http://cnxn.ca/NoFoldersTutorial.html

Mark

BTW, I would love to win a Windows copy.

1) Firefox’s RSS feeds, as “live bookmarks” – I can, for instance, put jkOnTheRun onto the bookmark toolbar, and take a quick glance at the list of blog updates with the click of a button. This makes it much easier for me to cut down on how long it takes me to stay in the loop on many sites. I also organize my bookmarks on the toolbar into different folders depending on the main idea, so if I want to browse all the sites

2) Media Player Classic does about all that ever has to do with video files or streaming stuff off the net without all the hassles of opening Windows Media Player and trying to keep it out of my way. I use it when I want to listen to a podcast or a list of podcasts (with the playlist feature). It’s simple, small, and does the job.

3) Not really all that ubiquitous, but I found it thanks to reading these comments: I downloaded Sciral Consistency and bought it about 20 minutes later. It’s simple, fast, and is already a great addition to my routine. Most prominently, I have used it to keep track of my bills, and at a glance I can tell which ones are going to be coming up soon so I can stay ahead of them. It’s one of the simplest personal management tools I’ve ever seen for all the use I get out of it now. Of course, there’s room for improvement (I have a few ideas, but posting them here won’t get anything accomplished ;)

4) On tasks at work that are primarily typing or transcribing, I found that I am far faster at it by going through it in passes
- 4a. The bulk of the wording, for example, I simply type as it comes to mind, only correcting typos out of habit (I almost reflexively hit the backspace key these days…).
- 4b. On the second pass I format the stuff (bolding, bulleting, moving around, subscripting/superscripting etc).

- 4c. On the final pass I subvocalize it (read while thinking of saying the words – normally when I read things I don’t do this, as it slows my reading down) so that I can “hear” how it “sounds”, and I make any adjustments.

- Before I started forcing myself into this routine, I would spend sometimes as much as 3x the amount of time on one batch or paragraph, because I would format, shift around, subvocalize the sentences while I was typing them. Of course, if I formatted, moved around, or read stuff that I later undid or redid, that was time wasted that I could have better spent on something more exciting, like going home and watching grass grow. Basically I am not a fan of long typing/transcribing tasks, so I use those few passes to minimize the time it takes me to do them.

5) I almost always have music going on in the background, either via radio or the computer. This helps me to keep my focus on the task at hand, because it satisfies (some of) my boredom and tendency to daydream and wander off to the web while I’m at a browser doing some research.

6) I usually try to avoid Google goose chases. If something I’m looking for doesn’t show up in the first two attempts at a Google, I’ll just go post in a forum of some sort. When I do a Google goose chase, it often takes me longer to find out that I can’t find it, and on average if I do find something I’m looking for by a Google goose chase, it’s taken me longer to do so than it would have taken me to go on a forum or into an IRC channel and ask.

I use computer-based lists, but some of my staff us all paper lists and they see a productivity gain, too.

A corollary to “write it down” is “save the important writings.” This means keeping a file of project plans, telephone call results, contacts, technical references, standards, templates, etc. At my company, I am the go-to guy whenever anyone needs to know something about a past project. I typically have a file with the key pieces of information, and can find that file in minutes.

1.Keep all your tasks and to-do’s in one place. Don’t have Post-it notes scattered everywhere. Decide on a tool to use – whether it be a notepad or software. Suggestions for some top software for task management below.

2. Keep your task list with you at all times. You’ll find it stress relieving to braindump actions onto your to do list as and when they arise.

3. If you’re using Outlook as your task manager then you should definately consider using the Outlook 2007 Public Beta. There’s some important improvements to task management in the 2007 release, including showing tasks on your calendar and the new “To Do” Bar.
http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/programs/outlook/overview.mspx for details

Outlook’s certainly one of the top task managers. If you’re struggling with lots of conflicting priorities though, you may benefit from MLO or Lifebalance (see below) which have more of a focus on organising your to do list so you focus on the most important priorities

4. Get the balance right between different areas of your life (work/household/family etc). LifeBalance is particularly good at tracking where you are spending most of your time and encouraging you to shift your priorities in life. LifeBalance interfaces with PocketPCs and many other devices
http://www.llamagraphics.com/LB/LifeBalanceTop.html

5. Separate out the important from the urgent tasks. My Life Organized is good at this.
“The essence of genius is to know what to overlook.” — William James (1842-1910) Doctor, Psychologist, Philosopher.
My Life Organized is probably one of the most developed and tested task managers. Its strength is the ability to present you with a prioritised to do list that considers how IMPORTANT a task is as well as its urgency/deadline. MLO interfaces with Pocket PC’s and Outlook.
http://www.mylifeorganized.net/
User Group http://groups.google.com/group/myLifeOrganized

6. Finally, ToDoList’s main advantage is its free, has a nice interface and some pretty cool features, though its not as advanced as the others I’ve listed.
http://www.codeproject.com/tools/todolist2.asp?forumid=25857&df=100&select=1418220&msg=1418220

I run Windows OS

Commit to just 15 minutes
Tell yourself that you’re going to work on that task you’ve been putting off for just 15 minutes. If at the end of 15 minutes, your attitude hasn’t changed, you’re free to change tasks as well (consider this a good start and take another 15 minute swing at it later). If however, at the end of 15 minutes, you have found that the task isn’t really all that bad after all, keep going and knock it out. I’m always amazed at how much I can get done in a very short time if I stay focused.

Reward yourself
I have an acquaintance who is as fit as a fiddle, but wasn’t always. The way he finally motivated himself to start regularly exercising…no kidding…was to reward himself with a banana split every time he worked out. At first he knew it was counterproductive, but over time, the exercise became reward in itself and he cut out the banana splits. Years later, he is in excellent shape and gives the banana splits all the credit. This same principle applies to almost anything. If, for example, you’ve been putting off that monthly status report, tell yourself that after you get it done, you can spend a half hour reading from jkOnTheRun!

I would die for a Windows copy of MindManager!

1) Email management

Most of the things I need to do are triggered by the arrival of email. I have managed to achieve complete control over my email and the actions they lead to by using the following system, which is a simple application of GTD, using Outlook 2003.

a) I use the flags feature to mark each email that requires an action or that I will need to come back to in the future. The meanings I have assigned to the flags are:
– Red: Reply to the email
– Orange: Action needed (other than a reply
– Blue: Need to read the email or attachment
– Green: Information I will need later
– Purple: ‘Waiting’ – an email I have sent and for which I am expecting a reply

I keep the flags toolbar always displayed, so that I can apply a flag to an email in one click. I have customised the icon labels in this toolbar according to my meanings, and added buttons for displaying the reminder dialog box, marking an email as ‘done’ and removing a flag.

b) I set up Search folders which display only the emails having specific flags. I really only use two of them: one for ‘Reply’ and ‘Action needed’, the other for ‘Need to read’.

c) I set up rules to automatically sort in specific folders emails which I receive on a regular basis: newsletters, notifications, etc.

With this simple setup, I am able to process my email very quickly, keep an empty inbox and always keep on top of things I need to do. Because all recurring emails are automatically stored in folders using rules, my inbox contains mostly emails which I should pay attention to. Once or twice a day, I will go through my inbox, applying a flag to each email as appropriate and immediately filing it in a folder. That way, my inbox is always empty at the end of the day. I can use the Search folders to review all my action items or all the things I need to read – with Outlook’s views, it’s easy to sort and group these lists by date, subject (folder), etc. When I have completed an item, I just mark it as done and it disappears from the Search folders.

With this system, I feel I get the most important benefits of GTD for managing email: I only process an email once, I can easily review the things I need to do as a result of email, and my inbox is always almost empty. Since I started using this system in a systematic way two years ago, I’m not stressed by managing email any more!

2) Filename tagging

For some files, I apply specific tags as prefixes to the filename. For example ‘c_’ indicates that the file in progress (‘under Construction’) and that I need to complete it. ‘w_’ indicates that the file is used as part of another file (for exemple, an Excel file containing charts that are used in a PowerPoint presentation). So a filename could be, for example: ‘cw_March results.xls’, indicating the the March results spreadsheet is not finished yet and used as part of another file.

You can draw up a list of what tags are useful to you and what letters you want to use. The important thing is to always use them consistently and systematically.

Another advantage of this approach is that files are automatically sorted on the tags in any program that displays the files of a folder in alphabetical order.

1. Checking voicemail only twice a day – Unless I’m expecting an important telephone call, I check once when I arrive in the morning and once before I leave at night. My greeting states that if the caller needs to speak with someone right away, then the caller should speak with my assistant. I want to have some uninterrupted time.

2. Checking email at set points during the day – Same reason as above.

3. Blocking off “work time” – My colleagues tend to be meeting happy. Aside from deciding which meetings I must attend and which meetings I can decline, I block off “work time” (2 to 3 hour blocks) on my Outlook calendar so no one can schedule meetings at that time. I also purchased a “do not disturb” sign for my door – if my door is closed and the sign is out, then I’m not to be disturbed unless it is an emergency.

5. Clipping with OneNote – I’m an information hound, and I love collecting information. Often, using my Tablet PC, I clip parts of web pages or articles (or send complete web pages) to OneNote. There I can organize by section to provide “ticklers” (like, remember to buy this book or DVD, read this article from the WSJ when I have time).

6. Onfolio – I use Onfolio as well for more directed research and for my RSS feeds.

7. Keeping my “in” box empty by handling/filing documents once – I’m not perfect at it, but I have a deep “in” box that I do my best to keep empty by handling/filing documents once or twice.

8. Migo Professional – I have Microsoft Exchange at my disposal, but the Internet Explorer interface is not user-friendly. I use Migo to replicate my work computer on my laptop at home in the evening, and I can quickly go through my email without having to hook up to the Internet, then sync when I return to the office the next day.