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About
I've been using index cards to manage my responsibilities and tasks for a while, now,
and I can't tell you how helpful they are. I've had a Palm Pilot for several years, and
I've tried David Allen's Getting Things Done program with that, but found it a little
frustrating. Just tapping the 'done' checkbox wasn't very satisfying. And, since I try
to always keep a "Next Action" item for every project, my list never shrank!
With index cards, the list still doesn't shrink, but now I can see my small accomplishments
more clearly. I endorse the tear-it-up-when-you've-done-it method of marking progress, and
I keep the torn-up cards in a little box on my desk until the end of the week. It's a nice,
tangible tally of how well I've been doing the things I set out to do.
Silly? Maybe. But it works for me.
I use these wallets to organize and carry my context lists. I only have a few that I carry
with me - work, home and errands is pretty much it. For me, there's room enough for the day's
tasks and a few blank cards.
I also use them to organize some projects. I'll use an unlined blue index card to capture
the name of the project and its goal - the measurable thing in the world whose existence or
properties prove the project is done - and unlined white ones to manage actions.
I have one for weekend tasks that I fill during the week and (try to) empty on Saturday
I use more than one of the same color to hold project ideas that I'm deferring until
later. This helps me avoid scope-creep, where ideas accumulate so fast they effectively
halt progress. I write each one on a card, and if it doesn't fit with my goals for the
current phase, it goes in the "maybe later" wallet. (Some people call this "Phase x" - the
ill-defined part of the project that comes "later.") |