In this article, I want to discuss the core elements of Personal Organization. Do you feel disorganized? Overwhelmed? Lost? Drowned in a mess? Do you regularly forget tasks? Do you miss your deadlines? Do you lose your files? If any of those rings a bell, then you may need to read this! ![[Personal Organization 101 (Article) - cover image.png]] Caption: You need a system. Whether it's analog or digital is secondary. Start somewhere. Get organized. Then make your system evolve. ## What is Personal Organization? Personal organization is the practice of designing and maintaining systems that help you manage your time, tasks, information, and goals effectively. It covers everything from how you plan your day and track your responsibilities to how you store your files and manage your knowledge. A good personal organization system reduces mental overwhelm, frees up your attention for meaningful work, and gives you confidence that nothing important falls through the cracks. In short, personal organization is about creating reliable structures so your brain can focus on thinking rather than remembering. If you want to understand why this matters so much, check out [[Problems addressed by Personal Organization]] and [[Improving your personal organization will improve your self-esteem]]. ## Introduction to Personal Organization I have already discussed the reasons [[Why you need a personal organization system (Article)]]. Here, I will focus on the key things that you need to be at least somewhat organized. Personal Organization is a skill, and like most skills, it can be learned. It's not about nature vs nurture. It may be more natural for some people, but it can be learned. Of course, learning always requires curiosity, practice, trial and error. This post is NOT about productivity per se, and it's not about knowing what matters to you (i.e., having clarity of intent and/or purpose). I just want to focus on what you need to be organized. **Tools are secondary in all this. Yes, they can help, but they're just means to an end**. Moreover, in general, most of what matters works across a variety of tools. Focusing on tooling and thinking that you're making progress is misguided (at best). There's a lot of procrastination in disguise around Personal Organization and Productivity systems. Note that this content will be part of the [[Knowledge Worker Kit]], in which we explore Personal Organization, Productivity, Personal Knowledge Management, and much more! For a deeper look at what makes a system effective, read [[Key principles of a good Personal Organization System]]. And if you want a structured path to follow, check out the [[Personal Organization Roadmap]]. LINK: - [[Knowledge Worker Kit]] - https://www.store.dsebastien.net//product/knowledge-worker-kit ## What are the core elements of a Personal Organization system? This first part is based on a previous edition of my newsletter ([edition 145](https://www.dsebastien.net/developassions-newsletter-145-personal-organization/)), When thinking about Personal Organization, there are different dimensions you can consider: - **Habits, routines, systems, processes and methods**: everything you can rely on to stay organized and productive - **Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) and Journaling**: organizing ideas, thoughts, knowledge, inspiration, research and notes, realizations, gratitude, etc - **Projects Organization**: organizing your projects and their related information and data - **Planning and Prioritization**: surfacing and keeping track of plans and priorities in order to know what to focus on - **Task Management**: organizing tasks, decomposing work into manageable units and decluttering your mind - **Focus, Attention, Time Management and Action**: organizing your time, and removing barriers to progress - **Control**: tracking progress and adjusting course if needed - **Work**: organizing your work and being amazing collaborators - **Information and Data Management**: organizing, structuring and managing tons of data and information It's all of that, intertwined, and then some more. I feel *very strongly* that all Knowledge Workers should invest some time in designing their own Personal Organization system. It doesn't need to be (actually shouldn't be!) very complex, but it should exist, and it should include elements from all those dimensions: - Without habits, routines and systems, you can't be consistent and efficient - Without PKM and journaling, you don't manage your knowledge and forget tons of things all the time. You also forget to celebrate your wins - Without projects organization, you quickly get lost and fail to communicate important information to relevant stakeholders - Without planning and prioritization, you're like a beheaded chicken running around - Without proper task management, you just work on whatever you think about, which may be a good or bad thing... - Without ways to focus your attention, manage your time and act, you get distracted, and waste time. You don't make meaningful progress on a regular basis - Without control systems, you don't really know where you stand, lack clarity and confidence about your progress - Without effective and "modern" work methods and techniques, you're like a dinosaur trying to use LLMs without understanding their purpose - Without Information and Data Management techniques and systems, you crawl under the weight of information overload, and you're bound to remain overwhelmed ## Personal Organization Systems There are different types of personal organization systems, and the best one for you depends on your work style and preferences. **Analog systems** rely on paper, notebooks, planners, and physical tools. They work well for people who think better when writing by hand. Methods like Bullet Journaling combine task management, note-taking, and planning into a single notebook. The downside is that analog systems are harder to search, back up, and reorganize. **Digital systems** use apps and software to manage tasks, calendars, notes, and files. Tools like [[Obsidian]], Notion, Todoist, or Google Calendar make it easy to search, sync across devices, and automate recurring workflows. Digital systems scale better and integrate well with each other. **Hybrid systems** combine both approaches. You might use a physical notebook for daily journaling and brainstorming, but keep your calendar and task management digital. Many people find that this combination gives them the best of both worlds; the tactile satisfaction of paper with the reliability and searchability of digital tools. The key principle is this: your personal organization system should match your needs and habits. Don't copy someone else's system wholesale. Start simple, use it consistently, and evolve it over time. For more on this, read [[Key principles of a good Personal Organization System]]. ## What is the minimum set of tools you need to organize yourself While tools are secondary, there is a *vital* or "minimum viable" set you need to organize yourself. The choice itself isn't *that* important, though. **What matters is choosing those that work for *you***. **Use as few tools as possible**, and only consider adding new ones to your toolbox if you can't avoid it. You probably need fewer features than you imagine. So what is the "minimum viable" set of tools you need? - An **email inbox** - A **calendar** to plan meetings, appointments, book time slots, and set reminders - A **task management** tool to keep track of everything - A **knowledge management tool** to think, journal, capture, and organize all your thoughts, ideas, inspiration, and knowledge - A **storage system** to organize your files - (optionally) a system to keep track of the groceries you need Those tools are the bare minimum to **allow yourself to forget things**: - When I add an appointment to my calendar, I know I'll get notifications about it, so I can forget about it until the time comes - When I add a task to my daily note, I know it'll resurface later on, and I'll know what I need to get done - When I record what I did during a particular day in my daily note, I know it'll stay there forever - When I write a note about something on my mind, I know it'll stay there forever - When I put a file in my storage system, I know it'll stay there forever In all cases it's the same story. And that's the key point: **those tools are much more reliable than my flawed brain will ever be**, whether I perfectly organize everything or not. I can rely on those tools, and let go. I can forget and free my mind for other things. I personally use: - Email: GMail - Calendar: Google Calendar - Task Management: [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md) - Knowledge Management: [[Obsidian]] with the [[Obsidian Starter Kit]] and [Notion](https://www.notion.so/) for content I share with others - Storage system: Google Drive LINK: - [[Obsidian Starter Kit]] - https://obsidianstarterkit.com I use few tools by design, and I try to keep it that way. For instance, I previously used [Trello](https://trello.com) for task management, but realized that I didn't care about all the bells and whistles it offered. All I needed was basic task management, that I could easily achieve using Obsidian, my daily notes, the [[Kanban plugin for Obsidian]] and the [[TaskNotes plugin for Obsidian]]. ## Personal Organization 101 Assuming that you have your baseline of tools, what should you do? The basics are pretty straightforward: - If you think about something you need to do, add it to your task management system. The basic organization can be as simple as a few columns: - Today - This Week - This Month - This Quarter - This Year - Backlog - Back Burner - With that, you can already organize a LOT of tasks - If a task should take less than two minutes, do it right away (Getting Things Done method of David Allen) - If you must go somewhere or do something at a certain date/time, add it to your calendar, and make sure to add reminders and enable notifications on your computer/smartphone - If there are recurring events, create those in your calendars (e.g., birthdays, reminders to send invoices, etc) - During the day, keep a daily note open to keep track of - What you want to do - What you have accomplished - What you have in mind, your ideas - What you have learned, found interesting, etc LINK: https://www.dsebastien.net/be-grateful-for-the-small-things-too - Check out the [[Obsidian Starter Kit]] if you want a good starting point (although you can do the same with most apps out there) - If you're on the go, then try to take something you can use to take notes. If you can't or won't, use your phone and send yourself a mail with the information. - Whenever possible, convert anything analog into digital. And make sure to clean up your mailbox - Put a basic organization system in place, and try to reuse the same structure across tools. It doesn't have to be complicated (e.g., Family, Work, Project A, etc). In most cases, the [[PARA method]] works great and scales really well - Regroup as many of your files as you can in a single storage system - If you receive or create important files you need to keep for more than a day, store those in your system - Take some time once in a while to clean up your mess. All your systems should remain organized (not perfectly!) - For E-mail, this means leaning towards inbox zero - For Calendars, it means cleaning up bogus events/reminders/tasks - For Task Management, it means removing done/outdated tasks - For Knowledge Management it means creating [[Atomic notes]], [[How to connect ideas]], [[Why and how to tag notes in your PKM]], [[Why You Should Link Knowledge to Time (Article)]], [[Map of Content (MoC)|Maps of Content (MoCs)]], ... - For storage systems it means making sure all your files are where they belong, that your "Downloads" and "My Documents" folders are not messy, etc - To perform this regularly, you can include a dedicated task as part of your [[Periodic reviews]] (cfr [[Knowledge rollover through Periodic Reviews]]) The central theme in all the above is defining one place for everything and storing everything in its place (i.e., organizing a minimum), and allowing yourself to *forget*. The more you can forget, the better. And that's about it. Seriously! This is not as hard as it may sound. And it all starts with basic systems. No need to overengineer and automate everything from the get go. Of course there are more advanced ideas, techniques and methods. Many things can be automated, improved with AI, LLMs and such. But ignore all that for now. **Start small and keep things simple for as long as you can**. Once you get to the point where it all feels unmanageable, then maybe it'll be time to invest a bit more time to better define and improve your Personal Organization system. The one thing I recommend to explore in the beginning is Personal Knowledge Management. You wouldn't believe how impactful it can be in one's life. Read some of my articles on the topic to better understand the underlying ideas. Also, do consider journaling, performing periodic reviews, and designing your own systems: ## How to Get Started with Personal Organization If you're not sure where to begin, follow these steps. You don't need to do everything at once. Take it one step at a time. 1. **Choose your core tools.** Pick one calendar, one task manager, one note-taking app, and one file storage system. Don't overthink this. You can always switch later. 2. **Set up your calendar.** Add all recurring events (birthdays, meetings, bill payments). Enable notifications so you can forget about them safely. 3. **Create a simple task system.** Start with basic categories: Today, This Week, Later, and Done. Add tasks whenever they come to mind instead of trying to remember them. 4. **Start a daily note habit.** Each morning, write down what you want to accomplish. At the end of the day, note what you actually did. This alone is transformative. 5. **Organize your files.** Create a simple folder structure (e.g., using the [[PARA method]]) and move your scattered files into it. Clean up your Downloads folder. 6. **Schedule a weekly review.** Block 30 minutes each week to review your tasks, clean up your inbox, and plan the week ahead. This is what keeps the system alive. See [[Periodic reviews]] for more on this. 7. **Iterate and improve.** After a few weeks, notice what works and what doesn't. Adjust your system. Personal organization is a living practice, not a one-time setup. For a more detailed path, check out the [[Personal Organization Roadmap]]. ## Common Personal Organization Mistakes Getting organized is one thing. Staying organized requires avoiding a few common traps: - **Overcomplicating your system from the start.** Keep it simple. Complexity should only be added when genuinely needed. - **Spending more time organizing than doing.** Your system should save time, not consume it. If you're endlessly tweaking tags, folders, or workflows, you're procrastinating. - **Trying to use too many tools.** Every new tool adds friction. Stick to the minimum viable set and resist shiny object syndrome. - **Not doing regular reviews.** A system without maintenance decays fast. Weekly reviews are not optional; they're what keeps everything running. - **Copying someone else's system without adapting it.** What works for someone else might not work for you. Use others' systems as inspiration, but design your own. - **Ignoring your knowledge management.** Tasks and calendars are not enough. If you don't capture and organize your thoughts, ideas, and learnings, you lose them. See [[Why is Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) useful]]. - **Waiting for the perfect system before starting.** There is no perfect system. Start with something basic and improve as you go. For more pitfalls to avoid, check out my article on [[12 Common Personal Knowledge Management Mistakes and How to Avoid Them (Article)|12 common PKM mistakes]]. ## Personal Organization Checklist Use this as a quick reference to make sure you have the basics covered: - [ ] I have a single calendar for all my appointments and events - [ ] I have a task management system and I use it daily - [ ] I capture tasks as soon as they come to mind - [ ] I have a note-taking or knowledge management tool - [ ] I write a daily note (even a short one) - [ ] I have a file storage system with a clear folder structure - [ ] I perform weekly reviews to clean up and plan ahead - [ ] I keep my email inbox manageable (aiming for inbox zero) - [ ] I use reminders and notifications so I can safely forget things - [ ] I review and improve my system regularly If most of these are checked, you're in great shape. If not, pick one and start there. You don't need to do everything at once. LINK: - [[The Power of Modern Knowledge Management for Business Professionals (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/the-power-of-modern-knowledge-management-for-business-professionals// LINK: - [[How I Organize My Work As a Solo Founder (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/how-i-organize-my-work-as-a-solo-founder// LINK: - [[Introducing the Knowledge Worker Kit (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/unlock-your-full-potential-as-a-knowledge-worker-with-the-knowledge-worker-kit// LINK: - [[A Place For What's On Your Mind (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/2022-11-23-top-of-mind-note// ## Related - [[Obsidian Starter Kit]] - [[Atomic notes]] - [[PARA method]] - [[Gratitude (MoC)]] - [[My Template for Daily Notes]] - [[How to connect ideas]] - [[Why and how to tag notes in your PKM]] - [[Knowledge rollover through Periodic Reviews]] - [[Why You Should Link Knowledge to Time (Article)]] - [[DeveloPassion's Newsletter 058 - Launch too soon]] - [[DeveloPassion's Newsletter 145 - Personal Organization]] - [[Be grateful for the small things too (Article)]] - [[My Template for Daily Notes]] - [[Why is Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) useful]] - [[There's a lot more to journaling than what most people think (Article)]] - [[Periodic reviews]] - [[Problems addressed by Personal Organization]] - [[Key principles of a good Personal Organization System]] - [[Personal Organization Roadmap]] - [[Improving your personal organization will improve your self-esteem]]