Productivity: Completing Large Projects with “Next Actions” (Part 2)

In the previous post, we introduced the time management principle of using Next Actions to tackle large, overwhelming projects. The idea is to complete one small action at a time and to always decide the Next Action before moving on to other tasks. Let's look at another example of this idea.

Productivity: Completing Large Projects with “Next Actions” (Part 1)

Do you have a large project that you're having trouble getting started or moving forward with?

A common time management situation is to be faced with an overwhelming project that's not time-constrained or high-priority, but that's important to do eventually to prevent a crisis. Perhaps it's something that is slowly taking up more and more physical space, or something that is becoming obsolete, or something that requires increasing time and/or money unless you automate or eliminate it. The project is important, but not urgent.

Productivity Tips: 5 Office Organizing Tips

We may spend most of our time in a virtual workspace online, but we still need a physical workspace to use to access the virtual. We have mail and papers and other office supplies to organize.

Here are 5 tips for making your work area more functional, especially if you don't have much extra room:

Why Keep a Journal

Are you thinking of starting a journal, but aren't sure if you would benefit from the time spent? People keep journals and diaries for many reasons. Yes, you need to set aside some time for making entries, but overall, most find that it's time well spent.

You may decide to use an elegant blank book, or a cheap spiral notebook, or dedicated journaling software, or simply a text file on your computer. The process and benefits are basically the same in any format.

Using Personal Knowbase for Citations

A previous post talked about using Personal Knowbase for Bibliographies. In addition to using the software for listing and annotating bibliographies, you can link your working notes with source articles to create citations.

The general idea is to include information about your sources in the same PK data file as your "working articles" which contain the notes and writing work for your current project. You would have a single PK article for each source and assign it keywords for the topics relevant to that source. Please see the previous post for more ideas on using PK as reference management software.

Productivity Tips: Handling Interruptions

In a previous post, I gave some ideas for how to minimize interruptions, hopefully stopping them before they occur.

Sometimes, however hard we try, we get interrupted. Here are five tips for coping when it happens:

Using Personal Knowbase for Bibliographies

Many researchers, writers, and academics use Personal Knowbase to keep track of sources and references. The software is great for notes management, and you can link your working notes with citations. While PK does not have a built-in facility for creating bibliographies, you can use its keywords feature to associate topics with notes and sources.

Here are some ideas for using Personal Knowbase to manage bibliographies. These ideas assume a basic understanding of the PK terminology and interface, but even without experience with the software, they should provide you with a notion of what's possible.

Productivity Tips: 5 Writer's Block Tips

Writer's block. Usually, it's just a temporary inability to write. The key to getting out of a slump is understanding why you're in the slump. Determine the underlying cause.

You may feel out of ideas. Maybe you're having trouble getting started. Or not interested enough in your current project. Or you're distracted by external issues. Or you're stuck on your project, unsure what the next step is. Once you understand the cause, usually addressing that cause directly can push you forward.

Here are five tips to help you get writing again:

10 Great Notes Quotes

Anyone who follows my Twitter account or browses this website knows that I'm an inveterate quote collector. Even my earliest teenage journals are full of quotations.

Nowadays, I'm especially drawn to quotations that speak to Personal Knowbase — quotes that address the importance of taking notes, sharing knowledge, and recording thoughts and ideas.

Creating an Idea Dump with Personal Knowbase

Whether you're an entrepreneur, a writer, an artist, an inventor, a programmer, or anyone doing creative work, your ideas are your first step toward developing your projects. Your ideas are a valuable resource and critical to your productivity. Treat them as they deserve — with loving care.

Using Personal Knowbase notes management software as a central repository for your ideas keeps them together, makes it easy to find related ideas, and provides a structure for browsing your undeveloped ideas. Collect and organize all of your inspirations into PK articles and index them with keywords so that you can retrieve related ideas later.