Life hacking

[ThrobbingEgo]

Life hacking is something I've lately been fascinated with. The workspaces, the organizational systems, the productivity pr0n. I want, on some level, to be more productive.

I'm not an organizational guru. I'm a procrastinator and I use the "paleontology" method of organizing my work space: my old papers are buried under the chaotic debris of new papers. Sometimes I need to carbon date my fragments of syllabuses (from my professors who haven't learned how to use the internet) just to be sure it's the specimen I need. I get along fine in school, so far, but I need to find a system that'll work better for me.

I saw something that seems like a really cool idea. This Lifehacker article featured a law student's workspace. In the guy's workspace, he had six clip boards suspended on hooks on his wall, which he would keep assignments on. It's neat and accessible - and I think I could maintain that kind of a system. Here's the link, if you're interested: http://lifehacker.com/5167605/the-students-sanctuary

So, geeks and aspiring journalists, what tips and tricks do you use to be more productive?

 

[UltimatheChosen]

So, geeks and aspiring journalists, what tips and tricks do you use to be more productive?

Ah, I wish I had some. Unfortunately, I'm a profoundly inefficient individual.

 

[Doom_bringer58]

i think of all the stuff that i could be doing that are WAY worse than the normal task

 

[ioxles]

Writing on walls and sticking a4's with notes/stories on them everywhere, lots of sharpies and bluetack... tools in one place (toolbox as it happens) electronics in another, servos/motors by themselves, soldering iron where you can see it.

Buying cheap stackable boxes is also a good idea as is creating pathways with the book piles when you've filled the shelves is also handy.

Thats all I have for now, yeah, also - meditate, do it properly and often even if only for a few minutes.

 

[CoverYourHead]

I'm a procrastinator myself, I'll come back later with my ideas on that set up [/joke]

I dunno if I could function with that set up, I think I'd be more productive if I just had a larger work area.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

Writing on walls and sticking a4's with notes/stories on them everywhere

I was talking to my roommates about putting whiteboards (or corkboards, I can't remember which) everywhere in the house next year, but then realized that this would make me look like John Nash. I'd prefer a system that makes as few people think I'm insane as possible.

I'm a procrastinator myself, I'll come back later with my ideas on that set up [/joke]

I dunno if I could function with that set up, I think I'd be more productive if I just had a larger work area.

The law student's setup is pretty cramped - I'm just talking about the "clip boards on hooks" system.

 

[deathninja]

Came across GTD a year or two ago, love the system.

Also have a preference to digitise everything, even if it's just scanning a document to pdf rather than rewriting out the key bits. From there it's simply a matter of a robust file organisation and backup system.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

Came across GTD a year or two ago, love the system.

Also have a preference to digitise everything, even if it's just scanning a document to pdf rather than rewriting out the key bits. From there it's simply a matter of a robust file organisation and backup system.

Well, if you want to talk about digital organization, next year I'm switching from OpenOffice (Word) to Tomboy Notes for note taking. I played around with Tomboy when I was playing around with Ubuntu - and it's multi-platform, so I'm rocking it on my Vista laptop - and I was impressed by the system. Should make it easier for me to organize my notes.

I've heard great things about Getting Things Done.

 

[deathninja]

I've heard great things about Getting Things Done.

Allen's book can be found fairly cheaply (£5 off Amazon here). Many site mention bits and pieces from it, but the original book is by far the best way to pick it up.

Many software tools based around GTD are very rigid in their implementation, so if you go down that route be sure to check out trials. The system isn't for everyone, and many people I know find it useful to use the concepts that suit them, in a hybrid system.

Tomboy looks interesting, I currently use Word 2008's notetaking layout in classes, then export to pdf when I've fully annotated a class, toying with the idea of CircusPonies' Notebook, as the nature of my course means there's a lot of interlinked concepts rather than standalone points.

 

[Deef]

To hack life you write a sentient hacker program.
Real hackers hack computers, therefore, computer hackers hack life.

 

[jasoncyrus]

HuZZaH, This is the reason I like being unorganized, I can find everything and know where everything is if I've made the mess, but if someone cleans it I lose everything

I know exactly how you feel. Before i went on vacation i knew where everything was if i needed it. Left my mom in charge of my place while i was gone...she "Tidied up" and neglected to write down where she put anything. 6 months later I'm STILL finding things in wierd places.