Managing information

stickiesflickrindieink.jpg Lee Wilson has an interesting post on managing information overload that has spurred my thinking of late.   The premise is that we no longer really have to “save” and “store” information, magazines, etc., because we can look things up easily when we need them if we have good information search strategies.

As I’ve been weeding our library the last few weeks prior to our upcoming renovation, thinking about this post has made me a little more ruthless in what I discard, in the realization that of course, students too will be looking first online, so there’s not the need there used to be to keep certain barely used books “just in case” there is a future information need.

Further, his post (and our lengthy renovation) spurred me to apply some organizational tools to my own work flow.  I’m still working through rethinking that, but one thing I did was look for a tool to manage the vast number of sticky notes that tend to accumulate on my desk. 

Stickies is the handy little program I’ve found to keep sticky notes on your desktop (and yes, I know the Mac has had this for awhile).    You can add floating notes that reside on your desktop, file them, sort them, color them, etc.    I’m already finding it a helpful way to keep up with what I need to do, and there are a lot of positive benefits–my desk is neater, I’m saving paper, and it feels great when I can delete a note because I’ve completed the task.

Next, I’ll be rethinking some magazine subscriptions at Wilson’s suggestion, since shuffling articles I want to finish reading  is the next source of clutter on my desk; though I’m not sure I’ll follow all the suggestions, because I do like some serendipity!

In a follow-up post, Wilson also shares an excellent list of websites with tools to help manage work efficiency that are well worth exploring. 

image credit:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/indieink/1420629617/

One thought on “Managing information

  1. Speaking as an “organizationally challenged” individual, I have to say that I really appreciate your tips on organizing and accessing information.

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