Create A Note Card Task Board On The Cheap
If note cards are crucial to your organisation system, you may have entertained the idea of getting a task board for them—and been shut down by the cost. Scratch that idea and make your own.
Brian, a programmer for organisation blog Unclutterer, uses note cards for his work flow. He shopped around for a task board only to be surprised at how pricey they were. Could a board designed to do nothing more than hold 3×5 cards really be worth $US40 or more? He opted to get crafty and create his own super-simple but effective display board for his 3×5 cards. Brian built his using nothing more than a piece of white artist’s board from an art store, some heavy duty rubber bands, and an inexpensive acrylic picture easel. A little label maker magic made it easy to see which rubber band holds which type of cards, and then he was done. It may not be made of exotic woods or hand-stitched leather, but it was a fraction of the price and does the job just fine. For more details about his project, check out the link below. If you’ve come up with your own ingenious way of managing your note cards, share the might of your 3×5-fu in the comments below. DIY Note Card Task Board [Unclutterer]
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
Interesting but I do not use 3x5s for GTD.
I use the ol' pad and pen method. You know the one where you write things that you are to do on a pad and cross them out when you did them...
reg4c
@PajamaJames: I can't remember things set up on computers very well. I like the physical contact of notebooks and notecards.
Janglesatwest
If note cards are you thing, sure, that's a pretty handy thing, but I don't like it that much. It isn't as effective as my methods, which are 95% computer-based such as Remember The Milk, and it doesn't have the greatest visual appearance either.
thats a neat idea. I prefer my digital method, which is effective because I use my computer every day. I set up a custom sidebar that gives a generous amount of space to a todo list. all of my windows are set to appear fullscreen, but they avoid the sidebar (full screen height, full width from left side of the screen to the edge of the sidebar) so that way I can see my todos no matter what I'm doing.
berky93
Looks interesting, but I like my whiteboard method more. I've just divided it into different sections with a permanent marker and can erase and replace easily. This is too much of a hassle for me
Jason Kenneth Dulay
The thing that is nice about 3x5 and gtd is if you are out and about, you can still write stuff down on the cards. How many of you can fit whiteboard in your back pocket?
wogdog
I'm also a pen&paper re-convert after 10 years or so using the electronic approach.
Micho
I often use sticky index cards to make lists, etc. and stick them where I'm likely to see them in time to get them done. Still working out my personal GTD method, would prefer mostly/all computer based but not quite there....
MelanieAnn
If anyone is familiar with Agile or Scrum, this is pretty much a personal story board where the story cards, instead of representing bits of business functionality to be coded, are to-dos. Neat idea if you've got a personal project that's consuming a large amount of time (say buying a home, or applying for school), but I think one would be served just as well using Outlook's To-Do, or whatever is built into his or her smartphone.
mbb82
Where did he get elastic bands that big??
jay.cote
@Jason Kenneth Dulay: I agree. It's much less wasteful, too, since you don't have to discard any cards when you finish a task.
I love this notecard method. Very handy & you don't have to have the computer on... It can nag you constantly :) My problem with it is that rubber bands rot out VERY quickly in the tropics... The price of Paradise :) Sheila
Hoss
May 12, 2009 at 2:28 AM
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smirkette
May 12, 2009 at 10:37 AM
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EvaTelemachus
May 12, 2009 at 9:18 AM
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Stephanie Hudson
May 13, 2009 at 5:02 AM
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ninjabob7
May 13, 2009 at 2:17 PM
I wish life were so simple that we all just had 4 items in the To Do section
I made one by getting a cool picture frame at a thrift store, a pretty fabric remnant, and some ribbon. Cover the cardboard or wooden backing of the frame with the fabric, somehow fasten the ribbon to the backing every 2" or so (could be glue, tacks, etc.), put the frame back on and viola! A pretty card organizer that can be hung on the wall.
...Although mine now holds my jewelry as I'm organizing via notebook now (I have a bad habit of changing my task list media every few months).
A variation on this that I've seen used is to use a temporary spray adhesive (e.g. 3M Remount, of Delta Stencil Adhesive) on the mounting board. Then you can stick the index cards wherever you like on the board, and reposition at will. Eventually the adhesive dries up but can be reapplied.
EvaTelemachus
my problem is that some days I work from home, other days I have to be at the office, so i need a portable system.
my latest workaround is this: [www.five10.com]
I primarily use my hipster notebook vertically, but created a 2 card wide horizontal template to plan my week. this way i can schedule my todo's out for the week and see what i have or have not accomplished each day. i clip it open and hook it on a document holder under my monitor so it is always visible.
not fancy or high tech, but has been working for me! :)
let me know if anyone is interested and i'll post the template to download to save you that step.
Stephanie Hudson
@reg4c: I write things on an index card and then cross them out. I think I originally misunderstood the idea of using cards, but my way uses about 1/20th the number of cards. The advantage over paper is it fits in a large pocket.
ninjabob7