Mobile analogue or hybrid organisational and time-management system

< Next Topic | Back to topic list | Previous Topic >

Posted by Dr Andus
Feb 11, 2018 at 09:48 PM

Thank you all for the great suggestions and all the links. I’ll experiment and will report back about what stuck with me.

Chris Murtland wrote:
>You might look at getting a sand hourglass as well?

Funny you say that because I did spend some time looking at them today. For now I have decided against them as the hourly ones are quite big (so not really portable), and since what I want to represent in some way is the total work hours available in a day (8 hours) and their respective allocation to categories of tasks (blocks of time reserved for teaching, preparation for teaching, admin, reading, and writing) even an hourly one wouldn’t quite do that. Also, it’s not so much the passage of time I want to mark as such but the allocation and protection of ringfenced time.

So the hourglass that would work for me would have 8 little hourglasses within it, with different coloured sand, and I would need to be able to freely rearrange the 8 hourglasses to accommodate different scenarios depending on which part of the day I can perform given blocks of activity. And I should not be able to reset or pause the hourglass during the workday.

For now I will trial the 3"x5” bound notebook I have, where I will draw lines on a double page to divide it into 8 rectangular areas to represent the 8 work hours, then I will allocate the planned work, ensuring that there is always time for reading and writing, and everything else will need to fit around those, otherwise it will not be done on that day.

Then I will use post-it notes to zoom in on an individual hourly task or if I need to rearrange the day. I am also thinking of using a single page of Boogie Board Sync as a hybrid space for working out the hourly task and track it as time passes (hybrid because it has a stylus and I can use handwriting but it saves the record digitally, should I want to keep it and file it in my database (CT)).

What I’m hoping for is that the physical constraints this system imposes will help me decide when something needs delegated or satisficed or not done at all because the time available for it ran out.

Really what I’m trying to do is reduce time on admin, dealing with emails etc. so that I can free up time (and protect it) for reading, writing, and research.

Posted by Dr Andus
Feb 11, 2018 at 09:56 PM

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:
>I have just one rule for their use: whenever I think of something I need
>to do, I write it down immediately. The process is simple enough to be
>completed in a few seconds, allowing me to resume whatever I was doing
>without any problem.
> >To make the process even faster, I have a set of notes and paper in
>every room, and in every piece of luggage I may use.

Interesting that you kept this part analogue. This is what I use WorkFlowy for, and partly why I like Chromebooks. I just open the lid, the Chromebook is instantly on, WorkFlowy is always open in a Chrome tab, and I record the thought, and close the lid. The key benefit is the automatic sync across all my devices. The same for Google Calendar, if the task is time and date related.

Posted by Dr Andus
Feb 11, 2018 at 10:06 PM

nathanb wrote:
I have similar goals of an analog/digital combo. After trying several
>things, the analog part that has been working well is a Rhodia A6
>Wirebound Notebook https://rhodiapads.com/collections_spiral_A6.php .
> >into a digital journal for posterity. I also prefer the top spiral
>bound format (called a reporter’s notebook I think) because it lays flat
>on the table as opposed to the stapled pocket notebooks that you have to
>hold open.

Interesting point about the reporter’s notebook format. I guess the benefit of the bound ones is that they reduce the size in half when closed and protect the pages a bit better. But I might give this one a try as well, if the bound one doesn’t work out.

Posted by Dr Andus
Feb 11, 2018 at 10:09 PM

Paul Korm wrote:
>I’d also suggest the Kokuyo Jibun sticky notes and their sticky to-do
>notes. Available at a reasonable price from JetPens (and others)
> >https://www.jetpens.com/Kokuyo-Jibun-Techo-Film-Sticky-Notes-Mini-B6-Slim/pd/21861

I didn’t fully understand how the transparent sticky notes work, though the notebook they are stuck into does look intriguing!

Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Feb 11, 2018 at 10:18 PM

Try doing the same with ADHD and then get back on track rather than going off on a tangent…

Dr Andus wrote:
>Interesting that you kept this part analogue. This is what I use
>WorkFlowy for, and partly why I like Chromebooks. I just open the lid,
>the Chromebook is instantly on, WorkFlowy is always open in a Chrome
>tab, and I record the thought, and close the lid.

P.S. I should add that I only use original 3M Post-it notes; the weak glue on some cheaper alternatives could lead to a very leaky system.

Pages: < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > Last ›

Back to topic list