Sunday, March 08, 2009

Organizing Your Thoughts (and Your Work Life)

We’ve all lived this scenario before; deadline approaching. Notes strewn about. Mass clutter all around. How do you focus on what needs to get done to complete a task? Sure there are tools that can be used, but which is the right one for and how do you make it work with your routine?

I’ve been asking myself this very question multiple times over the past year.  As project opportunities increase I’ve found the need to get a crystal-clear picture of what needs to be done and when.  After many Web service and software trials, I’ve found what works for me, and hopefully it can benefit you as well.

Rough drafts and brain drippings

When I start a project, I first turn to my sketchbook. I can rapid-fire thoughts and plans onto it as well as establish what the client wants, all in a nice tidy package.  Great, i’ve got my initial thoughts and some rough sketches down, now what?  I’ve got to get those ideas over to my computers (yes, plural) for expanding and finalizing.  Thankfully, there are a variety of tools that I use both individually and combined to get things done.

Evernote

After I signed up for the Evernote service, I scratched my head and wondered how I would work it into my routine. It wasn’t until recently that I started to understand the power of this service, and I find myself wondering how I ever got things done, or at the very least remembered things, before it.

What’s the key to Evernote’s power?  Syncing.  With applications for Windows, Mac, Mobile and iPhone platforms, not to mention an uber-handy Web interface, you can create notebooks, add, edit, and delete notes wherever you may be and then access them on the device of your choosing.  More importantly, you can write down a note when you want and not risk losing it to the rush of information that we deal with on a minute-by-minute basis.  Don’t feel like you need to whip out the laptop or smartphone every time you want to jot something down either.  Evernote does a great job of handwriting recognition that is searchable, so that note that was written in a sketchbook or on a bar napkin can be archived and found for later use.

Dropbox

With multiple computers comes great responsibility (apologies to Stan Lee).  What is that responsibility?  Keeping track and remembering where you placed your latest layout files and project notes.  I use two (sometimes more) computers on a daily basis and when I need to continue or start on a project, I’d better be sure I have what I need, especially when deadlines are looming.  Enter, Dropbox.

With Dropbox, my work life becomes much clearer.  Once set up and running on the machines I want, I have not only a local copy of my files, but as soon as I change those files, they are uploaded to “the cloud” and pulled down to any other synchronized machines.  Sounds great, right?  Picture it this way; you can be at your local Starbucks (or coffee shop of choice) making changes on your laptop, save what you’re working on, and by the time you walk out the door, those files can be waiting for you at home or at the office.

Getting things done

As mentioned earlier, it took me a while, not to mention much trial and error, but I’ve settled into a system that works for me.  Hopefully this can help clear some clutter for you too.