393 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
393 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
[1] Christopher Butler ☼
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[2]Archive
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[3]Info
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[4]Now
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Organization — Office
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After the kitchen, the office is the most used room in our home. This is how we
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keep it organized.
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[eaf01f24-61dc-4bef-8166-2f08c81b856a]
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This is the office.
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My wife and I work here, Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. Our children play and
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create in here just as often. It’s where we maintain several workspaces, store
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supplies, house a portion of our library, and keep a guest bed. To make things
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even more complicated, I also exercise in here nearly every day. All in this
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10’ x 12’ space with two windows. Since we began working from home, I estimate
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that we’ve spent around 8,000 hours in here.
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Organization — at an almost obsessive level — is what keeps this space a
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functional and enjoyable place to spend time. Minimalism, though, is not. We
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have a lot of gear in here. Most of it gets used every single day.
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I’m about to share an unnecessary amount of detail on what makes this space
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work. I’ve divided this into three main sections:
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1. On and Under the Desk
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2. On the Walls
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3. In Books
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At the end of each section, I’ll include a list of all the gear that I have
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either mentioned or captured in pictures.
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On and Under the Desk
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I prefer to keep my desktop as free from infrastructure as possible.
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My general rule is that if I need it within reach, in view, or audible, it’s on
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the desk. If I don’t, it’s under the desk. That means that my desktop is still
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not as free of things as I’d like, but there is an impressive amount of gear
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running my day-to-day underneath it.
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[9b3325cc-7028-4d54-b0c0-9000877e3c2b]
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[745ee5c9-f738-4677-b266-ff5708036077]
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On the desk is:
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• an [5]LG 32” UltraFine 4k HDR10 Ergo Display mounted on an [6]Ergotron LX
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Single Monitor Arm rather than the arm it ships with
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• an [7]Elgato Key Light
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• a [8]Sure SM7B Microphone mounted on an [9]Elgato Wave Mic Arm
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• a [10]Sony A7C Full Frame Camera with [11]Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM lens mounted
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with a [12]ULANZI Camera Desk Mount Stand
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• a pair of [13]Audioengine HD3 speakers
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• the [14]awesome lamp I made twenty years ago by duo-tac’ing a strip of wax
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paper onto an industrial plastic tube and placing a trash-picked light
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inside — it still holds up!
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• the desk is a [15]Floyd dining table. I added a [16]sliding under-desk
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drawer.
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Underneath the desk I use a simple rack on wheels to stack two computers, an
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input hub, three different external storage drives, an audio interface, a
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battery backup and even my old minidisc player. All of it is humming all day,
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but out of sight.
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All the lights, knobs, and buttons are irresistible to my nearly two-year old
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son, so I made custom covers out of half-inch black foam board that slide in
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between the rack’s supports and the shelf contents to keep him from exploring.
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You can see how they look on the right side of the split image below — covers
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out on the left, in on the right.
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[58507484-e94a-4aa0-ad71-72c58427649c]
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While I’m here, let me take a moment to urge those who have not to acquire an
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uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system.
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We have two [17]CyberPower CP1500 backups running in our office. Each has six
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battery backup and surge protected outlets as well as six additional surge
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protected outlets, network inputs, and USB inputs. (It’s the thing on the
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bottom shelf peeking out a bit from behind one of my covers.)
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Just this week, we had a freak storm descend upon our city and in the span of
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just 35 minutes knock out power for hundreds of thousands and fell more trees
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than any other storm I’ve experienced in the time I’ve lived here. Because I do
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my work on a Mac Mini, having a UPS that kicks in when the power goes out saves
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me from losing work. But it can also keep the lights on, fans going, music
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playing, the works.
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Keen eyes will notice that the cables behind everything are relatively tidy.
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The thing about cables is that the greater they are in number, the more
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difficult they are to tame!
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[1e9e3fa0-247a-421b-b63c-34229c2fcad3]
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Rather than completely hiding them — and making it more difficult to access or
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alter them later — I prioritize labeling. I coil and bunch any excess cable,
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but I don’t clip or enclose them. I do label them at both ends so I can easily
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identify what’s what no matter where I’m looking.
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Every time I find myself writing a label with sharpie on blue tape, I know I’m
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doing my future self a favor.
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Under the desk is:
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• an [18]IKEA KORNSJÖ side table
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• two Apple M1 Mac minis
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• a [19]CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4 hub
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• two DIY External SSDs — using [20]ACASIS 40gbps Enclosures, [21]WD 1TB NVMe
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SSD Solid State drives, and [22]4’ Thunderbolt 4 Cables
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• a [23]LaCie 2big RAID 8TB External Hard Drive
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• a Cloud Microphone [24]Cloudlifter
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• a [25]Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 audio interface
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• a [26]Sony MXD-D40
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• a [27]CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS System
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On the Walls
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My wife and I keep a lot of books and magazines. We’re by no means at a hoarder
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level, but we do like our printed media and that takes up space. We have most
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of our library in another room, but in here, we have many magazines, all our
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design books, and all my books about the paranormal and other weirdness.
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To keep them organized, we need shelves. I have found that the best shelves are
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the ones you create yourself.
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Other than the racks under our desks, all the shelves in this room — there are
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many — were made by measuring and hanging custom rack or ledge shelving. It’s
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inexpensive, very strong (by god use a stud finder), and requires very few
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tools. I made mine with steel racks, half-inch poplar, a hand saw, a level, a
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pencil, and a few different straightedges.
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[4e6fc669-65a5-45e9-bbe6-fde0ef2a7d78]
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[32d1e14f-eb6c-46b9-bf52-31c8b5d90e93]
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I strongly recommend [28]library-grade bookends, which you can see at the edges
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of the shelf pictured above. These are the kind that won’t tip over, won’t
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bend, and won’t slide off the edge of floating shelves. They are very, very
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good.
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Most of the stuff we keep on the shelves needs to be easy to retrieve. The best
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way to do this is to create kits. Find a container that works best for you in
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multiples and gather like items, put them in, and label them clearly. (I like
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the [29]iDesign 29847, which was designed to hold toilet paper.)
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[65617d4c-8d78-4a6a-b71d-6141f6a2b5b1]
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The shelf pictured above has nearly every frequently used office or creative
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supply in our home. Each box is large enough to hold quite a bit, but small
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enough to be manageable by our kids.
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This room also has a closet. I lined it with shelving to store household
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supplies, paper, tools, and emergency equipment and to make it easy to retrieve
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anything without having to root around. Most of this stuff is also in kits
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stored in [30]IRIS USA Weatherpro latching boxes. We are ready for a disaster!
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[7b5fb987-19be-43c3-8e59-abbcdf37baec]
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I’m particularly pleased that I can store a collapsible exercise bench on the
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inside of the door.
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Other exercise equipment, like my kettlebells, sit under the supply shelving on
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the left — I even rigged up cables to hang rolled up yoga mats under the bottom
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shelf. 👌 It’s the little things.
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[5909fae1-cc3b-462c-b1f0-142aa56e322f]
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[7f8971b1-0e00-4699-8e16-af9bad1dfa7b]
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I keep my dumbbells in a neat line under the sofa/guest bed.
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Good organization optimizes for storage and retrieval. These things are all
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very helpful:
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• [31]Floating Ledge steel shelves
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• Proect Source [32]double track strips and [33]brackets
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• [34]The Library Store Bear Hug bookends
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• [35]iDesign 29847 storage bins
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• [36]IRIS USA Weatherpro latching boxes
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• [37]Craftsman Tradestack tool chests
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• [38]Viesso Dublexo Sofa Bed
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In Books
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I’m as obsessive with how I organize information as I am objects and spaces. At
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this point in my life, I’ve tried dozens and dozens of digital organization
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tools. While I used some of them for a long time — I used Todoist for several
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years — none have ever felt as useful to me as pen and paper.
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I’ve kept a notebook of some kind — as a sketchbook, an art journal, a
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log — for decades. I mostly maintained one at a time, and so there was always a
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mixture of things in it: notes and lists on one page, drawings and collages on
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the next.
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But over the last few years, I’ve been formulating a more intentional and
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systematic use of my notebooks. Now, I maintain two books at the same time: one
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for visual exploration and the other for note-taking and list-making.
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[6ea49f4f-861b-408d-85eb-f8c9d7e1c95f]
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[3d557cb6-2c42-48c3-84ed-950cbafee775]
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[bd52173f-ef6c-4bb7-a15f-a99cefb63011]
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Just having two books helps, but the key to making this work as a productivity
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system is to maintain a specific habit of use. While I do find writing to-do
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lists on paper inherently better — for me — than using some kind of digital app
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because I can focus on the information outside of the digital space, it’s how I
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use them that makes them actually deliver results for me.
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Here’s how it works:
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1. I end the day by making a to-do list for the next one.
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This is probably the most important work/life hack I can offer to anyone
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who doesn’t already do this. It’s a great idea to start your day with a
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prioritized list of the things you need to do. But I end my day by making
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that list so that I can also use it as a tool for clearing my mind and
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letting me make a meaningful mental break from work. I have also found that
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when my days are very busy, if I don’t end them with making a list for the
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next day, I am likely to forget details by the next morning. This is
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especially true if I let my inbox determine my day; if I don’t have a to-do
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list, my inbox becomes one.
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2. I mark my to-do list with a bright, yellow sticky note.
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This is a very small detail, but it lets me shut my notebook and set it
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aside. The next morning, I can open it directly to the day’s list. Then I
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move the sticky note to the next page. When I am stressed, tiny investments
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in my future self really pay off. Giving myself an immediate sense of place
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is one of them.
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3. If a task is longer-term and has many sub-tasks, I create an index card to
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contain it.
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I might transpose some of the sub-tasks from the card to my book so I can
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keep track of things in one place throughout the day, but doing this lets
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me think through how I’m going to achieve a larger goal over a longer
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period of time. I keep these index cards in a small box on my desk.
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4. There are no analytics, and that’s a feature.
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Back when I used Todoist, I found its analytics intriguing and motivating.
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I initially liked being able to pore over my productivity statistics. And
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Todoist set it up to “reward” you as you completed more tasks. Ithink I
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worked my way up to some absurd number of tasks complete, which the app
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always displayed front and center, and some ridiculous classification like
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“Master Overlord” or something. It worked for me, until it didn’t.
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Analytics in this context create their own layer of stress. I’d find that
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if my numbers dropped, it felt wrong, even if that was because I was less
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busy — which is probably a good thing now and again! I found that I was
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thinking about my “performance” as often as my productivity. I didn’t need
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that.
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[2e6d6ea8-930f-4297-9662-d55905f31808]
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This is what works for me. I’d never assume it would work for everyone, or that
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everyone would have the same trouble with an app like Todoist that I eventually
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did. But if you’ve tried apps of various kinds and still don’t feel the
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benefits of organizing your work, I’d suggest taking it offline. One point of a
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system like this is to help you get things done. The other is to help you feel
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more at ease.
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Now, this doesn’t mean I never use a computer for notes and lists. If I write a
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note or have an idea that I want to transpose to a digital file so that it can
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become something else — like an article or a message to someone — I use a blue
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post-it note to mark it and keep it there until I’ve copied it over. (Many of
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my blue bookmarks are for dream entries that I like to store digitally so I can
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search them later. Maybe I’ll write something on dream journaling some day…)
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[0bc93018-95c3-4df0-9185-f89156dcbd19]
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These timeless office supplies are very useful to me and I don’t want to live
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in a world without them:
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• [39]Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbooks
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• [40]Pilot G2 pens
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• [41]Electric Yellow Post-it Notes
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• [42]Oxford Blank Index Cards
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• binder clips — you can get them anywhere
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Why, though?
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I am on a continuous quest for organization.
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For most of my life, order has been something of an obsession. Everywhere I
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look, I see chaos and entropy creeping in. I see a new surface and anticipate
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wear and tear. I see a functioning system and look for where it will break.
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That may sound like an exaggeration and more than a bit unpleasant, but I’ve
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come to understand that it’s neither. Life is, paradoxically, both order and
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disorder.
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The very possibility of life presumes order — the coherence of biology at the
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atomic level — and yet, the act of living tends toward disorder. As we live and
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breathe and move about this world we and it push and pull against one another;
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words against wind, towers and tides, edifice and erosion. Given the broadest
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and longest view, all created order is futile. We simply don’t live long enough
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to maintain it.
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But zoomed in, at the closer range of living day by day, created order is,
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literally, the fabric of functional living. Roofs are order. Clothing is order.
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Order puts food on the table.
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I find the challenge of creating and maintaining functional systems, well, kind
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of fun. It is a creative act. And, it never ends. No system can last forever,
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and no system should. Situations change, needs change, we change. So the things
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we depend upon to exist well need to change, too. That means we have to
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continually look for things to make and ways to optimize them. That sounds good
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to me!
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Written by [43]Christopher Butler on August 18, 2023, In [44]Essays
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Next Entry
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[45] The Internet's Greatest Potential It seems that the internet’s greatest
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potential is to create intimacy across distance. Which means we still have a
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long way to go
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Previous Entry
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[46] The Internet is Already a Social Network Make it easier for anyone to have
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a website. Make syndication easier and better. That’s all that is needed to
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reclaim the power we’ve ceded to the
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⌨ Keep up via [47]Email or [48]RSS
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✺ [49]Impressum
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© Christopher Butler. All rights reserved
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References:
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[1] https://www.chrbutler.com/
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[2] https://www.chrbutler.com/archives
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[3] https://www.chrbutler.com/information
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[4] https://www.chrbutler.com/now/2024-01-06
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[5] https://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-32un880-b-4k-uhd-led-monitor
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[6] https://www.ergotron.com/en-us/products/product-details/45-241#?color=black&attachment%20option=2-Piece%20Clamp
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[7] https://www.elgato.com/en/key-light
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[8] https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/microphones/sm7b?variant=SM7B
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[9] https://www.elgato.com/en/wave-mic-arm-lp
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[10] https://electronics.sony.com/imaging/interchangeable-lens-cameras/all-interchangeable-lens-cameras/p/ilce7c-b
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[11] https://electronics.sony.com/imaging/lenses/all-e-mount/p/sel35f14gm
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[12] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LV7GZVB?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
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[13] https://audioengine.com/shop/wirelessspeakers/hd3-wireless-speakers/
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[14] https://www.chrbutler.com/2023-04-24
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[15] https://floydhome.com/products/the-floyd-table?variant=36527968321698
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[16] https://www.standupdeskstore.com/sliding-under-desk-pencil-drawer
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[17] https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/pfc-sinewave/cp1500pfclcd/
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[18] https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/kornsjoe-side-table-black-70455412/
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[19] https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-station-4/
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[20] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBZT42HC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
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[21] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QV692XY?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
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[22] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZY48D8M?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
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[23] https://www.lacie.com/products/big/2big/
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[24] https://www.cloudmicrophones.com/cloudlifter-cl-1?gclid=CjwKCAjw_YShBhAiEiwAMomsENVjS7OaiiBgaZkiAqqDGiUd74Ln6BUrZxcpHovOibPqJUAtNN6weBoCzzkQAvD_BwE
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[25] https://focusrite.com/en/usb-audio-interface/scarlett/scarlett-2i2
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[26] https://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MXD-D40.html
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[27] https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/pfc-sinewave/cp1500pfclcd/
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[28] https://www.thelibrarystore.com/product/cn66-02050/bookends
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[29] https://g.co/kgs/cfKCBZ
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[30] https://www.irisusainc.com/products/weathertight-storage-box-30-quart
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[31] https://www.etsy.com/listing/120787781/35-extra-deep-4-ft-floating-ledge-for
|
||
[32] https://www.lowes.com/pd/Style-Selections-70-5-in-Black-Shelf-Upright/4640257
|
||
[33] https://www.lowes.com/pd/Style-Selections-2-in-Shelf-Bracket/4640145
|
||
[34] https://www.thelibrarystore.com/product/cn66-02050/bookends
|
||
[35] https://g.co/kgs/cfKCBZ
|
||
[36] https://www.irisusainc.com/products/weathertight-storage-box-30-quart
|
||
[37] https://www.craftsman.com/collections/tradestack
|
||
[38] https://viesso.com/products/dublexo-black-pin-sofa-bed?variant=42181265522844
|
||
[39] https://www.stillmanandbirn.com/products_epsilon_hardbound.php
|
||
[40] https://g.co/kgs/7ot9aS
|
||
[41] https://www.post-it.com/3M/en_US/post-it/products/~/Post-it-Super-Sticky-Notes-3-in-x-3-in-Electric-Yellow-12-Pads-Pack-90-Sheets-Pad/?N=4327+3289961157+3294529207&rt=rud
|
||
[42] https://www.tops-products.com/oxfordtm-blank-index-cards-white-3-x-5-100-per-pack-4.html
|
||
[43] https://www.chrbutler.com/information
|
||
[44] https://www.chrbutler.com/tagged/essays
|
||
[45] https://www.chrbutler.com/2023-08-21
|
||
[46] https://www.chrbutler.com/2023-07-19
|
||
[47] https://dontthinkaboutthefuture.eo.page/8y4tg
|
||
[48] http://chrbutler.com/feed.rss
|
||
[49] https://www.chrbutler.com/impressum
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