Andrew rewrote his guide to personal information management, combining his old articles into one and adding tweaks since first writing about it in 2018.
Organization
Take a Good Look at Your Digital File System This Holiday Season
Victoria Song advises that we should reexamine our digital file system and maybe reduce, reuse, and recycle our content.
Look, 2020 was supposed to be my year. I set out with what I thought were pretty reasonable New Year’s resolutions—one of which was to spend less time on my screens. And then the pandemic hit. During the endless hours that ensued, I noticed something: My digital filing system was a goddamn mess.
I’m taking this opportunity to shamelessly recommend my system of personal information management. It does use a series of structured folders but more importantly it creates a consistent way to write file names.
Organize Your Apple Accessories with BentoStack: $42.95
One of our most popular deals is back: the BentoStack, an organizer for your Apple accessories. Borrowing its design from a Japanese bento box, BentoStack fits everything just so. It includes four adjustable compartment dividers and two 2 silicone straps, and it’s $42.95 through our deal, and there’s a silver version, too.
Do Your Apps Spark Joy?
Physical minimalism is good to practice, but you might forget about digital minimalism. It’s time to take a good, hard look at your electronic devices and ask, “Do my apps spark joy?”
KeepSolid Launches Family Organizer App
The Family Organizer app by Keepsolid offers several features, like a family calendar, shopping list, and family task manager. Fill your family calendar with collective and personal events, invite others, and schedule all sorts of activities. The calendar will be synchronized between your family members, allowing everyone to keep track of others’ plans. This is further facilitated by a handful of convenient features and colorful, clear visualization. Create and manage shopping lists, set reminders, and use other handy functionality to ensure that your groceries are done and that they are exactly what you needed. Never again will you lack an important ingredient or have unnecessary extra because of some confusion. Assign tasks to family members and track their completion with ease. You will always know how everyone’s faring, whether Lil’ Jimmy visited the dentist, or if someone needs your help. Great feature for everyday planning and collaboration. App Store: Free (Offers In-App Purchases)
M.G. Siegler's 2018 Homescreen and How it Changed
I love reading about how other people use their devices, and every year M.G. Siegler shares how his home screen evolves over time.
We all have our apps that we use on a daily basis. And for new ones to break in, they don’t just have to be better, they have to be so much better that they’re worth replacing another app. More specifically, the time you use another app.
Readers will know I’m a fiend when it comes to organization. So for my iPhone and iPad I keep my most-used apps on the home screen, and organize them all alphabetically.
Personal Information Management Part 1: Universal File Naming Scheme
Andrew has finally created a universal file naming scheme, something he has been working on for a while. Here’s how he did it.
macOS: Archiving Old Contacts
Melissa Holt has a few pointers on how to trim down who is in your Contacts list without committing to losing those entries forever.
macOS: Create Apple Notes Subfolders With Ease
Did you know it’s possible to create Apple Notes subfolders? Andrew didn’t, until he stumbled upon this by accident. Creating subfolders lets you organize your notes in more detailed ways that make sense to you. Here’s how to do it on macOS.