Saturday, 16 June 2012

In praise of the Post-it

I have tried, believe me I've tried.  Electronic diaries/calendars; notes on my Iphone; 'proper' To Do lists with timings and all that. I even have, as I referred to recently, a shelf full of half-filled notebooks, most of which contain some form of to do list.

But every time I try to introduce a new, improved system of notes and organisation, I invariably default to the one thing which always, always works for me: post-it notes.  At present the collection of green stickies on my desk includes the following cryptic reminders:

  • Cross-reference both plans
  • Order wetsuit
  • Too ambitious for one person?
  • Eulogy to the post-it
  • Definition of eulogy [guess who wasn't sure she was using the right word? Turns out a eulogy is usually for a dead person, and my post-its definitely have a life of their own, so that title for this post was abandoned]
  • G. Off. in later stages?
  • Validation
  • Book Mad Science

Some of these are work-related and some not. (I'll leave you to guess why I might need a wetsuit for my job as charity consultant!)  Several are already completed and about to be binned; some will make it into the electronic reminder system and others will float about on the desk until they irritate me so much I either do them or bin them anyway.  But the system works!

It works because:
  • I'm not surgically attached from my phone and don't look at it for days on end, so it's not a useful tool to me.  Plus it takes too long to make a note with just a thumb.
  • Much of my life takes place away from the computer.  (This is the same reason I still have a paper diary, although I am under strict orders to use my online calendar too so as to preserve marital communication and harmony.)
  • I'm never far from a post-it (yes, I have a pad of them in the bedroom).
  • I also have an army of pens occupying my house, handbag and car.
  • They are just the right size for random jottings which may or may not make sense in a week's time.
  • I can stick them into the relevant notebook when I need to.
  • I just like paper and pen better!
Post-its?  Love them, can't live without them.

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