smaller number of folders, which suits me better. If something is needed in a few weeks, I just keep putting it in the weekend folder until the week when I'll need it. If something is for much later then I just keep it in the Monthly folder until the month when I'll need it.
I also really like your TickList idea - this is something I'd like to develop (maybe even as some sort of web app) that only uses 8 lists to manage tasks.
July 3, 2016 at 12:07 |
DAZ
DAZ
DAZ:
<< I just found that I had a lot of things that simply couldn't be done tomorrow because they were needed on a specific day, so this just helps organise things a little bit more. >>
That's why in the book I recommend keeping your list in a page-a-day diary. That way you can programme stuff for specific days without any problem.
<< I like the sound of your friend's idea, but not sure I could leave some things for that long! >>
I think he was joking (though I admit I'm not sure!)
<< I just found that I had a lot of things that simply couldn't be done tomorrow because they were needed on a specific day, so this just helps organise things a little bit more. >>
That's why in the book I recommend keeping your list in a page-a-day diary. That way you can programme stuff for specific days without any problem.
<< I like the sound of your friend's idea, but not sure I could leave some things for that long! >>
I think he was joking (though I admit I'm not sure!)
July 3, 2016 at 12:35 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Mark:
Yes, the page a day diary (or Teux Deux electronically) really helps organise tasks and 8 folders does the same for organising physical bits of paper in the same way. Before this my in tray was always unorganised and I continually recycled papers that weren't needed until later in the week. Now I just put them in the relevant file and they're out of the way. It's a system that's working very well for me so far.
Yes, the page a day diary (or Teux Deux electronically) really helps organise tasks and 8 folders does the same for organising physical bits of paper in the same way. Before this my in tray was always unorganised and I continually recycled papers that weren't needed until later in the week. Now I just put them in the relevant file and they're out of the way. It's a system that's working very well for me so far.
July 3, 2016 at 23:21 |
DAZ
DAZ
Do you find this breaks project notes? Often, I'll let a conversation go for a few days before replying, or even before reading the email (other than quick scan to see check for fires).
I wish ThunderBird had labels like Gmail, so I could put multiple labels on each item.
I wish ThunderBird had labels like Gmail, so I could put multiple labels on each item.
August 5, 2016 at 22:00 |
Cricket
Cricket
> I wish ThunderBird had labels like Gmail, so I could put multiple labels on each item.
It haz, you kan!
http://en.flossmanuals.net/thunderbird/tagging-and-marking/
It haz, you kan!
http://en.flossmanuals.net/thunderbird/tagging-and-marking/
August 6, 2016 at 6:33 |
Christopher
Christopher
I use those tags some, and stars, but need many more tags, one per project and often one per group.
Gmail also has very powerful search features. I'll be shifting once this big project is over. I already did it for my "online" presence, but I've got a number of complicated conversations ongoing in my "offline" account.
Gmail also has very powerful search features. I'll be shifting once this big project is over. I already did it for my "online" presence, but I've got a number of complicated conversations ongoing in my "offline" account.
August 6, 2016 at 20:17 |
Cricket
Cricket
Thunderbird has as many tags as you want. You can assign multiple tags to a single message.
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Tags
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Tags
August 7, 2016 at 8:26 |
Christopher
Christopher
Cricket:
"Do you find this breaks project notes? "
How do you mean?
"Do you find this breaks project notes? "
How do you mean?
August 7, 2016 at 17:35 |
DAZ
DAZ
If you receive email about a project on Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, then it's spread over 3 folders.
August 8, 2016 at 16:48 |
Cricket
Cricket
Cricket:
If I receive an email about Project X on Monday, but I don't won't to deal with it until Thursday, I will put it in the 'thursday' folder. If more emails come in about Project X on Tuesday and Wednesday then they will also go in the 'thursday' folder, so all three emails will be in the 'thursday' folder and I will open that on Thursday and deal with them while I work on Project X.
Every email in a folder is processed on that day. So on a Tuesday I will process every email in the 'tuesday' folder. I usually do this by moving them into my 'inbox' at the start of the day. Processing them might involve deleting them because there's nothing more to do on it, replying to it, performing an action based on the content of the email or simply deferring it into a folder for later in the week. It might even involve forwarding it on to somebody else, in which case I will then move the email into a folder a few days later to remind me to follow up.
Hope that helps!
If I receive an email about Project X on Monday, but I don't won't to deal with it until Thursday, I will put it in the 'thursday' folder. If more emails come in about Project X on Tuesday and Wednesday then they will also go in the 'thursday' folder, so all three emails will be in the 'thursday' folder and I will open that on Thursday and deal with them while I work on Project X.
Every email in a folder is processed on that day. So on a Tuesday I will process every email in the 'tuesday' folder. I usually do this by moving them into my 'inbox' at the start of the day. Processing them might involve deleting them because there's nothing more to do on it, replying to it, performing an action based on the content of the email or simply deferring it into a folder for later in the week. It might even involve forwarding it on to somebody else, in which case I will then move the email into a folder a few days later to remind me to follow up.
Hope that helps!
August 9, 2016 at 11:27 |
DAZ
DAZ
Christopher, that link says maximum of 9 tags. Is that just for hot-keys, or total?
DAZ, that makes sense. And there won't be too many in each day, so you can easily move them again if Tuesday becomes too busy. Or even put them in a subfolder within Tuesday, if it's a really long conversation.
Neat!
DAZ, that makes sense. And there won't be too many in each day, so you can easily move them again if Tuesday becomes too busy. Or even put them in a subfolder within Tuesday, if it's a really long conversation.
Neat!
August 9, 2016 at 15:44 |
Cricket
Cricket
Cricket:
I have a simple email workflow that only involves checking my email twice a day.
In the morning I move all my emails from that day's folder into my inbox. Then I scan through every email in my inbox to see if any can be dealt with quickly. Often a lot of them are junk and can be deleted. Others require quick reply and then can be deleted. If any require urgent action doing today then I'll add it as a task to do today and maybe print the email to remind me about it.
At the end of the day I come back to my inbox and deal with everything that is left over. This may involve replying, deleting, forwarding or moving to one of my folders on the day I want to actually deal with the contents of the email but at the end of the day my inbox is empty and I am happy!
I have a simple email workflow that only involves checking my email twice a day.
In the morning I move all my emails from that day's folder into my inbox. Then I scan through every email in my inbox to see if any can be dealt with quickly. Often a lot of them are junk and can be deleted. Others require quick reply and then can be deleted. If any require urgent action doing today then I'll add it as a task to do today and maybe print the email to remind me about it.
At the end of the day I come back to my inbox and deal with everything that is left over. This may involve replying, deleting, forwarding or moving to one of my folders on the day I want to actually deal with the contents of the email but at the end of the day my inbox is empty and I am happy!
August 10, 2016 at 22:17 |
DAZ
DAZ
DAZ, I need to start something like that. Maybe weekly, since many days I only check email for fires. I need to accept that my current lack of self-discipline will continue at least another few months, until current stresses and resulting crash are over, and use systems that work with current reality, not the systems that work when I'm on the ball.
For many years, my inbox varied between 10 and 50, and I was happy with that. Some long conversations were moved to a subfolder within the inbox until finished. Every three months, old email was moved to its own folder (a closed list) for the 10% treatment. (Every day, do 10% of the remaining items, and a bit more if it finishes a natural group. The first 10% is a large number of quickies and builds momentum. In the middle, I want to keep up momentum and realize a lot of stuff actually isn't important. The last few days, all that are left are are important and high-resistance, but I only have to do one a day to keep up the chain. Good balance between speed and burnout. Works great.)
This spring, though, the inbox took off, and now varies between 150 and 300. Many require about 20 minutes of action, and I don't have the discipline to deal with it.
I need to add more filters, get off some mailing lists (when will I learn?), close the list more often, and get back into the 10% habit. For now, simply moving the non-urgent but still important stuff out of the way sounds good. (Many would recommend moving the old ones to trash, but I'm not ready to admit defeat on some of the projects.)
For many years, my inbox varied between 10 and 50, and I was happy with that. Some long conversations were moved to a subfolder within the inbox until finished. Every three months, old email was moved to its own folder (a closed list) for the 10% treatment. (Every day, do 10% of the remaining items, and a bit more if it finishes a natural group. The first 10% is a large number of quickies and builds momentum. In the middle, I want to keep up momentum and realize a lot of stuff actually isn't important. The last few days, all that are left are are important and high-resistance, but I only have to do one a day to keep up the chain. Good balance between speed and burnout. Works great.)
This spring, though, the inbox took off, and now varies between 150 and 300. Many require about 20 minutes of action, and I don't have the discipline to deal with it.
I need to add more filters, get off some mailing lists (when will I learn?), close the list more often, and get back into the 10% habit. For now, simply moving the non-urgent but still important stuff out of the way sounds good. (Many would recommend moving the old ones to trash, but I'm not ready to admit defeat on some of the projects.)
August 11, 2016 at 0:27 |
Cricket
Cricket
Thank you so much for this discussion!
I remembered how I used to deal with email. Smallish inbox, but not a zero-inbox goal. Declare a backlog every 10 days (a closed list, with date), flag items that need faster attention, and 10% rule on each of those backlogs every day. It handles my erratic schedule very well, including times when the inbox grows quickly because I'm busy with other things.
(Keeping up with the email doesn't work for me. Email and other projects are too erratic.)
This morning I rebooted my old system. Started with 411 backlogged email (including some already backlogged). Now it's 342. Yes, more than 10% gone, thanks to some patterns and finished conversations. Three store mailing lists unsubscribed. (When will I learn not to subscribe?) I know from experience with this system that it works for me if I keep at it.
Happy.
I remembered how I used to deal with email. Smallish inbox, but not a zero-inbox goal. Declare a backlog every 10 days (a closed list, with date), flag items that need faster attention, and 10% rule on each of those backlogs every day. It handles my erratic schedule very well, including times when the inbox grows quickly because I'm busy with other things.
(Keeping up with the email doesn't work for me. Email and other projects are too erratic.)
This morning I rebooted my old system. Started with 411 backlogged email (including some already backlogged). Now it's 342. Yes, more than 10% gone, thanks to some patterns and finished conversations. Three store mailing lists unsubscribed. (When will I learn not to subscribe?) I know from experience with this system that it works for me if I keep at it.
Happy.
August 11, 2016 at 19:51 |
Cricket
Cricket
@ Cricket:
The linked-to documentation on Thunderbird tries to explain how to create new labels in Thunderbird. New labels can be created in an unlimited amount, just like in Gmail. There is no limit on the amount of possible labels in both Thunderbird and Gmail.
The linked-to documentation on Thunderbird tries to explain how to create new labels in Thunderbird. New labels can be created in an unlimited amount, just like in Gmail. There is no limit on the amount of possible labels in both Thunderbird and Gmail.
August 15, 2016 at 11:50 |
Christopher
Christopher
I really like the sound of this. It's a bit like what you can do with Nudgemail or Google Inbox, but it's so much more immediate and you can implement it with any email client that allows folders or tags.
It also reminded me of the 43 folders that were mentioned in GTD and used by Merlin Mann, except this used a lot less folders (43 always seemed a bit to unwieldy to me).
It then struck me that I could use this method with physical folders. I decided I would use the following 8 folders:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Weekend - This is where I put anything I want to do at the weekend, but also anything I want to consider in my weekly review, which I do at the weekend
Month - this folder gets checked at the start of every month
Projects - this is where I keep any project work
At the start of each day I open the folder corresponding to that day and everything I need is there! At the end of the day, I take all the paper I've accumulated over the course of the day and put it in the relevant file. If I don't want to deal with something until next week, I'll put it in the weekend folder and then during my weekly review, I'll decide which day's folder it will go in. If I decide I don't want to do it next week, then I'll just leave it in the weekend file for consideration in my next weekly review and it stays there until it needs doing. If I'm not going to need it for a while then I put it in the monthly folder to be considered at the beginning of next month.
I'm also starting to think how this could also be applied to lists: 8 lists with the same headings where tasks could be entered that want to be done on that day. Tasks could then be recirculated to the next day if being done using the 'little and often' method.
I've found this method has worked really well so far and helped me organise my email and physical bits of paper without having a particularly complex or cumbersome system.