DIY Planner - 'Nother Newbie Here - Comments

Thanks for the tip

circac — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 20:23:43 -0400

Hi Reese: Thanks for the tip. I am going to go there now.

Try the wiki

rlaundry — Tue, 3 Apr 2007 09:27:04 -0400

I'd look again Circac. All the "how-to" details are in his wiki. There is a link to "The manual", as well as the flickr photos in the upper right corner of the blog page. It has sections for the PoIC system and methods right there.

Good Luck,
Reese

What struck me about this experiment of his...

jonglass — Tue, 3 Apr 2007 02:38:10 -0400

was that he found himself completely incapable of being "good" all the time. Even with the rules (guidelines) he made for himself, he kept "breaking" them (coming short of his ideal). He was able to improve, but he never acheived the degree of "virtue" (was that the word he used? It's been a couple decades since I read it). I believe he did this as an experiment, and he eventually discontinued it.... but again, it's been a long time. I'm sure there are sites with this text up on it.

-Jon

Wonderful

circac — Mon, 2 Apr 2007 18:29:20 -0400

Thanks innowen. The information you gave me helped immensely ! I had looked and looked on Hawk's site but had not seen any of the info you gave. I still need to find a way to get a solid grip on everything which I now lack. I have started incorporating the hipster for capturing ideas. Slowly but surely, this "hobby" will take shape don't you think? thanks again.

Very good....

circa — Mon, 2 Apr 2007 18:23:17 -0400

That's a very good question Star. Maybe someone will have a good answer for us.

Ben Franklin

circac — Mon, 2 Apr 2007 18:20:29 -0400

Hi Kenny: I can't remember the title of the book, but something about his "little book" should be in his autobiography. I remember reading that he had a place in his book to keep track of his "temperance". In general, the book was to keep himself organized and to keep him straight on his desire to maintain a certain character. I really enjoyed reading about it. I wonder if at least part of it was in Covey's 7 habits? Not sure.

the site is the basics

innowen — Sun, 1 Apr 2007 00:46:44 -0400

Circac,

I'm afraid that the Pile of Indexcards website IS where you learn for the basics. However, if you want to start implementing the ideas he presents, I recommend you start with the following:

Get some grid ruled index cards.
Divide your thoughts into the four categories he presents.
Grab an index card and whenever you get a thought and need to write it down, in the format he presents.
Date the card.
Archive the card, when you are finished using it, in a box of your choosing. (any sort of box that holds index cards will work.)

And that's the short and condensed version of the core Pile of Indexcards method.

/innowen

Yes, Hawk I think

circac — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 21:28:54 -0400

Hi Yes, I think it's Hawk? I went to his Pile Of Cards site. Very interesting. I wish I could go somewhere for the very basics. Any ideas ?

I suspect it's a brain thing...

jonglass — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:23:23 -0400

I'm kind of like him. I can place things on a calendar in my mind. I have an idea when I did/wrote/filed something, but not necessarily why and where. I used to try to sort my photos via subject--that lasted a month. I have thousands upon thousands of photos, both in film and on hard drives, and trying to sort them all by subject or whatnot was just too much for me, so I resorted to a chronological system. Everything is filed by date, and even has a file name, based upon date. I'm able to find just about any photo in mere minutes now, and usually seconds. I can relate... Not, mind you, that keywords/indexing doesn't help, but for the act of filing--at least the things he is writing, it makes sense to file chronologically. He does, I believe, have a cross-index, and having the marks on the top of his cards helps with this, so there is more than just the chron. system going on. But as to where to physically _put_ the cards, he does it by date.

I guess you could say that this guy _has_ to have it together. ;-)

-Jon

As is often said around here

star — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:51:38 -0400

Kenny,
As is often said when someone becomes a Levenger convert: "Welcome to the darkside."

Chrono vs. Subject

star — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:49:02 -0400

Might depend on what you need to file. I have a colleague that tried to file his emails chronologically and could never find anything. He finally started using the technique I use, which was to set up personal folders by subject names using the groups and topics I interact with most. If it is in my Inbox, it still requires an action, if it is for reference or I have completed the task associated with the email, it then gets filed in a personal file by subject (although some days this is better said than done). Electronic data is saved in folders by topic and then by date since everyone in our group needs to be able to find and have access to the info we create or save for reference.
Since we can deal with several initiatives and topics in one day, with some of them being long-term discussions or projects that can last 6 months or longer, chronological filing would just become a nightmare for me and my group.

Is there anyone that has had success with chronological filing, even when dealing with multiple subjects/projects/initiatives?

I know what you mean!

supenguin — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:41:24 -0400

This is too true. I recently placed my second order with Levenger. I was going to print out my own calendar pages from now on, and even bought a hole punch to make this happen. When I ordered a couple other things, I decided to go ahead and order the Junior size Agenda. They just look so much nicer than anything I could print out on my little inkjet.

-Kenny

"Make Up" Purchase Caveat

star — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:11:24 -0400

Good idea,
But after buying a few Levenger products, I have come to believe they are as addictive as crack.

I just got a shipment and I am already jonesing for more.

Clare

which book?

supenguin — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:01:58 -0400

Which book of Ben Franklin's talks about his little book? I've run into quite a few quotes of Franklin's reading the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and similar books. I think they even put a quote from him on the front of a lot of their calendar refills and planner packs "Do not squander time for that is the stuff life is made of."

I've never actually read any of Ben Franklin's works, although I am tempted to pick up a copy of "Fart Proudly" just for the title.

-Kenny

Can you explain...

circac — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:48:23 -0400

Can you explain the advantage of the chrono lineup from his perspective? I didn't quite get it, but I know he has some kind of good point for it. I think routines are important in organization. I also think one needs a certain amount of flexibility too because without it one becomes a stunted robot.

'Nother Newbie Here

newsace — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 20:58:02 -0400

After all these years, my unorganizedness has finally gotten so bad that I have no choice but to do something about it. A Google search for something along the lines of "tips for getting organized" led me here, and thence to all manner of blogs, commercial sites, and various other pieces of related Web content. GTD kept popping up, so I bought the book, downloaded all the 43 Folders interviews with David Allen (and burned to CDs for listening in the car), and am generally trying to see if this is the plan that'll stick for me.

What brought me to this point is the realization that I was (still am, I guess) losing track of too many things, work-wise. In my previous life as a producer in a TV newsroom, my organization style (or lack thereof) never really caused a problem. Every day brought a fresh start, and I rarely had projects that carried over multiple days.

A little over two years ago, though, my dream job (Director of Communications at my college alma mater) opened up and I was fortunate enough to get the job. I managed to keep my head above water for the first couple of months, but then my lack of skills for handling multiple overlapping-time-frame projects began to catch up with me. I've been feeling like I'm slowly sinking in the resulting morass, and while helping my wife (an office supply and calendar/planner/organizer junkie) search for a new planner system to replace what she'd been using, finally decided to grow up and do something about the organizational problems I've been causing myself.

So here I am, with a "365" (the Target-branded Franklin Covey) "classic" size planner (available to me because the Mrs. wanted one binder but the "innards" of a different one, so we bought them both and she cobbled together her ideal setup), a hodgepodge of forms from said planner purchases and D*I*Y Planner, a bunch of new file folders and a brand spankin' new Brother labeler to GTD-ize them, and already a frustration at trying to figure out an easy way to 7-hole punch paper without spending another $18 to buy the special hole puncher.

Wish me luck.

D*I*Y Planner - 'Nother Newbie Here - Comments