Help me organize myself in my new role

[Amethyst]

I was appointed to a new full-time interim role at the college where I work. (Potential to be permanent. We’ll see.)

This is a very very different role than I usually have at the college. This is administration. I was previously in clinical and classroom roles. 

In this new role, some times there a tasks that need to be completed on a regular basis (think: order books before the new semester, submit annual budget, etc). Those are regular and I can put them on a calendar. So far so good. 

But there are other bits of information that I don’t know how to organize. And how to separate those bits from a to-do list. 

So for instance, at a meeting, I’m taking notes on a paper notepad. It includes info I may need for short term (name of potential new hire), info I need for longer term (Joe in IT’s extension), and things I need to do soon (call Janet in Purchasing). And it’s all scribbled all over one piece of paper. Then I go to my office, phone calls start, and I’m scribbling things on sticky notes.  It can’t go on this way.

Any suggestions for keeping all of this organized? We just got Outlook email and Teams, so there may be things there that I haven’t utilized yet which might be valuable. But I’m also thinking a spiral bound notebook. A planner calendar is fine for appointments or regular tasks, but not enough room for jotting down notes from a phone call or meeting. 

I’m open to suggestions, both physical and computer-based. Thanks!

 

[Katy]

I’d use One Note. Keep a separate notebook for meeting notes, then copy your to-do’s to your own list. Set a time (daily, weekly, or monthly) to review all notes and make sure there’s no additional to-do’s you should add to your personal list. 

[Harriet Vane]

11 minutes ago, Katy said:

I’d use One Note. Keep a separate notebook for meeting notes, then copy your to-do’s to your own list. Set a time (daily, weekly, or monthly) to review all notes and make sure there’s no additional to-do’s you should add to your personal list. 

I find One Note is a fabulous tool. 

[KungFuPanda]

It’ll probably take some time to learn where to store/file everything but once you learn the ‘place’ for everything organizing it will be easier. I’m a big note scribbler too, and my paper can start to look crazy. What I do is draw a box next to anything I have to do/file/record. Then I tick the boxes as I complete the tasks. When my boxes are all ticked I double check my paper then recycle it. I may grab a scrap sheet of paper to take down a memo, then answer a call and take a message, then have a landscaper ask me to check on an equipment repair, etc.  This will all happen at once so I’m scribbling now and completing later. I started with a notebook because I was afraid to toss the information, but I don’t really need that anymore. 
 

This system relies heavily on having a moment in your day to actually DO the tasks so you can check them off. I have a 4 part checklist on my computer for the different times of day (Morning, Boss, Daytime, and Closing) so I don’t drop any balls. If I can’t complete a task that day, I add it to my perpetual checklist and delete it when it’s done. I run a landscaping office part time. It’s crazy in the morning, but once the boss and landscapers leave for a job, it is blissfully quiet so I can just do my work and answer phones.  I share this job with 4 other people so we have to be organized by end-of-day so we can finish everything we can and do a clean hand-off. 

[Amethyst]

36 minutes ago, Katy said:

I’d use One Note. Keep a separate notebook for meeting notes, then copy your to-do’s to your own list. Set a time (daily, weekly, or monthly) to review all notes and make sure there’s no additional to-do’s you should add to your personal list. 

Is One Note part of Outlook? Or a separate app?

[Amethyst]

14 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

It’ll probably take some time to learn where to store/file everything but once you learn the ‘place’ for everything organizing it will be easier. I’m a big note scribbler too, and my paper can start to look crazy. What I do is draw a box next to anything I have to do/file/record. Then I tick the boxes as I complete the tasks. When my boxes are all ticked I double check my paper then recycle it. I may grab a scrap sheet of paper to take down a memo, then answer a call and take a message, then have a landscaper ask me to check on an equipment repair, etc.  This will all happen at once so I’m scribbling now and completing later. I started with a notebook because I was afraid to toss the information, but I don’t really need that anymore. 
 

This system relies heavily on having a moment in your day to actually DO the tasks so you can check them off. I have a 4 part checklist on my computer for the different times of day (Morning, Boss, Daytime, and Closing) so I don’t drop any balls. If I can’t complete a task that day, I add it to my perpetual checklist and delete it when it’s done. I run a landscaping office part time. It’s crazy in the morning, but once the boss and landscapers leave for a job, it is blissfully quiet so I can just do my work and answer phones.  I share this job with 4 other people so we have to be organized by end-of-day so we can finish everything we can and do a clean hand-off. 

This sounds like a reasonable system. I hope to have some kind of good system like this in place soon. Finding that blissfully quiet time will likely be a challenge lol. The students are not in session now, so I imagine things will be even crazier in two weeks!

[almondbutterandjelly]

I would use your notebook, personally, but I'm a paper person.  Just date (and maybe time) your entries, like you would if you were in class taking notes.

Maybe then take a few minutes at the end of each day to put Joe's extension in IT on the phone number list I already have posted, put the to-do list on my whiteboard calendar/to do list, and leave the new hire's name in the notebook, knowing it's there.  Cross out the stuff that is completed.  Maybe use a highlighter.

[catz]

I imagine you'll try some things and figure out what works best for your brain and technology.  But google has a note tool called google keep.  I like the google suite because I can access everything jumping between my iPad, my android phone, and my laptop.  I also use google sheets to keep ongoing lists of to do stuff with dates, links, phone numbers, etc.  I like google calendar notifications with reminders and you can write pretty extensive notes for things, I often cut and paste specific information about events, addresses, etc.  

Just thought I'd throw that out there.  

[Amethyst]

ooh I found that I do have OneNote on my computer (not the phone), so I might try using that. It would be nice if I could get it on my phone too. On the other hand, I just discovered that Outlook on my phone has suggested Microsoft To Do. Anyone use that?

[Katy]

1 hour ago, Amethyst said:

Is One Note part of Outlook? Or a separate app?

It’s a phone and computer app and it’s also online. It’s a Microsoft product so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s integrated, but I use apple products so I don’t keep up with it.

[Arcadia]

22 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

ooh I found that I do have OneNote on my computer (not the phone), so I might try using that. It would be nice if I could get it on my phone too. On the other hand, I just discovered that Outlook on my phone has suggested Microsoft To Do. Anyone use that?

You can download OneNote on your phone. It feels like those multi-subject spiral bound notebooks to me in terms of concept. We also have the Microsoft To Do and mainly use that as the family grocery lists.

[fraidycat]

Have you read Getting Things Done by David Allen? There is also a podcast, and starting at episode 139, broken down into several parts is an audio recording of a live seminar/conference where he introduces GTD to a room full of people.

He goes into the best practices and whats, whys, and hows of a) processing and b) storing and retrieving all of those random notes from meetings, phone calls, and life in general.

 

[kbutton]

It's been a LOOOONG time since I had to do this, but Franklin Covey has a system for doing this where you index important stuff from your planner as you go, and it's precisely for this kind of thing. I loved that method of organizing notes when I worked.

I think some of the bullet journal stuff I've seen does something similar to the Franklin Covey system but is less formal. I *think* it includes indexing as you go. 

[Amethyst]

1 hour ago, Katy said:

It’s a phone and computer app and it’s also online. It’s a Microsoft product so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s integrated, but I use apple products so I don’t keep up with it.

See, I’m an Apple person too. All this Microsoft stuff is brand new to me. 

[Amethyst]

43 minutes ago, fraidycat said:

Have you read Getting Things Done by David Allen? There is also a podcast, and starting at episode 139, broken down into several parts is an audio recording of a live seminar/conference where he introduces GTD to a room full of people.

He goes into the best practices and whats, whys, and hows of a) processing and b) storing and retrieving all of those random notes from meetings, phone calls, and life in general.

 

Thank you. I am looking for a new podcast, so I’ll definitely check this out

[Arcadia]

11 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

See, I’m an Apple person too. All this Microsoft stuff is brand new to me. 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/mobile/microsoft-365-mobile-apps-for-ios
I have iPhone and iPad. I love Microsoft Word and Excel on my iPhone instead of the Apple apps (Numbers & Pages). 

[Amethyst]

2 hours ago, Arcadia said:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/mobile/microsoft-365-mobile-apps-for-ios
I have iPhone and iPad. I love Microsoft Word and Excel on my iPhone instead of the Apple apps (Numbers & Pages). 

When I started teaching, I got myself Office for Macs (or some name like that). It included Powerpoint, Word, and Excel. I’ve gotten very good with PP and Word. But I don’t use any of those on my phone, only on my laptop. So when I said the Microsoft stuff was new to me, I guess I was referring to the email, Teams, and the other potential organizing tools on Outlook. 

[Arcadia]

6 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

When I started teaching, I got myself Office for Macs (or some name like that). It included Powerpoint, Word, and Excel. I’ve gotten very good with PP and Word. But I don’t use any of those on my phone, only on my laptop. So when I said the Microsoft stuff was new to me, I guess I was referring to the email, Teams, and the other potential organizing tools on Outlook. 

I get what you were saying which was why I gave you the link for all the Microsoft apps available for iOS.  My husband said he often had issues with the Outlook app on iPhone and Android and have to use the web based version on his iPad instead. Some mails didn’t show up on the mobile app from time to time.

[Katy]

2 hours ago, Amethyst said:

See, I’m an Apple person too. All this Microsoft stuff is brand new to me. 

OneNote is free to mac users. You don’t need to pay for it or integrate it with outlook. You can stick with Apple Mail and still have it on your computers, iPads, and iPhones.

[Amethyst]

32 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

I get what you were saying which was why I gave you the link for all the Microsoft apps available for iOS.  My husband said he often had issues with the Outlook app on iPhone and Android and have to use the web based version on his iPad instead. Some mails didn’t show up on the mobile app from time to time.

Thank you. 

[catz]

3 hours ago, Amethyst said:

See, I’m an Apple person too. All this Microsoft stuff is brand new to me. 

This is why I like the google suit (keep, sheets, docs, drive, photos, etc).  We have both apple and pc/android products and those seemlessly jump back and forth.  I love that I can create a note or document and view and make mods on my mobile devices.  I no longer pay for Microsoft's products.   But if I had an employer paying for them I might consider trying them.  

[Clarita]

Bullet journal is my favorite. Essentially have a notebook keep the first 1-2 pages clear this will be your index. Number all the pages of the notebook. Then write away any quick note, any long term notes, anything. For long term notes jot down where the page is in the index. For notes that you may accumulate over several days/months just write slip other notes in (draw a line to separate) then note all the pages those notes may be spread over in the index. I would also have some pages dedicated to certain things like passwords/login information, places where useful information is located, contact information for people I need to talk to for particular purposes (my favorite IT/HR/accounting personnel). I did make a habit of dating my notes for work it comes in handy sometimes but a lot of the times not totally necessary. 

Sometimes I would want notes I'd like to look up and reference for certain jobs I have to do. I'd have posters with post it notes on them (they may be half poster size or regular paper size, but card stock). Then I can stow them away when I'm working on other projects or if I have to keep my workspace clean. I bring them out when I'm working on something where I need the reference. 

I used a dual screen when I was working and I would have one screen almost dedicated to just having my outlook or one note up. On appointments and to do lists in my outlook I may link to emails etc. that I'd have to use. 

[Forget-Me-Not]

I like Notion. You can make lists and sub lists. They have several templates (table, list, gallery, calendar, etc) you can use. I love the checklist feature that lets you cross things off a list.
 

I keep a running shopping list, a to-do list. I have a master “Kids ID” list with sub lists for each kid where I keep things like student ID numbers and school chromebook passwords and library card numbers, etc. I have a Christmas file with a sub list for each person I’m buying for, with further sub lists for ideas (which I gather all year) and what I’ve actually purchased. 

[Wheres Toto]

I use the Google apps and One Note.   I like these because I can access the same lists from my computer, any other computer in case I have an issue with mine, my phone, my tablet, and basically anything that has internet access and I can sign into my account.   I have separate accounts for personal and business.    Plus they pretty much come preloaded on all devices and are free and I already have them. 

I use Google calendar for my basic calendar, just schedules and appointments but with the occasional reminder that I have sent to notify my email (in case I forget to check calendar). 

Google Drive - slides, sheets, docs - when I have documents that I may need to access in different places, plus to share documents with my employees.   I usually do the main documents in Microsoft products and upload to Google.

Google Keep for passwords, shopping lists, notes on gift ideas, chore lists, book lists, music lists.

One Note is where I do detailed planning for the class schedule for my business, detailed plans for my classes, rosters during registration, keep track of teacher hours.

[Amethyst]

2 hours ago, Wheres Toto said:

I use the Google apps and One Note.   I like these because I can access the same lists from my computer, any other computer in case I have an issue with mine, my phone, my tablet, and basically anything that has internet access and I can sign into my account.   I have separate accounts for personal and business.    Plus they pretty much come preloaded on all devices and are free and I already have them. 

I use Google calendar for my basic calendar, just schedules and appointments but with the occasional reminder that I have sent to notify my email (in case I forget to check calendar). 

Google Drive - slides, sheets, docs - when I have documents that I may need to access in different places, plus to share documents with my employees.   I usually do the main documents in Microsoft products and upload to Google.

Google Keep for passwords, shopping lists, notes on gift ideas, chore lists, book lists, music lists.

One Note is where I do detailed planning for the class schedule for my business, detailed plans for my classes, rosters during registration, keep track of teacher hours.

I’m going to have to check out Google Keep. Passwords have gotten out of hand for me in the past two years, but with this recent job, there’s an EXPLOSION of passwords. 
 

I’m definitely going to check out One Note also. After I finish listening to the Get Things Done podcast, so I know how I want to use it One Note. 

[Amethyst]

11 hours ago, Forget-Me-Not said:

I like Notion. You can make lists and sub lists. They have several templates (table, list, gallery, calendar, etc) you can use. I love the checklist feature that lets you cross things off a list.
 

I keep a running shopping list, a to-do list. I have a master “Kids ID” list with sub lists for each kid where I keep things like student ID numbers and school chromebook passwords and library card numbers, etc. I have a Christmas file with a sub list for each person I’m buying for, with further sub lists for ideas (which I gather all year) and what I’ve actually purchased. 

I’ve never heard of Notion. I’ll have to check that out too! I love the idea of sub-lists and checklists!

[dsmith]

I'm a paper person, and I can't live without my bullet journal. If I were in your shoes I would start a page in my bullet journal every time I'm in a meeting for taking notes. I would add it to the index with the date of the meeting and subject of the meeting. When I have time, hopefully right after the meeting, I would go through the notes and add any to-dos to my current day tasks, or to the monthly task list or the future log, according to when any actionable items need to be taken care of. 

I don't have any meetings (yay!!) but I have a phone call log in my bullet journal for customer calls, and I usually take notes. After the call I go through my notes and add to the appropriate task list when necessary. 

[Amethyst]

3 hours ago, dsmith said:

I'm a paper person, and I can't live without my bullet journal. If I were in your shoes I would start a page in my bullet journal every time I'm in a meeting for taking notes. I would add it to the index with the date of the meeting and subject of the meeting. When I have time, hopefully right after the meeting, I would go through the notes and add any to-dos to my current day tasks, or to the monthly task list or the future log, according to when any actionable items need to be taken care of. 

I don't have any meetings (yay!!) but I have a phone call log in my bullet journal for customer calls, and I usually take notes. After the call I go through my notes and add to the appropriate task list when necessary. 

I did buy myself a journal over the weekend, but I forgot to use it today. I am a list person, for sure, but I think the thing that worries me about a notebook/journal is how to organize that. Yes, I can have a page for a meeting, but all day long (even on days with no meetings), things are coming at me from all directions: email, calls, texts, soon it will be students&faculty in the hallway. 

So if an idea pops into my head (eg. call Juanita), or I’ve been tasked with something (eg. place order for more masks), where do I put that in the journal? A page just for phone calls that I need to make (somewhere in the middle of the notebook?) I’m afraid I’ll lose track of where that page of Phone Calls to be Made page is. Because then of course there needs to be another page of Daily Tasks and  Monthly Tasks and Set Up Meeting With lists. 

I’m just envisioning list upon lists. How do I organize all my lists? I hear some of you saying to save some pages in the beginning for an index, but I’m not understanding how to index all this info.

 

[73349]

I would just add categories to your current notepad--To Do, Contact Information, Project, etc.--either on the page for that day/meeting or in its own section.

[Clarita]

All the pages of your notebook will be numbered and you will never get rip a page out. So there may be some things where you know you will have a lot of say it's phone calls to make. So make a page for that. You can put a tab on that (or just a cut up or not cut up post it note). Put that page number in the index. Anytime there a phone call task to make write that on that page. When that page is filled go to the next page of where ever you are in that notebook start a new page of phone call tasks, remove the tab on the old page and put the tab on the new page. Then write that page number in the index. 

One offs. All just go into the next spot in the notebook (bookmark the next page of the notebook so you can quickly get to the spot to write). Jot down whatever. If any information you jot down here needs to go on to one of the "a lot" of lists then after the event when you've got a minute put it down there. This should be quick because where you would write those would all be tabbed.

Meetings. If I have a recurring meeting where I need to keep information that doesn't really go into any of the other lists. I would put the recurring meeting in the index then index the page for that. Example would be customer/project meeting I would have meetings with customers for particular projects and then I would write those meeting notes in the next spot of the notebook and index that page. 

Monthly tasks and other calendar related things always went into my electronic calendar. I have seen people put calendar pages into the notebook (essentially can be a lists of the days of that month). Then put each month separate in the index you may want to tab the current month. Daily tasks are treated as one offs or what I did was actually put a large lined sticky note on the front cover of the notebook with my today's to do list - if things needed to refer to things in my notes even one off notes then I would reference the page number there. At the end of everyday I refer to all the notes and calendars and formulate my to do list for the next day, then toss todays to do list in the trash. (You could also choose to do this in the morning but I was never the first person in the office, so my days just started when I arrived.) 

The index looks something like this. Not like a text book or a planner.

• Phone calls to make ... 3,7,10,12
• Meeting with HIVE ... 6, 8, 15
• August Monthly ... 4
• September Monthly ... 11

You always write things in the next available space and just put what that page is in the index, if you are going to need to refer to it. 

You don't need to try extra hard to conserve paper. Draw lines to delineate between one note vs. the next. If a page is beginning to get too cluttered with notes go to the next page. I made big margins 1" on the side of my notes so I can make big symbols of my notes. Something that needed to be added to a daily or monthly task I might put a giant arrow. Big light bulb for my random ideas for a particular project. 

[Amethyst]

@ClaritaThank you for this very thorough explanation. I’m glad I read this about keeping some pages in the fron for an index before I started my new notebook. I’m sure I’ll find my own style in time, but this is a start. 

I’m also getting comfortable with using the Outlook calendar for meetings. I may eventually want to switch to an electronic notebook because I ALWAYS have my phone on me, but I’m not sure I’ll always have my notebook. 
 

@fraidycatI’m enjoying the Getting Things Done podcast. I’m up to episode 9 or 10, I think. He’s an entertainer speaker. I think I’ll find some of his tips very helpful. 

[fraidycat]

4 hours ago, Amethyst said:

I did buy myself a journal over the weekend, but I forgot to use it today. I am a list person, for sure, but I think the thing that worries me about a notebook/journal is how to organize that. Yes, I can have a page for a meeting, but all day long (even on days with no meetings), things are coming at me from all directions: email, calls, texts, soon it will be students&faculty in the hallway. 

So if an idea pops into my head (eg. call Juanita), or I’ve been tasked with something (eg. place order for more masks), where do I put that in the journal? A page just for phone calls that I need to make (somewhere in the middle of the notebook?) I’m afraid I’ll lose track of where that page of Phone Calls to be Made page is. Because then of course there needs to be another page of Daily Tasks and  Monthly Tasks and Set Up Meeting With lists. 

I’m just envisioning list upon lists. How do I organize all my lists? I hear some of you saying to save some pages in the beginning for an index, but I’m not understanding how to index all this info.

 

According to GTD, by context.

@ computer, @telephone, @errands, @boss, etc.

So, you jot a note to call Juanita or order masks in your notebook as you think of it. Then, you process the notebook list into context lists. So when you're at the computer you know you have to order masks. When you've got a couple minutes and a phone, you call Juanita. When you're talking to your boss, you check your @boss list to see if there is anything you need to discuss, and when you're running errands, you have your list to remembr to pick up batteries for the fire extinguisher, etc.

[vonfirmath]

On 8/20/2022 at 8:54 AM, Amethyst said:

I was appointed to a new full-time interim role at the college where I work. (Potential to be permanent. We’ll see.)

This is a very very different role than I usually have at the college. This is administration. I was previously in clinical and classroom roles. 

In this new role, some times there a tasks that need to be completed on a regular basis (think: order books before the new semester, submit annual budget, etc). Those are regular and I can put them on a calendar. So far so good. 

But there are other bits of information that I don’t know how to organize. And how to separate those bits from a to-do list. 

So for instance, at a meeting, I’m taking notes on a paper notepad. It includes info I may need for short term (name of potential new hire), info I need for longer term (Joe in IT’s extension), and things I need to do soon (call Janet in Purchasing). And it’s all scribbled all over one piece of paper. Then I go to my office, phone calls start, and I’m scribbling things on sticky notes.  It can’t go on this way.

Any suggestions for keeping all of this organized? We just got Outlook email and Teams, so there may be things there that I haven’t utilized yet which might be valuable. But I’m also thinking a spiral bound notebook. A planner calendar is fine for appointments or regular tasks, but not enough room for jotting down notes from a phone call or meeting. 

I’m open to suggestions, both physical and computer-based. Thanks!

 

1. Yes get a spiral bound notebook. And possibly a calendar (or use the outlook calendar)

 

Each day. Put the day's date on the next line in the Spiral bound notebook. draw a line under it. Then start writing your notes, tasks, etc there in an organized fashion. You can always go back and find information in the notebook.

After the meeting -- there's a phone number you need to keep long term? Put it in your Contacts list

There's a task that needs to be done on a specific day?  Put it on your calendar (paper or Outlook depending on what works for you)

There's a task that just needs to be done. put a square in front of it. check if off when done. Draw an arrow through it if you find it is actually more steps and needs to be rewritten on another day with the steps underneath, etc.

 

[WendyLady]

You’ve gotten a lot of great advice above, and I hate to add to any confusion, but I had to chime in with an app that has been a lifesaver for me when I started a busy job with lots of different moving parts and projects to keep track of. 
 

Todoist is like a one stop list manager. I can create projects with more lists gathered together, set up reminders and recurring reminders, basically it helps me get things out of my head and reduces my natural “panic” feeling about missing something  

it complements paper notes - I prefer paper at a meeting but then I can easily make reminders and add to projects in Todoist (on my phone or computer)

https://todoist.com/getting-started lots of quick info videos 

 

https://blog.doist.com/how-to-use-todoist-effectively/  great overview of how it works and how to use it 

Along with this, I love sticky notes and use color coded stickies on kanban boards and around my computer screen… I need to see what I need to do…

[MeghanL]

I'm loving this thread! 

Since a boring Word document wasn't mentioned, I thought I would sing its praises in case it would help. I also recently started a new job with lots of important but not necessarily immediately useful information. I created a word document for flowcharts (the process steps for different database tasks), a word document for training notes (so when I have to re-certify I can review my notes instead of re-watch the videos), and another word document for the day-to-day. The first part is a to-do list that I can delete as I complete the task (others may prefer to strikethrough). I also keep anything else that would be important that is not part of training or a process flowchart.

The thing I most love about word documents is the Find feature. So, I don't have to look through paper notebooks to find what I am looking for. I am also a person that gains a lot of retention from the act of copying notes at a time separate from when I first get the information- so copying into a word document puts it in my brain better. 

[Amethyst]

On 8/23/2022 at 12:32 PM, MeghanL said:

I'm loving this thread! 

Since a boring Word document wasn't mentioned, I thought I would sing its praises in case it would help. I also recently started a new job with lots of important but not necessarily immediately useful information. I created a word document for flowcharts (the process steps for different database tasks), a word document for training notes (so when I have to re-certify I can review my notes instead of re-watch the videos), and another word document for the day-to-day. The first part is a to-do list that I can delete as I complete the task (others may prefer to strikethrough). I also keep anything else that would be important that is not part of training or a process flowchart.

The thing I most love about word documents is the Find feature. So, I don't have to look through paper notebooks to find what I am looking for. I am also a person that gains a lot of retention from the act of copying notes at a time separate from when I first get the information- so copying into a word document puts it in my brain better. 

I’m just reading this now. And it makes a lot of sense to me. It’s like paper, but without the clutter of paper. Thanks!

[Amethyst]

On 8/23/2022 at 10:39 AM, WendyLady said:

You’ve gotten a lot of great advice above, and I hate to add to any confusion, but I had to chime in with an app that has been a lifesaver for me when I started a busy job with lots of different moving parts and projects to keep track of. 
 

Todoist is like a one stop list manager. I can create projects with more lists gathered together, set up reminders and recurring reminders, basically it helps me get things out of my head and reduces my natural “panic” feeling about missing something  

it complements paper notes - I prefer paper at a meeting but then I can easily make reminders and add to projects in Todoist (on my phone or computer)

https://todoist.com/getting-started lots of quick info videos 

 

https://blog.doist.com/how-to-use-todoist-effectively/  great overview of how it works and how to use it 

Along with this, I love sticky notes and use color coded stickies on kanban boards and around my computer screen… I need to see what I need to do…

So, I’m the OP. I haven’t been here as much lately (mostly because of this new job), so I guess I missed some of the responses. 
 

I actually got on just now because I just got Todoist yesterday and I was going to ask for advice on how to use it. But first I did a search to see if Todoist was already discussed on WTM. I was surprised to see it was mentioned in the thread I had started!

So here are some of my Todoist questions:

When I add a task, it seems to make me choose Work or Inbox. What is the difference? They both show up on my list. Is there some way I’m supposed to be using these?
 

Also, I haven’t figured out to make projects with tasks within that project. Can you advise? It seems like it should marry well with GTD since they mention it a few times in their ads. (I’m only familiar with GTD due to this thread! Listening to the podcast and reading the book currently)

ETA, I see that you attached some links. I’m going to those right now! Thanks

Edited September 22, 2022 by Amethyst

[Amethyst]

On 8/20/2022 at 1:20 PM, Arcadia said:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/mobile/microsoft-365-mobile-apps-for-ios
I have iPhone and iPad. I love Microsoft Word and Excel on my iPhone instead of the Apple apps (Numbers & Pages). 

I don’t like Numbers or Pages either. 

[Amethyst]

On 8/23/2022 at 12:24 AM, fraidycat said:

According to GTD, by context.

@ computer, @telephone, @errands, @boss, etc.

So, you jot a note to call Juanita or order masks in your notebook as you think of it. Then, you process the notebook list into context lists. So when you're at the computer you know you have to order masks. When you've got a couple minutes and a phone, you call Juanita. When you're talking to your boss, you check your @boss list to see if there is anything you need to discuss, and when you're running errands, you have your list to remembr to pick up batteries for the fire extinguisher, etc.

@fraidycatYou seem to have the GTD system down! Do you use Todoist?

[Amethyst]

12 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

When I add a task, it seems to make me choose Work or Inbox. What is the difference? They both show up on my list. Is there some way I’m supposed to be using these?
 

Also, I haven’t figured out to make projects with tasks within that project. Can you advise? It seems like it should marry well with GTD since they mention it a few times in their ads. (I’m only familiar with GTD due to this thread! Listening to the podcast and reading the book currently)

ETA, I see that you attached some links. I’m going to those right now! Thanks

@WendyLadySo I think those links already answered one of my questions! I think I accidentally made a project (called Work) and I’ve been adding EVERYTHING to that list. 🙄 

[fraidycat]

2 hours ago, Amethyst said:

@fraidycatYou seem to have the GTD system down! Do you use Todoist?

I have to be perfectly honest that I understand the GTD system better than I IMPLEMENT it. 😂 I am my own worst enemy when it comes to following routines that I know are good for me.

But, when I do follow the system, I am analog. I have tried Todoist and think that it would work great for anyone who enjoys using digital. I just can't get there yet. I have a paper calendar/planner and use notebooks, sticky notes, and file folders. 

[Laura Corin]

I have this kind of job. I use Outlook to keep myself straight for tasks.  There is a task option which can be flagged to pop up at a future date. You can also flag emails similarly. 

For regularly-building types of information, I just start a file - Excel usually - entitled, for example, New Hire info 22/23, or Supplier Contact Details, with a sheet for every member of staff/supplier.