Keeping Organised

[Will]

I'm currently having a bit of a clean-out of old letters and other material that over the past year I've put to one side with the intention of reading at some point when I have time.

Well, it always seems like it's never the right time to sit down and go through none essential stuff. So in an effort to reduce clutter I'm disposing of anything that I've not looked at in the last 6 months or that just isn't anything important.

At some point, I'll probably also trawl through my inbox, but with a constant stream of emails and a lot of email accounts it's no small task. Unlike letters and the often more substantial envelopes they arrive in, emails don't take up any visible space (unless you have a truly massive one that spans multiple hard disks). What's more, today's search technology means that you're able to find most emails as long as you've some keywords to help identify the one you want.

How do you keep your working spaces organised (virtual and tangible)? Are you a super organised, everything must be in its place type of person? Or perhaps like me, you tend to let things pile up a bit before having a decluttering session?

[MikeG]

Personally I try to keep on top of things especially things like mail. If it's a bill or an invoice then that usually gets split into "to be filed" or "to be paid". If it's junk mail or sales material for something I don't already want then it usually gets binned.

The shredder gets a regular workout!

[Pilfo]

Personally I have always been very organised, and literally everything must be kept in its rightful place (I suppose a form of COD :) )

Tidyness is important too, as I like to keep my desk, tables and drawers neat and tidy. If somebody moves/uses something :mad: and doesn't put it back where it belongs....I know!!

Emails are read everyday, in fact more or less as soon as they arrive in my Inbox. I also reply a.s.a.p. and usually within 24 hrs....sometimes almost immediately. I delete them on a regular basis, but obviously keep those that I deem important, or that I may have to refer to at a later date.

Letters are read as soon as they hit the door mat, and even if I know it's rubbish, I open the envelope just to make sure :o

Company accounts, bank statements, invoices, receipts etc are filed away in date order and will of course be kept for six years.

All personal stuff such as bank statements, receipts, bills, insurance policies etc are filed in much the same way and kept for 12 months.

Ralph

[Pedge]

Good old Mac OSX's Spotlight feature makes finding any messages on my system a doddle - just think of a keyword and it'll find it, so that's a lot better than my old system.

I also have a Gmail account where all email to me (and sent from me) is BCC'd to so I have a massive 2.6gb storage facility which should act as my email archive for the next 25 years!

In the office, well, you've seen it Will/Lucy - Mondays @8am and Fridays @ 5pm it can be nice and clear but the times inbetween it gets chaotic!

I've got a new system in place for tracking jobs coming in and going out (especially for the canvases we're doing - got to make sure the right one goes to the right place).

Other than that I follow a similar system to Ralph, its just my desk gets a bit crowded from time to time so I have to keep on top of the filing etc - one week I was so busy I even lost Gordon for 3 days!

Les

[Will]

Yep, fortunately (I think), I keep all of my emails so it is just a matter of searching for specific ones if they haven't been filed already, but I'm working on auto-filing to help ease my pain. :)

Heh, in 25 years time, your ever-growing Gmail account will probably be several terabytes.

Speaking of organising jobs and such, I've recently been looking at Studiometry (http://www.oranged.net). Have you seen this, Les? It's aimed at designer folk and it's both Windows and Mac compatible. The Mac version looks prettier, though.

[JAC]

Have you ever thought of scanning the letters you want to keep so that they will be available on your computer because you use it more often? The main thing to think about when keeping organized (or trying to) is to make it a habit. It's something that requires regular maintenance.

[Pedge]

Speaking of organising jobs and such, I've recently been looking at Studiometry (http://www.oranged.net). Have you seen this, Les? It's aimed at designer folk and it's both Windows and Mac compatible. The Mac version looks prettier, though.

I've seen that program but found iRatchet is pretty good too http://www.prettygoodsoftware.org/