The Art of Efficiency - 10 Ways to Organise Your Life

26 Oct 2006 Category: Features, Internet, Products, Recommended, Technology, Top Page 10

Without organisation there is chaos. A sheet of paper becomes a pile of paper. A single rubber band snowballs into a tangled nugget of desk gold. A lone file on your computer’s desktop multiplies into an infinite number of faceless icons, blocking out the pretty wallpaper of your cat. Here are 10 popular ways of getting organised, with additional comments from my productivity-obsessed friend and co-worker, Ken.

Plus! Find out why this subject is, now more than ever, so significant to me personally…at the end of the article…

Written by Jon

1) Be Tidy

Those who know me and have seen my desk will likely have read that, scoffed, then fallen off their chair laughing and pounding the floor. However, whilst my physical desk at work is a cacophony of Nintendo toys, business cards and metrosexual accouterments such as lip balm and anti-oil blotting paper, my computer desktop is slightly more organised. The point of being tidy is not for the sheer obsessive-compulsive satisfaction; workspace tidyness (whether physical or on the computer) should be an on-going self-adjustment of making important things easily accessible and filing less-important things away.

2) Monitor Post-it Notes

The low-tech solution that everyone loves to hate. In terms of organisational darwinism, sticking notes all over your computer screen is only a couple of rungs up the evolutionary ladder from frantically scribbling things all over your hand. However, for some perverse reason…it works. Especially for those who sit in front of a computer all day, your screen is a convenient and constantly-accessible area for you to keep important to-dos.

Looks a bit untidy though, doesn’t it? I wonder if that is half the reason this solution is so popular - the visual chaos it creates helps permeate the idea that you are super, incredibly busy and sends waves of admiration and awe across co-workers and friends. The ideological Japanese equivalent of this would be something called a “hachimaki”.

This is a tradition in Japan that has sadly been replaced by other things (like post-it notes on monitors) but in its heyday the hachimaki was a headband that office workers would wear during times of zen-like concentration and busyness. More than just a physical aid (it is said that the tightness of the headband helped you to concentrate), it was a symbol to co-workers to show your unwavering perseverance during adversity and as a non-verbal message saying “back the hell away before you delegate me more work!”.

3) The Hipster PDA

The Hipster PDA is an “invention” from the kings of web productivity, 43folders. 43folders liken their invention to infinitely more expensive personal digital assistants such as the Palm V and they describe The Hipster PDA as…

“…a fully extensible system for coordinating incoming and outgoing data for any aspect of your life and work. It scales brilliantly, degrades gracefully, supports optional categories and “beaming,” and is configurable to an unlimited number of options.”

…and it takes the form of a bunch of cards fastened together with a clip.

It’s a tongue-in-cheek solution that actually works very well, and has a clever name to boot. It has inspired a mini revolution in the way people organise themselves on the go, and The Hipster PDA now has something of a community surrounding it, with fans developing templates to print out and even creating their own variations on the theme from duct tape.

4) A Notepad

Moving on to something a little more professional, an attractive, sturdy notepad can be both a life-saving organisational aid and an elegant, visual statement on the kind of person you are. Creative-types have for a long time sworn by the Moleskine variety of notebook (made from real mole) which comes in a variety of different paper styles and weights.

This year I bought my inaugural first Moleskine and I’m very pleased with it. It has replaced my previously employed method of organising on the go (scribbling on hands, scraps of paper, post-it notes attached to my face) in a most satisfying manner. I liken the Moleskine to an analogue version of the Apple Mac; looks good, gets the job done well and fills me with a smug sense of superiority when I see other people with lesser notepads.

5) A Whiteboard

Getting (very) slightly more high-tech, the personal or group whiteboard is a useful tool for scribbling down quick thoughts or brainstorming with - an activity that requires constant correcting and re-arranging of thought processes. Most tech or creative companies swear by the whiteboard as a method of encouraging interactive discussions within development or creative teams. Careful of letting trade secrets slip out into the public though…

6) A Physical Inbox

The ubiquitous inbox - butt of the joke of countless business-oriented newspaper cartoons, showing an inbox full of papers piled miles into the sky - and now near-defunct thanks to our new-fangled paperless offices with their interwebs and electronic mails and whatnot.

However! The physical inbox still has a place in our lives. Whereas our offices tend to be paperless, our homes do not. Sadly I still get most of my bills via snail mail - a physical inbox allows you to separate the bills from the melee of food delivery service spam that no-doubt makes up the other 70% of your post box, put the bills safely into the inbox and attend to them at your convenience in order.

7) Desktop Software

Making a giant leap for mankind, we move onto electronic solutions. There is a vast, spectrum of excellent software out there a mere google-search away, that can help you organise your life. For the mac, some popular solutions are Omni Group’s OmniPlan and newcomer Midnight Inbox (currently in free beta) which adheres strongly to the popular GTD organisational methodology.

8) Online Software

Online solutions to organisation are extremely popular, one reason being that you aren’t tied to a single device / computer. This makes all your organisational goodness available wherever you are as long as you have access to the internet.

37signals has made a name for themselves providing excellent, online solutions to organisation and productivity problems. Other popular examples include a Japanese to-do list app called checkpad.jp which also allows you to access your lists via your mobile phone, and relative newcomer and strangely-named Monkey On Your Back which is a web app that allows you to delegate tasks to other people.

9) A Phone That Is Cleverer Than You

Smart phones running powerful operating systems are becoming more and more popular as technology allows them to weigh less than a sack full of broken hammers. In the West, the ever-popular Blackberry is fast-becoming a symbol of mobile business. In Japan, a fresh crop of sexy new smart phones from Softbank and Willcom ensures that smart phone technology is still reaching a fresh audience.

Smart phones have all kinds of useful functionality for organising yourself, providing 24-hour access to your mailbox, compatibility with PIM software, desktop syncing - in addition to all the vanilla features of a regular phone.

10) Personal Butler

Ok, so we aren’t quite there yet. But soon! I can’t go out and buy my very own B9 Robot yet, but research and development is and has been underway to create robots for more domestic, personal-oriented uses. Take for example NEC’s experimental “sommelier” robot, which can taste food items or wine and give you information on them (when researchers put their hand under the sensor, the robot - rather unnervingly - said that human hand tastes like bacon…).

Other exciting developments include robot actors and the creepy-yet-fascinating “Kokoro” fembot (below):

So Why Is All This Important To You, Jon?

Well sadly folks, you just read my last PingMag article. I’m leaving IMG SRC and the PingMag team to embark on a new adventure. Ken and I (aha…that’s why he was in the article…) are about to create our own little startup, called jonkenpon and we’ll be busy thinking up and creating simple, useful and fun web tools for everyone to use - I’m really excited about it! We’ll also be launching a blog about the web industry in Asia and other stuff we find interesting, at the same address as above (if you like the sound of that, do leave your email at jonkenpon so we can inform you when the blog launches!).

I’d like to thank everyone at PingMag and IMG SRC for the excellent time I’ve had here. IMG SRC is a phenomenally cool place to work at, and the PingMag team are great fun to be around. I’ve learnt so much at IMG SRC simply from being surrounded and motivated by the best talent in our industry. In the last year we’ve seen PingMag go from strength to strength - and I’m confident it’s only going to get better and better.

A big THANK YOU to to all of PingMag’s readers and I wish PingMag continuing success in the future!

Bye for now,
Jon

52 Comments

1. Great article guys!

   Posted by: Brandon on October 26th, 2006 at 10:42 pm

2. gOODBYE, TAKE CARE.. yOU ARE HANDSOME!!

   Posted by: MUNCHY on October 27th, 2006 at 12:07 am

3. Really really enjoyed the article. I typically ignore productivity articles for fear that the time I spend reading them could have been used in a more productive fasion elsewhere. If there is one thing I will follow up on from this article, it’ll be buying the Moleskin. Not for the productivity but solely for the smugness. Thanks for providing me with new ways to condescend and best of luck to you in you future endeavors.

   Posted by: Ephram Zerb on October 27th, 2006 at 1:36 am

4. Great article and good luck!

   Posted by: Ian on October 27th, 2006 at 2:20 am

5. Good luck and have fun!

   Posted by: Eriksen on October 27th, 2006 at 5:14 am

6. Can’t stand the Moleskine personally. Twee, overrated and not modernist enough.

   Posted by: Lime on October 27th, 2006 at 6:11 am

7. Very good points! I personally have a cluttered desktop but it’s’ what I called ‘organised chaos’. :)

   Posted by: Wee Keat on October 27th, 2006 at 7:00 am

8. Excellent Article!

   Posted by: Ben Tong on October 27th, 2006 at 9:07 am

9. This article is great for obssessive compulsive people. lol Thanks for helping us organize our work place. Good luck on your plans!

   Posted by: ced on October 27th, 2006 at 10:08 am

10. Love the article! so here is a link to one of my favourite ways to stay organised: http://www.pocketmod.com/
    I am such a luddite!

    Posted by: mike on October 27th, 2006 at 4:17 pm

11. Nice one Mike! I had come across pocketmod before but forgot about it until now - I’ll give it a try.

    Posted by: Administrator on October 27th, 2006 at 4:29 pm

12. thanks, mike. :)

    Posted by: lucas on October 27th, 2006 at 5:18 pm

13. good luck.
    looking forward to your new articles.

    Posted by: keanu zhang on October 27th, 2006 at 7:12 pm

14. Take a look at http://www.taskanyone.com it is a brand new online tool that allows you to manage your own tasks but also so send tasks to other people via email and then nag them if they don’t complete them on time.

    Posted by: Peter on October 27th, 2006 at 10:46 pm

15. [...] 原來我戴賊仔帽都可以，仲會上身tim~ 睇完呢篇野之後，我決定實行類似的生活調整。 The Art of Efficiency - 10 Ways to Organise Your Life [...]

    Posted by: Movie Night + Desktop at Design-mate on October 28th, 2006 at 2:38 am

16. I need to tidy my desk.
    :(

    Posted by: Badger on October 29th, 2006 at 5:26 am

17. [...] PingMag - The Tokyo-based magazine about “Design and Making Things” » Archive » The Art of Efficiency - 10 Ways to Organise Your Life Without organisation there is chaos. A sheet of paper becomes a pile of paper. A single rubber band snowballs into a tangled nugget of desk gold. A lone file on your computer’s desktop multiplies into an infinite number of faceless icons, blocking out t (tags: productivity) [...]

    Posted by: » Blog Archive » links for 2006-10-29 on October 29th, 2006 at 12:19 pm

18. good article. nothing motivates more than a few pics of the organised life - wooooooo!

    (the 43 folders link above has a space in the name — url won’t function as is.. cheers)

    Posted by: Noogz on October 30th, 2006 at 7:27 am

19. try diyplanner.com. lots of really brilliant and free organising templates to download!

    Posted by: daisy on October 30th, 2006 at 8:47 am

20. [...] Maish pointed out a GREAT post at PingMag : The Art of Efficiency - 10 Ways to Organise Your Life. Neat! Without organisation there is chaos. A sheet of paper becomes a pile of paper. A single rubber band snowballs into a tangled nugget of desk gold. A lone file on your computer’s desktop multiplies into an infinite number of faceless icons, blocking out the pretty wallpaper of your cat. Here are 10 popular ways of getting organised, with additional comments from my productivity-obsessed friend and co-worker, Ken. [...]

    Posted by: soulsoup » » Get Organized e-learning blog, elearning blog, knowledge management, e-learning strategy, learning experience design, usability on October 30th, 2006 at 10:29 am

21. [...] The Art of Efficiency - 10 Ways to Organise Your Life. Sweet, neat and cool tips for you to organise your life. Saya ingin mencobanya, sepertinya akan menjadikan hari-hari saya ‘rapih’ [...]

    Posted by: rifie.com| In The Middle of Something Beautiful » Blog Archive » The Art of Efficiency - 10 Ways to Organise Your Life on November 1st, 2006 at 6:44 pm

22. Metrosexual? I think not.

    It’s called faggot.

    Posted by: a@fsaasd.com on November 3rd, 2006 at 7:31 am

23. Good luck and have a nice way ahead! :)
    Thank you for your excelent articles!

    Posted by: Rina on November 3rd, 2006 at 7:59 pm

24. Fantastic Article

    Posted by: Pablo Escribano on November 4th, 2006 at 1:14 pm

25. Be carefull though not to loose your notebook… I prefer a single sheet folded in 4 that I can then leave in a box when done with.

    Posted by: Jafa on November 5th, 2006 at 7:23 am

26. I liked Moleskins but ultimately I prefer the Miquelrius notebooks better– the paper is nicer and the cover is thinner and lighter, making it all around a better buy.

    As for telling them apart, that’s easy. Go buy yourself one of those silver paint artmarkers and label the cover. The date is usually sufficient. Also, save the last three pages for a “table of contents,” number each page as you come to it, and when you have an important page you need to track, write it down in the back. I use bookdarts (hammered copper bookmarks, very thin and light) to track other details: darts on the top indicate pages with unfinished tasks, darts on the side indicate long-term project organization pages. And as an ultimate geek step, along with the page number I draw two small checkboxes in the upper right hand corner. The bottom checkbox indicates that everything on this page has been catalogued, completed, or otherwise dealt with; the top checkbox indicates that all pages prior to the one you’re reading have no unfinished business on them. Makes finding your pending work a breeze.

    Posted by: Elf Sternberg on November 17th, 2006 at 2:34 am

27. [...] Here’s an excellent article on the very subject: The Art of Efficiency - 10 Ways to Organise Your Life [...]

    Posted by: Bricolog » Blog Archive » Organize Your Life on November 20th, 2006 at 4:03 pm

28. ur h4wt

    Posted by: a guy on February 23rd, 2007 at 9:56 am

29. good article.Very good points.

    Posted by: resimler on July 4th, 2007 at 12:00 am

30. Nice Mike! I had come across pocketmod before but forgot about it until now - I’ll give it a try.

    Posted by: Arabalar videolar on July 9th, 2007 at 11:28 am

31. good luck.
    looking forward to your new articles.

    Posted by: Komik on July 9th, 2007 at 11:30 am

32. Very good points! I personally have a cluttered desktop but it’s’ what I called

    Posted by: üniversiteler liseler on July 9th, 2007 at 11:32 am

33. good article

    Posted by: Programlar on July 29th, 2007 at 7:27 am

34. thanks for the article…

    Posted by: resim on October 26th, 2007 at 9:21 pm

35. Good article thanks.
    Good works.

    Posted by: Sözlük on August 12th, 2008 at 6:16 am

36. its very nice project.

    Posted by: kabin on September 1st, 2008 at 5:53 pm

37. Thanks for good posting.

    Posted by: resimler on September 26th, 2008 at 9:29 am

38. Thanks pingmag keep it ;)

    Posted by: hareketli resimler on October 2nd, 2008 at 3:45 pm

39. Hi, it’s the first time 4 me here, and i really enjoyed reading this article, very good one, and god luck in ur new business :)

    Posted by: Adel on December 5th, 2008 at 6:05 am

40. Thanks in Advance!

    Posted by: mobil on January 19th, 2009 at 6:17 pm

41. thank you :)

    Posted by: kisisel gelisim on March 2nd, 2009 at 2:30 pm

42. Can not find something to say thank you.

    Posted by: Çöp Konteyner on May 12th, 2009 at 3:06 am

43. Was really good work thanks

    Posted by: Biber Gazı on May 12th, 2009 at 3:07 am

44. Nice job on your hands healthy for

    Posted by: Avşa Adası Otelleri on May 12th, 2009 at 3:08 am

45. good, konteyner fiyatları

    Posted by: konteyner on May 18th, 2009 at 5:17 pm

46. thank you..

    Posted by: Dış Cephe Kaplama on May 26th, 2009 at 5:49 pm

47. nice share, thanx.

    Posted by: Online Haber on June 11th, 2009 at 4:54 pm

48. goog, tesekkurler.

    Posted by: kabin on June 25th, 2009 at 10:31 pm

49. good, thanks.

    Posted by: güvenlik kabini on June 25th, 2009 at 10:32 pm

50. I am grateful to you for this great content:)

    Posted by: albüm indir on July 10th, 2009 at 4:53 am

51. its very nice project and article

    Turkcell kontor

    Posted by: Aydın Boydak on August 9th, 2009 at 6:58 pm

52. nice thanx.

    Posted by: güzel kızlar on September 19th, 2009 at 2:19 am

Name

Website

• Similar Articles
• » Power- Napping
• » A Snow Globe’s Soothing Microcosm
• » Troika: making technology blame itself
• » The City of Traditional Dye Craft
• » Kakuyasu Uchiide’s Eyelash Creatures

• Share and Enjoy:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• Bright Lights, Big City: L.A. Graffiti on screen & in printCategory: Features Street Art Worldwide
  October 19, 2006
• Zoren Gold ＆ Minori’s Fantasy WorldCategory: Features Photography
  October 18, 2006
• Gozi: Nigerian fashion design now from TokyoCategory: Fashion Features
  October 16, 2006

Notice

As of December 31, 2008, PingMag and sister site PingMag MAKE are both on extended hiatus, and will not be updated for the foreseeable future. We are eternally grateful for your fantastic support over the years.

Search