Index card lovers unite! Looking for
non-digital ways to manage citations, sources, etc. for academic research projects.
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posted by threeants
on Jul 30, 2012 -
9 answers
Kitchen Organization 101: Is there any obvious and efficient way to organize the drawer in my kitchen that holds all my big/weirdly shaped utensils (ie. mixing spoons, measuring cups, spatulas, pastry cutter, salad server, tongs, etc) that DOESN'T involve having them in a holder on the countertop? We don't have the counterspace to spare.
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posted by gwenlister
on Jun 19, 2012 -
26 answers
I've just finished my Ph.D. coursework. I need a brief mental rest from serious work! But I'd like to continue being at least marginally productive. Can you help me think of "academic housekeeping" tasks to do that will pay off in the long run?
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posted by ootandaboot
on Jun 18, 2012 -
23 answers
I need the world's simplest time management/task management software for the Mac and/or web. Ideally free/open or cheap.
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posted by Deathalicious
on Jun 15, 2012 -
6 answers
I have a lot of autonomy in my job, along with a lot of responsibility. How can I get better at organizing my working patterns so that I get everything done, without always worrying that I should be working on some other task instead? Looking for recommendations for tactics, mindsets, books, apps, or whatever's worked for you.
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posted by Catseye
on Jun 13, 2012 -
6 answers
What is the best way of organizing and managing my thousands of contacts - software, best practices, general ways of thinking about the issue?
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posted by michaeldunaway
on Jun 5, 2012 -
3 answers
What's a good (Mac OS) application to track journal submissions and manuscript reviews?
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posted by mateuslee
on Jun 2, 2012 -
7 answers
I'm on the board of an arts organization that is in a funding emergency. I'm looking for suggestions of ways to raise money for our organization in a hurry - we've lost funding we were counting on and will lose our paid staff if we can't come up with some answers in a hurry. Why anon? Going public with the degree we're in trouble may make things worse. Details: we're a convening/connecting organization that facilitates other arts organizations and individual artists/musicians/creatives activities. We do some programming and help other organizations and individuals develop their programming and artistic careers. Most organizations like us are funded by supporting organizations and or a small percentage tax but we weren't set up that way and all arts organizations in our region - shoot the whole country - are struggling. Throwaway email: arts.org61@ymail.com
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posted by anonymous
on Apr 24, 2012 -
13 answers
What are your strategies for maintaining sanity in relationships where one person is much more organized/a planner than the other -- from the perspective of the more disorganized partner?
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posted by anonymous
on Apr 19, 2012 -
23 answers
I am going paperless at home and I need some program that will take care of digitized stuff with tagging.
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posted by zaxour
on Apr 10, 2012 -
12 answers
What are some good books or articles that have used an organization's
meeting minutes as a main source of data?
posted by Jagz-Mario
on Apr 6, 2012 -
2 answers
How do I keep track of my myriad Groupon-type vouchers?
Citypockets was perfect for this, but it's shutting down. Am I doomed to spreadsheets forever?
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posted by calistasm
on Apr 6, 2012 -
2 answers
Method for systematic thinking/problem solving? Business, personal, institutional.
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posted by 4midori
on Mar 31, 2012 -
9 answers
I fold my t-shirts
like this. Lately, though, I've acquired a lot of long-sleeved thermals that I like to wear. Is there a comparable method of folding long-sleeved shirts? If not, what's your favorite quick and consistent long-sleeved-shirt folding method? (Extra points if it also works for bulkier stuff like sweaters and sweatshirts.)
posted by naturalog
on Mar 18, 2012 -
7 answers
How can I organize a whole lot of (8000ish) fiction books in a children's library?
If alphabetized under genre is the best way, how can I clearly and easily instruct others to figure out the genre of all the books and which genres should I use? And what should I do about all the hundreds of very skinny emergent reader books?
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posted by pick_the_flowers
on Mar 18, 2012 -
13 answers
If I could punch myself, I would. Clicked too fast and our beautifully organized Windows Live Photo Gallery has been emptied into Picasa. DO NOT WANT!!! Is there a site out there that will walk me through zeroing out and disabling Picasa and getting my old setup restored?
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posted by clever sheep
on Feb 27, 2012 -
5 answers
In my house, we have three macbooks and one external hard drive full of media. Please help me figure out a system for sharing the hard drive, setting up a media server, and wireless backup.
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posted by Nickel
on Feb 26, 2012 -
9 answers
I have a wonderful (Oracle) SQL database and I use Navicat Lite to crunch around in it. My problem is that I'm staring at lists of 50+ tables, 60+ saved queries, 10+ views, etc. Is there anything I can do to somehow organise things in a visually pleasing and/or functional way?
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posted by iamkimiam
on Feb 2, 2012 -
4 answers
I feel hopelessly disorganized as I become more aware of what “organized” looks like, and I have no vision for how to change. I'm studying to be a teacher, and I have so many different interrelated resources for my own learning as well as for teaching, and they are piling up in random places. My computer desktop is abysmal. I'd like a meaningful and structured method of organization. How do I get from where I am now (chaos) to a system for storing papers, and proper naming conventions for files? And most importantly, as teachers are in the constant process of being inspired, collecting things and creating output of various forms, I need a semblance of a workflow to keep me afloat! My apologies in advance for over thinking this and making it perhaps more complicated than in has to be.
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posted by to recite so charmingly
on Feb 1, 2012 -
12 answers
For those that keep a journal/diary/sketch book: When you start a new book, how do you continue to track and use the good ideas and projects in your old books that you'd like to pursue?
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posted by ooklah
on Jan 16, 2012 -
8 answers
I want to compile and organize hard copies of recipes, craft projects, and other household things into something electronic - not particular about if local computer (Mac, OS 10.7) or cloud-based. Bonus points if accessible from multiple devices (computer, iphone, ipad, etc.). What solutions should I consider?
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posted by southpaw
on Dec 30, 2011 -
7 answers
I was recently placed in charge of a large database which is probably 90% irrelevant information. What should my plan of action be for cleaning it up?
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posted by showbiz_liz
on Dec 19, 2011 -
16 answers
I am a marketing professional - middle management in an enormous media conglomerate. I would like to shift my work environment and infrastructure completely and work for a startup that is currently staffed only with technical experts, programmers, scientists and a small sales force. How do I pitch myself to be part of a company that doesn't have any people who do what I do yet?
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posted by anonymous
on Dec 16, 2011 -
5 answers
Knowing full well I will be pilloried for this: We have a library at work (13,000 mostly-technical books and about 100 active periodical subscriptions, 200 users), but the 1 full-time librarian will retire in 2012 and a new hire is not going to happen ... What's next? (please read the questions inside)
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posted by whatzit
on Dec 8, 2011 -
12 answers
I want to spend less time and effort on "maintenance" activities. What are some good not-widely-known methods, or (cheap/small) products, to get this stuff done more quickly and get back to the more interesting parts of your day? (Examples in the extended explanation...)
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posted by SpiralT
on Nov 28, 2011 -
25 answers
Smart people who did badly in college - how did you regain your footing and develop your work ethic and study skills?
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posted by sunnychef88
on Nov 20, 2011 -
21 answers
You know that trend a while back towards 'smart offices'? I think that's what it was called -- you know, when nobody has their own desk, and they just snag their laptop and go sit anywhere and somehow they are magically more creative and productive as a result? I'm having trouble Googling up trip reports: can you help me out with links to stories and research about experiences in implementing it (or your own personal experience)?
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posted by stavrosthewonderchicken
on Nov 10, 2011 -
21 answers
I'm writing a paper that involves reading forty articles by about thirty different historians. Their biographical details are relevant. I'd like to be able to enter information about these articles and their authors into a database (or something similar) and then be able to sort by the various categories, link entries together, easily have lists of all of the people or articles who fit a given criterium, et cetera. What should I use? Free or cheap, OSX-compatible, relatively low learning curve.
posted by naturalog
on Nov 8, 2011 -
6 answers
I need help scheduling my life -- figuring out daily, weekly, and monthly chores, maintenance schedules, etc. What are some resources or tips for putting a useful (and ideally more permanent) structure on my time? What should that structure look like?
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posted by Deathalicious
on Oct 26, 2011 -
14 answers
What are websites that handle the user interface and/or the organization of large amounts of video content well?
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posted by jeremias
on Oct 21, 2011 -
1 answer
Group Decision Processes for Relationship and Family Planning-Filter: How do you discuss and organize all the variables that go into making important life decisions with your partner?
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posted by pollex
on Oct 17, 2011 -
16 answers
What is the single thing, aside from medication, that has helped you most with your ADHD/chronic disorganization?
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posted by granted
on Oct 16, 2011 -
27 answers
How do you save your various web links you find every day from Google Reader and Twitter for the long term?
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posted by hazyspring
on Oct 8, 2011 -
16 answers
