My project for May 2010 is to get better at remembering and decluttering. I want to reclaim the time and energy I spend looking for things. I don’t want to inconvenience W-. It feels good to remember and have things in the right place.
Key points:
Don’t just look, see.
Have a place for everything, and put everything in its place.
Slow down and give yourself time to tidy up.
Finish things before starting something new.
Things that often get misplaced
iPod and phone
Problem: I usually don’t have pockets, so I put them down when I need to use both hands, and then I forget where I put them down.
Approach: Wear a belt pouch. Put the iPod and phone into it.
Wallet, keys, badge, etc.
Problem: These get transferred from bag to bag. Sometimes I forget which bag these are in, so I have to check several bags before I find it.
Approach: Keep everything in a white mesh pouch, which I can leave in the cabinet near the door. When I’m about to go out, I can take the pouch from the cabinet and put it in my current bag. When I return home, I take the pouch out of the bag and put it back into the cabinet.
Bicycle lock
Problem: If I put it in a bag, I sometimes forget to take the bag if I’m rushing out the door.
Approach: Use a bungee cord to keep my lock on the rack.
Physical places that attract clutter
Top of dresser
Problem: Attracts scarves, clothes, books, etc.
Approach: Keep it clean except for the next day’s clothes.
Bedside table
Problem: Attracts notebooks and books
Approach:
Reserve the top for iPod base, chapstick, pencil, eyeglasses, mouthguard
The second shelf: At most one notebook, at most one book, phone charger, phone, and belt pouch
Kitchen table
Problem: Attracts dishes, electronics, papers, pens that don’t work
Approach: Clear everything when I get home, for a fresh start
Coffee table
Problem: Attracts bags, books, scarves, etc.
Approach: Bags should be emptied and hung up. Books go on shelves. Scarves, gloves, etc. should go into a box.
Entry shelf
Problem: Bags pile up.
Approach: Once a week, tidy this up.
Purse
Problem: Accumulates paper, coins, books, and other things
Approach: Once a week, empty my purse and plan it from scratch.
Make a small scrap catcher and put it near my sewing machine.
Focus on sewing projects with clear instructions.
Tidy everything up after each phase.
Library bookshelf
Problem: Read books mingle with unread books, so I spend more time scanning. Sometimes I have too many books checked out, so the shelf gets untidy.
Approach:
Set up a last-in-first-out queue, perhaps going from left to right
Annex another shelf for overflow. Give away old books to free up space.
Digital clutter
Blog
Problem: My blog posts aren’t copied into my personal reference system. I don’t have an overview/knowledge-map of how everything ties together.
Approach:
Extract titles and links and put them into an Org-format file so that I can organize them.
Review my Learning map and intentionally write blog posts along those topics.
Backlog
Problem: I’m taking lots of notes, but I don’t share them because I’ve limited myself to publishing one blog post a day.
Approach: Publish them as future posts, and keep a local copy for ease of searching.
Notes
Problem: Digital notes get scattered all over the place: iPod, blog, Twitter, etc. I try to keep both hierarchical notes and chronological notes, which doesn’t work too well with my outline.
Approach:
Have a master date-stamped file, then copy information out of it.
Develop and use a consistent indexing scheme.
Use the iPod as an inbox and set aside time to transfer info from the inbox.
Use M-x remember to capture notes in sequence, then process the inbox of notes and put things into a categorized archive.
Get the hang of using Org hyperlinks.
To-do list
Problem: Toodledo list cluttered with items whose Due Dates aren’t really on that day. That’s because I’m using the due dates for prioritization, because the priorities aren’t enough. Org is better at this because of the distinction between Due Date and Scheduled.
Approach: Use priorities more, and use start dates as well. Don’t use due dates for scheduling. Get used to working from the context view.
Scans
Problem: Scans pile up in my inbox directory. I don’t have an index for referring to them.
Approach:
Review my batch OCR script and run that more regularly.
Use my organizer.org file to keep track of everything.
Pictures
Problem: I don’t regularly review and upload my pictures.
Approach: Set aside time each week to review all the pictures taken, select the ones I want to share, and share them. Format the card afterwards so that I don’t have to deal with duplicates.