- Allocate time to prepare your workstation and have all things ready. This reduces unconscious resistance to dealing with stuff and incentivizes you to keep working.
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Interruptions double the time it takes to get through everything so it is recommended to do this in one fell swoop, especially when there are a lot of open loops.
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Have a dedicated workspace. Do not share workspaces with others.
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You can work virtually everywhere if you have a clean, compact system and know how to process your stuff rapidly and portably.
But you’ll still need a “home base” with a well-grooved set of tools and sufficient space for all the reference and support material that you’ll want somewhere close at hand when you “land.”
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Once you know what to process, and how to use your tools, the medium (whether paper or digital) really doesn’t matter. Just go for simplicity, speed, and fun.
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Maintain a personal on-hand filing system that lets you process items in less than a minute. This makes it subconsciously easier for us to use it. Keep in mind that by default, it takes so much work to make and organize files.
- Keep all general reference files at hand’s reach.
- Have one alpha system for general storage — one system that contains everything by topic. This lets you not have to think about where something is / goes when it’s labeled.
- If the stuff is worth keeping, then keep it and make it accessible.
- Clean and reorganize the files at least once a year to keep them from going stale.
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