How do I do project-centric filing in the electronic and paper worlds?

August 13, 2008 9:15 AM

Project-centric filing for both electronic and paper documents? The documents stay in their respective mediums. (No scanning and no printing.) I'm looking for techniques or systems that transcend software and operating system.

I do a lot of thinking and brainstorming outside my head. Sometimes paper is better (mind-mapping, big letters), and sometimes the computer better (fast typing, spreadsheet).

Anyway, I end up with a stack of paper that I can put into a manila folder, and a bunch of files that I can put into a computer directory. But, I'm stumped after that, in terms of going back and forth between folders and project.

My "project names" tend to be a couple sentences long, and I don't want to paste that onto a manila folder and name a computer directory the same. But, if I use a number or a slug, that trips me up, too. Sometimes projects split in two and sometimes I rename (re-describe) the project so that messes up my slugs. And, if I'm using numbers, archiving becomes a huge pain when I delete the project from my active list.

I don't want to solve my problem with software because it won't be flexible enough. Rather, I'd like to change my thinking. How can I get better at filing? How can I reconcile the paper and electronic world when the two shall never meet?

posted by zeek321 to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Best answer: In his book How Buildings Learn, Steward Brand talks about scenario planning, and he suggests giving different scenarios very short, very memorable names -- "Big Ugly," "Massive Growth," "Heat Death," etc. Perhaps with shorter project names the labeling (and relabeling) of folders (physical and digital) becomes less onerous.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:17 PM on August 13, 2008

Best answer: I suggest that you get out of the habit of writing on separate sheets of paper. Instead set up one or several notebooks, one for each project, and each with page numbers, where you can write those notes on paper. Then you can make an entry in the computer files that will cross-reference to it.

For instance, your plan for world peace might have been written in notebook DM and it might begin on page 55 in that notebook. A computer entry saying [DM-55] will tell you where to look.

Use each medium for its strengths - paper for spontaneity and flexibility, and software for its ability to filter, sort, and search by text.
posted by yclipse at 2:33 PM on August 13, 2008 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Changing a habit is hard. Changing a bunch of little habits at once is harder. I was hoping for some sweeping, self-contained system like GTD that would put everything in a new light and do the dishes, too. (Because then I could keep circling back to the book.) But, these isolated tips definitely help.
posted by zeek321 at 4:57 PM on August 13, 2008