Get Everything Done

All this talk of using index cards as an addition to the regular Autofocus list (to hold time-sensitive or other context-based tasks) suddenly made me think: what if the list WAS just index cards?

Specifically, what if it took the form of Merlin Mann's "Hipster PDA" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_PDA. This is just a stack of index cards and a binder clip - total cost of $5 or less.

To use the Hipster PDA idea for Autofocus:
- The top card is the current active page.
- To "turn to the next page", move the top card to the bottom of the stack.
- When you've completed a card (or dismissed everything on it), take it out of the stack.
- Keep a couple of blank cards at the bottom to write new items on.

This eliminates a lot of the problems of using Autofocus with regular bound notebooks:
1. No need to keep track of the current page - it's always on top, staring at you.
2. No need for a system of transferring tasks to a new notebook - just add more cards.
3. No need for a system to indicate that a page is completed - just remove the card.
4. Easier to find dismissed tasks for review - archive those cards separately.
5. Easier to integrate special "context" / "urgent" / "checklist" cards into the system

For the basic mechanics, a lot depends on the particular cards you get. Levenger sells 5x3 cards with 20 lines in portrait format, but a cheaper option would be regular office-supply cards with a 1/4" grid, for 25 lines. You could also scale up to 4x6 cards.

Circa/Filofax/ring binder users can obviously reap most of the same benefits by moving pages around, but at the cost of more time and $$$.

I can't be the first one to have had this idea, so - has anyone else implemented it? Are there any pitfalls that I've missed? Otherwise I'm thinking of giving it a go tomorrow :)

I did consider using the index cards I have here, which are portrait-oriented and have 17 lines. I read through the intro material a few more times, and became convinced that I should at least start out around the recommended 25-30 items per page.

My eventual choice had 29 lines, but I'm still getting used to the system and so I can't say for sure whether it's working. I have wondered a few times if having less lines would be helpful, because then I'd be quicker in flipping through the pages. Would that be motivating? Would having less tasks to choose from be helpful (incentive is to clear the page, maybe?) or more likely for the page to be dismissed too early?

I don't know the answers. I am just suspecting that the number of items makes a difference, and I also suspect that people will differ in whether they like to work from a page with a lot of items listed on it or only a few.

I've also started suspecting that I would do better if my autofocus pages had fewer items! But I also separate my lists into Work and Home lists, so maybe that's why I think it would work. If other people are splitting into even more contexts, I can totally see how each list would need to be shorter anyway, in order to keep the focus narrow enough to really consider each item on the page, when working from smaller contexts especially.

I'll leave you with something to consider: how do you think the number of lines on the page will affect you and the way *you* work?

More lines will give you more time to revisit tasks before having to face them or dismiss them. Fewer lines might increase resistance. I think it might be an entirely personal thing.

With autofocus.cc, I can dynamically change the number of items per page, so if I notice that a certain setting doesn't work for me, I can reorder my list within seconds. For example, at the beginning I had 10 items per page, but then I permanently ran into the issue that I didn't feel "ready" yet for the last few items on a page and had to dismiss them. I decided to switch to 20 items per page, which seems to have improved my flow significantly.

I'd previously been using a gridded Moleskine Reporter notebook, with about 24 items per page. So far using 3x5 cards with 20 items per card doesn't feel like a big change.

I definitely agree that the "best" number of items per page is going to depend on both the person and the circumstances. There was an interesting poll on the Yahoo group about paper-vs-digital: maybe the next poll could be about number of items per page?

Actually, while I'm using a notebook now, I don't see any reason not to use 3x5 cards, and I think the description in the original posting of how to go about it ought to work well. I've used a Levenger "Pocket Briefcase" pretty routinely, along the lines of a "Hipster", sorta., and it's worked quite well for me.

I'd hope that the difference between 20 lines on a Levenger's card versus 24 lines in a Moleskine notebook isn't the "make or break" factor with this system...

What will you do with the cards once you have completed or dismissed all the activities?

I am only in the 3rd day of my paper based AF trial and already I like the fact I have a chronological record of the items I have added in a bound notebook.
I am using an A5 notebook which gives me a fair amount of space to write
a details item. I found with 3x5 cards the space is restrictive.

However, please keep us posted on your Hipstar AF and share photos!

Charles

A 3x5 storage box which will hold several hundred cards can be had for a couple of bucks at any reasonable stationery store....

Update: I tried my Hipster PDA idea for a week - it was an interesting experiment, but a failed one! Ironically it was the very flexibility of the system that caused problems. I found it too easy to shuffle cards around, which resulted in more planning/thinking about tasks and less actual *doing* of them.

It's made me realize that part of the beauty of Autofocus is the very linear, page-by-page way of working through a notebook. Once you finish a page, there's no question about what to do next: just turn to the next one!

Other people with more self control might have better luck using a Hipster PDA for their Autofocus lists... but then, if we all had self control, what are we doing on this forum looking for help? :-)

It's interesting to see several people trying different methods and ultimately coming back to a basic notebook. I desperately want to keep my lists on the computer/iPhone, but I have made the same journey and come back to the notebook. I think I just need to get bigger pockets...

Or better yet, a link that works - http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/index-card-hacks.html

The Hipster PDA is just stupid (I used it; I'd know. :P). I think Merlin Mann mostly wrote it as a thought exercise. In any case, he's long since abandoned it.

The problem with it is the binder clip. Takes forever to undo. Needs 2 hands to undo. Yet still manages to come undone.

A notebook works better. Even one of those mini-6-ring binders if you want pocket size. The smallest sizes of those are great.