43 Folders

43 Folders feed subscription icon - Shiny!Time, Attention, and Creative Work. After 4 years and a lot of productivity pr0n, we’re shifting gears. Re-learn how to use 43 Folders. Then back to work. [»]

”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Design a Moleskine GTD System?

I was really fascinated by the Moleskine City notebook and everything they were able to pack into something that is just a bit bigger than a normal Moleskine.

It got me thinking....

How would you design a single Moleskine that let one implement the entire GTD system?

In order to do this it would need the following:

1. A set of plain pages for an "inbox".

2. A full year weekly calendar big enough for appointments and date reminders.

3. A contacts list for phone numbers and contact information.

4. A place for project lists, waiting for lists, and someday maybes.

5. A place for next action lists and Agendas.

Some of these are really best as loose leaf items, like the next action lists and agendas. Currently I use notecards for this. How could loose leaf material best work in a Moleskine? I have this vision of tiny little rings but thats probably impractical.

How can a single notebook have multiple pullout parts? I have another vision of three or four Cahier style notebooks all bound together in a normal Moleskine cover.

So what thoughts do you folks have for a single GTD Moleskine device similar to the city notebook that would remain practical?


TOPICS: Projects

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Berko's picture

I think it is indeed...

I think it is indeed possible to create a Moleskine-based system. But I don't think it has to be all in one notebook. Here is how I would go about setting this up.

I would get the regular sized Moleskine (in whatever paper works for you) and divide pages into no more than four sections. So, your first ~90 pages would have your calendar. Of course, the setup time here is a bit of a pain, but it could be fun in a "you could use some baseball" kind of way. The remainder of the calendar book I would use for reference, notetaking, inbox type stuff.

At this point, there are two ways you could go:

1) NA's and projects on Index cards in the gusset pocket

or

2) in a separate notebook.

If you were to go the separate notebook route, I would make it a pocket so that you could carry it with you easier. Use index cards or post-its in the back to capture on the go.

If you go the route of getting one of the regular size notebooks, there might be the concern of running out of pages before the end of the year. I think it would be quite nifty to do a quarterly planner. So, use one of the larger notebooks for each quarter's calendar and notetaking and use index cards with binder clips for NA's and/or projects.

I left out the contacts bit just because I can't imagine anyone keeping a paper address book at this point. Your address book should at least be on your computer if not in your cell phone. Even if you don't have it on hand at all times, you should be able to trigger yourself to look up information in the appropriate context. I suppose you could put contacts in the pages following the calendar, but then you'd have to copy them over every notebook change. Too much friction for my good.

My $.02 to get the party started.

mshea's picture

Frankenmoleskine!

Behold, Frankenmoleskine!

http://picasaweb.google.com/mshea01/MoleskineGTDHack

It's a single book full GTD system including note cards for action lists, one Cahier for an inbox, one cahier for a weekly calendar (one week per page handwritten), and a contacts booklet. A section of the weekly calendar or the inbox can be used for projects and maybe somedays.

It's a little thicker than a normal Moleskine but it is a single full GTD implementation in one unit that fits in a pocket. Not too bad!

 
EXPLORE 43Folders THE GOOD STUFF

An Oblique Strategy:
Discover the recipes you are using and abandon them


STAY IN THE LOOP:

Subscribe with Google Reader

Subscribe on Netvibes

Add to Technorati Favorites

Subscribe on Pageflakes

Add RSS feed

The Podcast Feed

Inbox Zero

The original 43 Folders series looking at the skills, tools, and attitude needed to empty your email inbox — and then keep it that way. Don’t miss the free video of Merlin’s Inbox Zero presentation.

Making Time

3-part series on attention management for artists and makers. Read Bad Correspondence, The Job You Think You Have, and One Clear Line.