06.20.05
The Anxiety of Getting Things Done
This sounds like a well-oiled system for handling paper stuff.
Ishbadiddle: The Anxiety of Getting Things Done:
“As this is a largely-paper based system, I end up using a lot of paper — printing things out to put in the tickler, file, put in coverslips, the ‘To Read’ pile, and so on. I’m constantly recycling paper — there’s a box under my desk full of scrap paper.
Why paper instead of bits? Primarily because the computer is a great multi-tasking tool. And that’s the problem — because multi-tasking is so easy, I multitask. And when I multitask, I tend to divide my attention, wander through projects, look up something on the Internet, etc etc etc. My next project is to figure out how to create a ‘Desk Kanban’ on screen — perhaps with multiple desktops? As it stands, I’ve found that one of the most useful time management tools I have at my disposal is the ‘off’ button on my monitor.”
(Via lifehacks.org.)
And that right there is the kernel of the problem I’m wrestling with. I can’t just abandon the computer, since I have to do things that require a computer (i.e., programming). I’m better off finding a system that will mesh with the computer. Maybe something as straight-forward as an analogue of the project coverslip he talks about. With spotlight that could live pretty much anywhere and still be findable. I’ll have to think on that.