What if some stuff is neither active nor archival

[Jamie Elis]

So I am going through my in-box and I find a couple of clippings and about things I am interested in doing if I encounter further information. I am not planning on taking an action in the next few weeks and I am not sure this merits saving for reference, what should I do with this?

Some examples: recipe using a lot of mangos that I would only use i if I found them really on sale; a flyer about a film I would go see if nothing else appears on the schedule, n article on a topic I would include in an agenda for a meeting because it is interesting but only if I think there will be extra time AND I have the leisure time to read it before one of the meetings. These are kind of "enrichment" items--I am not committed, they could get blown away by the wind but if I could incorporate them into my activities I would enjoy doing so. A novel I would grab only if I had a long wait in a doctors's office and did not want to be stressed by work tasks but I would not carve out time to read it. A store I would visit if I was in its locale for another reason.
So I get listing it on the calendar in parenthesis or on a list of errands in parenthesis but where do you put the related clippings and notes?
This is loosely to being "in the market to buy" a blue tie when shopping for a shirt, look for it and buy it but only if there is time..., if there is enough money..., if I see one I love.

 

[bradenchase]

Reference

For me that's exactly what the A-Z reference is for. Random stuff you want to have easily accessible when the random occurrence happens. Two ways I deal with Internet based things like this.

1) print the page as a PDF and place in respective folder

2) Save the link to the page in a mind map or text file and file it.

I use similar techniques for physical things too.

Hope that helps!

 

[chipjoyce]

another idea

Some of these things might need a place in your system so they show up at a future date, at which time you can decide if they are meaningful or not.

 

[wishgtd]

recipe using a lot of mangos that I would only use i if I found them really on sale
In container called " If I had this " - go over in your weekly review by linking the file to a .pdf of that scanned recipe
That way you can throw away the original -
OR, throw it into a recipe file if you have one and categorize it. That way, if you do make mangoes, you could go back to your recipe file - I would do the former because I do not have a recipe file but iwll create one

a flyer about a film I would go see if nothing else appears on the schedule
-check the timings online and place the timings on your calendar on the "day specific information" bit - you can decide on that day whether or not you want to go and either move it to an appointment or delete it or procrastinate (i.e. postpone)

n article on a topic I would include in an agenda for a meeting because it is interesting but only if I think there will be extra time AND I have the leisure time to read it before one of the meetings.
You are making an assumption (only if there is extra time during the meeting) on another assumption (if I have extra time to read it beforehand), leading to a what if analysis paralysis.
Carry it with you to the meeting, maybe you can read it on the way there or you get to the meeting early and can read it there.
Tickle it for the next meeting day, can read it that day and eventually dispose of it or procrastinate it like the response above.

These are kind of "enrichment" items--I am not committed, they could get blown away by the wind but if I could incorporate them into my activities I would enjoy doing so.
Aha! So you want to incorporate them to enjoy yourself. Then do what you want and take control and charge of your own life. There is no harm in scheduling either of those two activities into your schedule for your own enjoyment - it is your negotiation with yourself. Just as you or others miss meetings they have on their calendars because of other commitments, you too can renegotiate with yourself if the day goes exceedingly different. Maybe treat yourself that day because it went crazy?

A novel I would grab only if I had a long wait in a doctors's office and did not want to be stressed by work tasks but I would not carve out time to read it.
Keep it in the car - take it inside the doctor's office when you do go. It can be your travel novel to kill time.

A store I would visit if I was in its locale for another reason.
Goes in list "When in..."

So I get listing it on the calendar in parenthesis or on a list of errands in parenthesis but where do you put the related clippings and notes?
The day's folder is one choice - your tickler file.

This is loosely to being "in the market to buy" a blue tie when shopping for a shirt, look for it and buy it but only if there is time..., if there is enough money..., if I see one I love.
Shopping list for "xyz clothing store" - under sub-list of "if on sale" for that store.
-again there were multiple assumptions so perhaps best to dial it down to if on sale?

 

[Duckienz]

For mangoes

I would do a quick google search as to when Mangoes are in season in your area (and therefore likely to be cheapest) and slip the recipe into your tickler file for that month.

Just a side note, you can buy tinned mangoes. We have them every day for breakfast

 

[pxt]

These seem like someday-maybe in that you are not committed to them, but the issue may be that the triggering events are quite fuzzy and so you need a general awareness of these item's existence.

For the mangoes one I would put that in my errands context: Look for cheap mangoes, and put the reason in the action support referencing the recipe that is in Reference - but I would accept that it might stay there for a long time. I have a project I call Miscellaneous for holding this sort of thing.

Some of the others I would put on a someday-maybe list. I have categories in someday-maybe for casual, relaxing things to suit different scenarios, such as "casual things to do for no good reason", which match a state of mind rather than a context.

 

[Paper Ninja]

I can only advise based on what I do.

When it comes to info like this, nice to have, but "reference" in nature, I err on the side of throwing it out. A good test is to imagine that your significant other is the person that does ALL of your filing. It is an excellent filter, and tends to weed out alot of the unimportant trivia.

"Honey, will you file away the article on how to change the oil on the snowblower?"
"No problem"

"Honey, could you file this brochure from the cryogenic storage company (iFREEZEyou.com)?"
I am probably not going to ask her to file that one, so it gets tossed... Same thing about the article about teaching cats to play the piano, and how to cook a thanksgiving turkey with a blowtorch

More mundane items, like info about an amusement park you have a remote outside chance of visiting, or how to build a tiki bar may get filtered out using this test. You need to ask yourself "Is it important enough for my significant other to spend some time filing it away"?

Remember, there is almost NOTHING you can't find in about 5 minutes on the internet.

I may use this as a basis for a blog post...

 

[Oogiem]

Remember, there is almost NOTHING you can't find in about 5 minutes on the internet.

Perhaps in your world. In mine if the data even exist on the internet it can take hours to ferret it out and much is not there at all. You also assume that access to the internet is pervasive. I'm in a rural area, we have excellent internet service via a WISP, but only at the house. I can't access it when I'm n the back field or up on the ditch or any one of a number of other places where I might need it.

 

[Mike L]

movies and other things that are not planned actions

It's funny, I was about to post and ask how people treat movies and the like and then I saw this post. Serendipity...

And to me this falls in exactly the grey area the OP mentions. I may or may not ever see the movie. It doesn't hurt to put it on a someday/maybe list so I at least remember I've thought about seeing it and maybe I'll decide I definitely want to go. But its not an action that I'm definitely planning so I don't want to clog up an action list with items like this.

 

[cwoodgold]

Scard pile

Some of those types of things I might put in my "scard" pile.

I put things in the pile, keep the pile for at least 3 months, then when the date is past, I put the whole pile in the recycling without looking through it again first. I've been doing this for years. I got the idea from someone on the radio. It's great for things like receipts from purchases that I will probably never need, but that I certainly can't use after 30 days, depending on the store's policy. (Some receipts need to be kept longer and I file them differently.) I use it a lot for papers that kindof have some sentimental value but that I'm probably better off getting rid of. It saves time because I can often put something in the scard pile faster than I could decide whether to put it directly into the recycling or not.

If I do need something from the pile, I have to look through the whole pile. I almost never retrieve anything from the pile. When I do, it's almost always very close to the top, so it's easy to find. From using this system, I've learned to put more things directly into the recycling, since I can see that I hardly ever access them. I try to put more things directly into recycling to keep the scard pile relatively small so that if I do need to look through it, it'll be more manageable.

The mango thing I might interleaf in one of my recipe books. But if it were in the scard pile, it might be easy to find if I decided I wanted it (within about 3 months) because maybe it's bright orange or something.

Some information is worth typing into a computer file, where it takes up practically zero physical space but can be found with a quick word search.