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Judy of the Woods productivity, creativity, sustainability |
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ProductivityHardware - The Slip January 28th, 2007 The Slip Method continued  One of the main aids to organizing in the slip method is - you've guessed it, the slip, more specifically the action slip. The little work docket is transient, passing through the system temporarily. It pauses along its route and is given additional information; the where, how, when, who and what. Its behavior is ordered but flexible. It carries a unit of information and is a building block. Detailed description of the process, and how to make or obtain a supply will be found in later chapters. Lets follow it on its journey. It can start from several places. The blank slip is either loose or padded up and resides in a dispenser, a small pocket case, on the desk, the fridge, memo board, bedside table - wherever you place a quantity in readiness. It may even be torn or cut from any handy source of paper. All actions are written in brief on the slip - one action, one slip. Just remembered something that needs doing? Write it on a slip. Just received a bill? Write 'pay bill (and details like who)' and either file the bill if payment is made from source, or place in bag/briefcase if paid away (e.g. at bank or merchant). No more cluttered in box. Anything that needs to be acted on goes on a slip, unless it is a quick job that can be done straight away (see more on that in David Allen's Getting Things Done, or read introductions to GTD on the web). Read the rest of this entry > Posted in productivity, Slip Method | no comments > The Value of Staring into Space October 28th, 2006 Yesterday a friend complimented me on the aesthetics of my todo board, but continued after a brief pause, “Personally, I'm a starer.” I had to laugh, I knew exactly what he meant. My father is a starer, I am a starer. We stare. When trying to work out practical solutions, we just sit and stare, or stand and stare. Sometimes hour after hour. If someone was to ask us what we did all day, we might answer “I designed”, my father would say “I am thinking”. Could we say “I was staring”, especially since it might be into empty space? Actually, our answer would be correct, we design, we think about the problem, the possible solutions. We see the space or object to be changed with our physical eyes, we see other things in our mind's eye. The images alternate, blend, with no deliberate action. Let the force be with you. I remember on many occasions seeing my father look at his model train board, about 2 x 3 meters in size, for hours on end, then grab a box full of track pieces and assemble a complex route system, as though he was laying them out on an invisible chart. I never even saw him making notes. I need to make notes to hold on to my ideas, but many are created in the same way, by staring into space. My house and workshop were designed to a large extent by staring. Many a sketch was abandoned when I stared at the project. My friend is building a house he designed by staring. Its a lovely house, you'd never guess its strange beginnings. So, any time someone asks you what you are doing, when you were staring, say you were creating your next masterpiece. And where does that leave the todo board? I still need reminding to eat, do the laundry, cut fire wood, pay a bill. Staring wont do those jobs, alas. Posted in productivity, inspiration | no comments > Hardware - Introduction October 25th, 2006 The Slip Method continued The minimum requirement for a paper based organizing system is the paper, a writing/marking instrument and a temporary and/or permanent home for the paper. The more complex a system, the greater the variety of materials and need for separate paper containments to allow a smoother throughput. Even if your work or life is not office centered, in all likelihood you will use paper to design, record, remind yourself and others, or to jot down thoughts to help solve a problem. Action based material prompts you to do something, whereas the other category is reference material in some form or other which may be in support of actions or could potentially be so. An entry in a to-do list 'pay bill' (action), would be prompted by the receipt of the bill, which would then be referred to for qualifying (why? who? when?) and quantifying (how much?) information. The slip method follows that same division. Action based material is written on standardized slips, all other information enters the system 'as is' from external sources (e.g. bills, statements, magazine articles, letters etc.) and is processed and stored (if appropriate) in its original form, or some of it may be extracted to standardized reference sheets, or if generated internally (e.g. notes, sketches) is either captured on standardized slips if circumstances or presence of mind permit, alternatively, it is captured in any way possible to hold on to the information/thought, and subsequently transferred to a standard sheet if appropriate. What does standardized mean in this context? Read the rest of this entry > Posted in productivity, Slip Method | no comments > Introducing the Slip Method Book October 24th, 2006  What started as a simple idea back in spring, has taken on an unstoppable momentum and has grown into an extensive method, becoming more sophisticated with each development. The original inspiration for one idea on one piece of paper came from Andrew Durham’s Unfolder Wallet , and subsequent modifications and additions were inspired by many hours of web surfing productivity web sites (and not getting anything else done), not least the vast amount of information that exists on Getting Things Done . I had many breakthroughs by reading about various organizing systems, which were adapted to the Slip Method. I also noticed a number of issues and questions that were frequently raised, some of which I had to address myself, and have come up with at least a few solutions, some of which may help you too, or be inspiration for further development. But more on that later. Being the ultra thrifty type, I came up with some ideas, which can save resources, especially in the long run. My concern for the environment, my joy of sharing ideas, and my need to earn money have all contributed to the idea of writing a book about the SM, for indeed, there is enough material to write one, at least a booklet. So here I am, serializing the draft whilst I am writing it. Why ‘ 'publish’ now? For the above reasons, plus I would like some feedback before writing the final version, and, well, I am a tease. The finished book, perhaps chapters - as they are ready, will be available in PDF format, or at least more printer-friendly downloads, without header, sidebar and ads. Please bear in mind, that the book is written for all levels of skill. Veteran seekers of the Holy Grail of Organization may wish to skip the introduction to get to the nuts and bolts of this unique method. On Flickr you can find some annotated photos , which may be enough inspiration in themselves. So here is the first installment, incidentally, one of the more difficult chapters for me, which may show in the writing. Being a nuts and bolts sort of person, the technical parts are a lot easier for me. It should get better. Read the rest of this entry > Posted in productivity, Slip Method | no comments > |
