Post It Projects

There’s been much discussion on blogs such as 43 Folders and Douglas Johnston’s blog of the tools we can use for organizing the tasks we have to do and things to keep track of. The book Getting Things Done, by David Allen, presents a system for “stress-free productivity”. I’ve tried a number of ways of implementing David’s process, and here I present my result: the Post-It Portable Workspace (PPW).

I’m a freelance writer, and I’ve used Post-it notes for years to keep track of tasks to be done, fragments of ideas, storylines in my fiction, and the dozens of other random pieces of information I juggle day in and day out. I’ve long admired a product I saw advertised once called the ScanCard, which captures information on 3-inch square index cards, which go into a special binder with pockets. However, this system was hideously expensive, and I tend to prefer organizing my thoughts and tasks visually rather than in neat rows and columns.

The basic idea of the PPW is simple: I took a series of plastic sheet protectors, which provide a nice surface for Post-it notes to adhere to. Inside them, I placed sheets of card stock (file folders, cut down to 8-1/2 x 11) for rigidity, and I put the whole mess in a 3-ring binder. The setup looks like this:

Some features of the PPW that are worthy of note:

• Inside both covers of the binder, I’ve arranged extra Post-it notes; this allows me to capture incoming stuff on the go.
• The context labels on each page (in this view, the blue square in the far upper right corner, which says @Computer) are under the sheet protector. This prevents them from getting lost or stuck to the notes arranged on the page, but allows panels to be easily re-purposed if need be.
• Each panel is double-sided; my Getting Things Done contexts occupy both sides of the first three pages; I have another three or four panels in the back for projects.
• My last panel is labelled “Inbox”, and provides a temporary storage area for incoming Post-its before I process them.

Some ideas for expansion/enhancement:

• Tape several panels together to provide a larger fold-out workspace for big projects;
• Color code the card stock for each panel according to purpose. All my panels are presently green, because I had lots of extra green folders laying about, but I may revisit this later.
• Other kinds of paper can be incorporated into the system using 3m Restickable Adhesive glue 6307, which effectively turns any paper into a Post-it note.

Not the most high-tech organizational method, but it works for me…and it’s a heck of a lot easier than carrying around a 6-foot square piece of foamboard covered with Post-its.