Organization Quest

Avoiding Binder System Failure

 
Above: a volume of materials can quickly accumulate and get out of control.

Sometime about a month or two into the school year/new job/new project, something happens and the binder that was such a joy to set up and organize degenerates into a bloated, unholy mess.  Right when you need to be organized the most--say, a week before midterms or before a big presentation at work--your system completely breaks down.  What the heck?!??

It's one thing to set up a binder and get it organized; keepingit organized is altogether a different matter.  In my experience, the cause of a BSF (Binder System Failure) almost always comes down to one thing: lack of an adequate archiving.

Here's the key thing to understand:  your current school or project binder is not intended to be the final destination for paperwork. It's role is not be your archive but to be your aide.  It's a place to gather relevant notes and data for what you're currently working on or studying.  This means that once a particular phase of a project has passed, once a particular assignment or paper has been completed, or once you've been tested on certain material, the assorted paperwork you collected for it needs to be reviewed and either tossed or filed for future reference. 

"Wait a minute!" I can just hear legions (well, maybe more like dozens; okay,  more like one or two) of you saying.  "I can't throw those notes/that quiz/the feedback from the team away!  I'm going to need that stuff later!"  But archiving material doesn't mean making it inaccessible; it just means it's put away, which in turn makes it more accessible, in that it's easier to find.

As I mentioned in the recent post on taking notes, when I was going to design school, I developed the habit of typing my notes on a laptop and printing them out that evening, in order to review then and highlight the main points. I'd then punch the notes and any other handouts or materials I'd received that day, and put everything in my binder according by type (i.e. quizzes-with-quizzes, notes-with-notes, etc.) with the most recent material on top.  Once I completed a paper, a project or other assignment, or once I took a quiz or test, I removed the associated materials from my binder and put it in a file, simple as that.  If I found I needed the materials again for related projects or for finals, they were easy to find and I just put them back in the binder as needed.

Sometimes you start out with one binder and realize there's no way you're going to be able to keep to just one: the project is too big and there are too many current and relevant documents to fit in.  You can either get another binder and move over some of the material in the first to the second, i.e. if you have one binder for all of your projects or classes, you might choose to get a second binder and split things up.  Alternatively, you could keep your binder intact and start a new binder afresh for a second phase of a project or for use after midterms.  You'll find that with whatever method you choose, the time you spend organizing your binder actually works as a kind of mini-review and will help keep you prepared, up-to-date, and current on the subject at hand.

Above: my file of archived class notes, tidy and closed.

How To: Create The Perfect Binder

Compared to taking notes, setting up a binder is pretty straightforward.  And yet: look around any classroom--or boardroom--and what do you see?  Spiral notebooks.  Pads.  Composition books.  All of which are fine if you're eight years-old and need something to doodle on.  Once you move on to middle school, folks, it's time for an upgrade. 

In very little time you can create a binder for work or for school that will go the distance in keeping you prepared, on track, up-to-date, and organized--all for less than ten bucks.  Sure, you can find fancy materials--and I admit, I love fancy materials--but it still comes down to four components: binder, paper, dividers, and pockets.  Let's take a closer look at each:

The Binder

It's no secret I'm a huge fan of Levenger's Circa, which combines the portability of a notebook with the expandability of a binder, but plain old binders are what got me through college and grad school. As far as I'm concerned, you can't go wrong with the buck-ninety-nine plastic standby, although the amazing MO Signature Binder, right, offered in cool colors and tricked out with metal-finished edges and finger pulls  is tough to resist.

The Paper

Plain old college-ruled paper does just fine, but fun options include graph, colored, pre-printed (i.e. to-do lists and project planners) and annotation ruled.

The Dividers

Dividers aren't an option, but are every bit as essential as paper and the binder itself.  Dividers--along with pockets which we'll discuss next--are what gives binders functionality over plain old pads or composition books.  Specifically,  dividers enable you to categorized and organizeinformation according to type, subject, project, or date.  You can get dividers with pre-printed tabs or make them easily yourself. 

The Pockets

Like dividers, the essential functionality of binder pockets is often overlooked.  Why, I don't know.  Where else are you going to slip in tests, quizzes, client information, hand-outs, marketing materials, timelines, and reports?  Pockets can be zippered and gusseted to store everything from stamps to pens.  They can be cut on a bias for easy access to materials. Report covers are actually a kind of pocket that enables you to add documents without defacing them with hole punches.

Here are two examples of good, functional binders using different materials

Example 1: New binder suitable for school or for work using Levenger's Circa system

I pulled together this binder for a friend who's going off to college for the first time.  Using Levenger's Circa system, I selected extra-larges rings (1-1/2") for maximum capacity. For fun and for easy identification, I used five different colors of paper, which I separated with dividers.  Each section contains a couple Project Planners, so he can map out the actions needed for projects and papers.  I also included several small To Do pages to capture tasks and reminders like reading assignments and test preparation.  While typed notes,  syllabbi, handouts and quizzes  can be punched and added to the binder using a Circa punch, I  included a pocket for convenience. 

While the above notebook was created for a college student in mind, it's equally functional for a business professional.  The sections can be used for different clients, projects, or responsibilities, or they can sub-divide a large project into manageable chunks, while the To Do and Project Planners are useful for any professional.

Example 2: Classic (and much used) school binder with index tabs tied to the Table of Contents

 

 Okay, this binder has seen better days.  But by golly, it was functional and proved to be a great resource ever after.  The colored table of contents and tabs made it easy to find information. While I just punched handouts,  notes, and quizzes, I used report covers for assignments to keep them pristine.

Above: assignment in report cover.

 
Above: my beloved, beat-up drafting binder.

 

How To: Take Notes For Maximum Efficiency

Few things in life are as simple in concept and yet surprisingly difficult in practice as taking good notes.  Taking meeting or lecture notes (opposed to reading notes) is especially tricky, because information isn't necessarily presented in a linear fashion.  Speakers interrupt themselves and get interrupted; they backtrack, mumble, forget their point, slur their words, drone on about inconsequential details and skip key information. At least, that's the way it was when I taught, if my student evaluations are to be believed. 

Anyway.  It's the unanticipated twists and turns of a meeting or lecture that makes such notes challenging to take.  Over time I developed two methods that have worked for me, depending on the situation.  One involves taking notes on a laptop; the other uses a longhand approach.

Why and When to Use a Laptop

As a student, this is the method I much prefer.  Why?  In my experience, college lectures cover so much ground at such a fast clip that I simply can't keep up if I'm taking notes longhand.

I also find that it helps me stay engaged in a subject if I keep moving in some way.  Taking notes using a laptop allows me that movement in a value-added way that mere doodling  doesn't.

Details

• Either use one file for a particular course or start a new file for every class in the course.  Some people find it useful to have just one file, as this is a simpler approach and keeps everything in one spot.  Just scroll to the end of the doc and type in the day's date for each new entry.  I personally prefer to start a new document for each class session.  This way, if the file gets deleted or corrupted, I don't lose everything, which has happened before.
• As with the longhand approach that we'll cover next, don't worry about spelling, grammar, writing in complete sentences, or duplicating information. The goal is to capture key concepts, ideas, vocabulary, movements, figures, due dates, and test and project information.
• Use breaks in the lecture--whether in the form of sideline discussions and anecdotes, silences, or when the prof is writing on the board--to underline, bold, or capitalize important information,  which will make it easy to spot when you review your notes later on.
• As soon as possible after class--preferably the same day, read through your notes.  Some people prefer to "clean up" their notes at this point, completing sentences, adding commentary, and deleting unimportant information.  Personally, I don't bother with any of that.  Instead, I print out the notes as-is and read through them, highlighter in hand.  I highlight anything I deem important.  When subsequently reading my notes, the only things I read are the highlighted parts. 

Above: notes I took during my recent stab at design school.

Taking Notes Longhand

As handy as it is to take notes on a laptop,it isn't always possible or even advisable.  While (I like to think) my constant tap-tap-tapping during lectures in a large hall went (largely) unnoticed, I can't imagine doing so during a team meeting or during a one-on-one with my boss at work. 

A further advantage of taking notes longhand is that it requires little set up and low-tech (read: low-cost) materials. 

Details:

• I favor paper with an  "annotation margin." This is  column on the left side of the page which is used to indicate the subject or call out important information concerning teams, projects, or due dates.
• Develop your own "shorthand" of symbols and abbreviations.  While this is also helpful when taking notes on a computer, it's especially important when taking notes longhand.  Some of my favorite abbreviations include:  w = with, w/o = without, imp = important, mem = memorize, ? = question, dd = due date, and bec = because. 
• As with taking notes on a computer, don't worry about misspellings, grammar, etc. But do go over your notes when finished to both review and to clarify any ambiguities,  which I've found happens more often when I'm handwriting notes. You may combine this step with highlighting any important information.
• It's also helpful--especially on the job but also in school--to create a to-do list based on your notes.  You may also want to note any important dates on your calendar.

Above: annotation-margin paper with subjects noted in the margin. 

Whatever method you use, the three most important things regarding notes aren't in taking them, but in reviewing them:

1. Review your notes as soon as possible after the meeting, lecture, or class;
2. Highlight the important information for quick subsequent reviews; and
3. Review the highlighted information immediately before the next meeting or class.

Using Organizing Skills To Succeed In School And On The Job

All right, enough summertime slacking.  Now that Labor Day has passed, it's Officially Fall, and a Back to School series is in order.

In another life, when I taught Freshman Comp and Business English at a state university, I was surprised that many students didn't know how to study; apparently no one had ever showed them. They had, at best, a shaky grasp on things like preparing for class, taking and organizing notes, creating binders, archiving information, planning projects, and developing a study schedule.  Without sufficient study skills, it's easy to get overwhelmed. 

Studying is synonymous with organizing--it's about organizing information for comprehension and retention, and then communicating one's understanding of a subject (i.e. in a paper, a test, or a presentation) to someone else. 

These skills, in turn, have a direct application in the workplace, where one needs to learn and retain new information, take notes in meetings, research options, communicate ideas, propose and plan projects, develop schedules, present findings, and archive information. 

Happily, information is one of the few things that's actually kind of fun to organize--once you learn a few basic skills.  So this weekend I pulled out some old notebooks, binders, archives, and study materials, took some pictures and wrote some notes myself, in order to share a few strategies to make this the best school year ever--even if you're not in school!