by Sacha Chua

(Sneak preview of m-ph entry for tomorrow)

“I’ve found the perfect PDA,” I gushed. My friends perked up. Knowing
how much of a geek I am, anything I was that crazy about was bound to
be interesting. They leaned over and watched as I reached into my bag
and brought out…

… my Hipster PDA.

“SACHA?!”

Introducing the Hipster PDA

One of the hottest topics in the productivity blogosphere right now is
the Hipster PDA, a surprisingly effective low-tech way to
organize your life. Grab a pack of 3″x5″ index cards and a fold-back
clip and you’re set to go!

What’s so cool about the Hipster PDA?

• Gets rid of worries. You don’t have to worry about running out of
  battery during a critical meeting. You can drop it and it will still
  work. Even if you dunk it in water, you’ll still be able to recover
  your data.

• Grows along with you.
  Don’t be constrained by software or hardware limitations! You can
  easily experiment with different ways of planning, and you can expand
  your Hipster PDA’s memory simply by buying another pack of index cards
  at your nearest bookstore.

• Helps you stay focused. The Hipster PDA helps you stay focused
  and on-track by not supporting addictive games like Tradewinds. To
  help you pass the time, the Hipster PDA comes with a few built-in
  two-player games like Tic-tac-toe and Hangman.

• Organizes real-life data. Receipts? Business cards? Movie
  tickets? No problem! Just tuck them into the fold-back clip and
  process them when you get home.

• Beams anything to anyone. You can easily “beam” information
  to other people—just scribble a note and give it to them. 3×5 index cards don’t crumple easily
  and can easily be shared with other people no matter what mobile device they use.

Here’s what you can do with your own Hipster PDA:

• Get a good pen or mechanical pencil. Keep it with your Hipster PDA at all times.
• Write down one task per index card. You can write down subtasks and notes there as well. Rip up the task card up after completing the task for a satisfying finish.
• Alternatively, divide your tasks into projects and write down your tasks. Check the tasks off as you finish them.
• Scribble notes and ideas down on index cards.
• Write down a month calendar so that you can easily see when you have appointments.
• Print important contact information on an index card. You can probably fit 50 names and phone numbers. Good backup if your phone is out of battery or gets lost.
• Print birthdays on an index card, sorted by month and day.
• Label your Hipster PDA with your contact information just in case it gets lost. (name, phone number, e-mail address)
• Clip a cheap pen to your Hipster PDA for people who borrow pens. Never lend your good pen.
• Keep newly-written cards in an “inbox” section (front or back) so that you can process them when you get home.

For more information, check out the following links:
43 Folders: Introducing the Hipster PDA
Technorati: Hipster PDA

Check back on Wednesday for tips on making the most of your Hipster PDA!