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file drawer hacks (or product ensdorsements)
bbushman | Nov 7 2005
Hello all: 1. Conversion Hacks: I've got some drawers that are the proper dimensions and such for folders where I've currently stowed my newly e-labeled, alphabetized, happy manilla folder party. Alas, they don't have the lovely mechanism that props them up and makes an un-full drawer more than marginally usable. :) Does anyone know of any makeshift or modular products or hacks available to do this job without investing in new drawers? 2. New Drawers: Ok, if the answer is "NO!" on the above, any recommendations on reasonably durable, useful drawers that won't cost me my first born? 3. Success with hanging files: Anyone had comfortable success with the "manilla folder in a hanging file" approach? Finally: I've NEVER had great success with filing in previous attempts - I always go hog wild for a weekend, and then pile-omania again. I have reason to believe this time will be different - between the general GTD inbox/review approach, how much (albiet bizarre) satisfaction I got this weekend from going nuts with my shiny new label maker, my absolute NEED at this point, and the overall peace that I'm starting to achieve in my first weeks of GTD... but still, any strokes of brilliance, tweaks, techniques, or hacks that clinched your success? Disclaimer: In my childhood I was completely Type-A: at age 7, my mom used to move my model cars a few inches just to test me, my dresser was impeccable, and I was probably the only 9 year old in my 3rd grade class with a alphabetical filing system for past homework, stuff I was reading, and my pithy adolescent finances. :) But somewhere in my teen years, that spun hopelessly out of control, and here in my mid 20's, I'm still struggling between chaos and order. My computer has actually always been one place that I stay fairly organized, but my offline life- not so much. :) 20 Comments
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 Colleen: Hmmm. Thanks for the...Submitted by bbushman on November 9, 2005 - 1:29pm.
Colleen: What I like about the new manilla I've been using is that they're easier to throw in my bag to take to and from work, and not having to mess with the little plastic tabs with thin, "hard to write on and hard to read" folded inserts for labeling hanging files. And at work, it's more convenient because we designed our own desks and included filing hardware that's just within reach, that is non-hanging. And it would seem clear that there are benefits to using the same folder system at home AND work (out of principal, and because I take a lot of work home), even if the hardware will vary. At home however, I don't have the cool just-within-reach desks - I'm using drawers or carts no matter what. And so far, converting my drawers to manilla only has failed- even with the bookends mentioned above, retrieval and filing is pretty cumbersome. And I've got a hanging file cart that I'm wondering whether to integrate in some hybrid way, or pitch. So: I'm considering if I went back to hanging files with labeled manilla folders in them, as mentioned in David's book, as a possible middle ground for my system at home- "backwards and fowards compatible", I suppose. But in other ways, that just seems like a PITA. ;) Anyone successfully using a hybrid system? Are there others like Colleen who have make hanging files easy to use? hybrids different then what I mention above? » POSTED IN:
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