It’s the day after a long holiday weekend and I’m not feeling very productive. So, naturally, I thought I’d write about my workflow during a typical day. I’ve tried various ways of being productive and I’m not done fine tuning the details but I think I’ve landed on a general system that works for me.

It wasn’t long ago that I read David Allen’s Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity and I am now part of the GTD Borg, the cult-like group of followers who hang on everything Allen says. The system helps you get things out of your head and into appropriate buckets while being able to keep track of things as they come up. Here is David Allen’s definition of GTD. Their are numerous sites which collect different ideas, help one get going, and expand on the system but none as complete at Merlin Mann’s 43 Folders (In the GTD filing system there are 31 folders for days of the month and 12 for the months of the year, i.e., 43 folders).

Thanks to Merlin’s collection of productivity tips and suggestions that he’s come up with and folks have sent to him, there have been an assortment of ideas that I’ve played with. On the first go around, I tried keeping track of “next actions” lists and project lists in the thing that seemed like the most natural to me: Microsoft Excel. I use Excel everyday - from keeping track of banking records to making lists of email addresses to using its statistical features in projects that I work on. But what happened over time was that I started to ignore my large excel file. I don’t know why. I suppose it was just too mundane, it was too normal for me. I needed something that collected my stuff in a way that differentiated my lists of stuff from my actual stuff.

I tried other computer based systems: (1) GTDTiddlyWiki, a truly wonderful example of what can be done with XHTML and Javascript; (2) OmniOutliner 3, a great organizer for Mac OS X from the folks who have redefined what a cool application should look like, and FreeMind, a free mind-mapping application written in Java. Although FreeMind, in their attempt to “write a new metaphysics”, is something I will probably use for individual projects in which I need to gather information from various sources, my favorite of these was OmniOutliner. Yet, I use a Windows 2000 laptop for my normal work and my Mac for freelance jobs. Hence, I can’t have something residing on only one of those two even though they are usually right next to each other. I sometimes travel and don’t have the Mac with me.

My next option was online services or applications. I tried Backpack but I didn’t want to pay a subscription fee. I started to code my own custom workflow application with PHP and MySQL but other projects came up and I haven’t been able to return to it. Its a daunting task to try and capture every workflow idea that others have come up with and that make your life easier all in an application. I’ll return to it when I can but for now I’ve come to a crucial conclusion also made by others: paper is better.

One of 43 Folder’s innovations for the knowledge worker is the Hipster PDA. It’s so simple and elegant. Get a stack of 3 x 5 index cards (lined, graph or plain; colored if you like), clip them together with a binder clip, and there you go, instant, customizable PDA. I was worried at first that I would look like one of those people in school that made flash cards for everything. But those people were usually the ones who were the most prepared. So, I tried it and its been tremendous. I don’t leave home without my stack of 3 x 5 cards, which fit nicely in my pocket, and whenever I’m out and I get an idea, it gets written down. I’ll make lists while waiting for an oil change or while waiting for a haircut, etc.

The best thing about index cards is that their physical. Their not made of bits and bytes, their not online, I can grasp them in my hand, I can put them in my pocket. They’re scalable, multi-platform, and they’re always “online”. I will notice them and review them and use them. However, 3 x 5 cards are, I’ve found, not big enough for the project lists and someday-maybe project lists that I make. So, 4 x 6 cards are now my standard with 3 x 5 cards being usually just idea cards that go in my pocket. Douglas Johnston has made some templates for his own DIY system and recently translated these templates into 3 x 5 card size for a Hipster PDA version of the DIY Planner. Since Douglas made available the original graphics he used, I quickly reformatted them for 4 x 6 cards. But alas, I never know if the card (of any size) I’m inserting into my printer will print out straight or not. Merlin has some suggestions for a index card friendly printer but I had another thought. If 4 x 6 cards are better than 3 x 5 cards, what about using 8.5 x 11 cardstock (which my printer can handle) and cut out the cards? So, after reformatting Douglas’ templates again into 4 x 7 size, I can print two on a single cardstock 8.5 x 11 page and cut them out. It doesn’t take long to make five cuts with my paper cutter. Here’s what they look like:

So, now you’re asking why 4 x 7 cards? Why not 5.5 x 8.5, like Douglas Johnston’s DIY Planner? Well, for one, my printer (HP officejet 7110 all-in-one) has to have margins on each side, top, and bottom. It won’t print to the edge so I can’t really do 5.5 x 8.5. The second reason is that I’ve found the Moleskine Large Accordion File Folder. It won’t hold something larger than 4.75 x 8 and 4 x 7 cards fit perfectly. Everything goes in its place and I am constantly looking through it, reviewing projects, looking over Next Actions lists, all the things that I’m supposed to be doing to be productive. I don’t know why it works so well for me. I guess its because the leather book with the cool strap and the extra stylish index cards make it seem more official to me. These are things that have to get done and so they do.

Well, that’s my system. Projects get put onto 4 x 7 Project Cards and 4 x 7 Next Actions Cards are made from these. I use lots of Notes Cards as well as Someday Maybe Cards. I still use 3 x 5 cards for having something on hand at all times even though the Moleskine Accordion File Folder goes with me most places now. I use 4 x 6 cards for extra notes or making a simple diagram or, for example, to print out my Indoor Soccer League schedule. All of this goes into the Accordion File Folder and gets reviewed daily just as the rest of my GTD system.