New GTDer - Second Question - Magazines?

[clh]

Thanks for all your advice on the tickler file. I set mine up today, and even put a couple things in it!
I am a graphic designer for a non-profit organization and I don't know what to do with a shelf full of trade magazines. There are various reasons I've kept them, but I never refer to them because I can't remember where the particular thing I'm looking for is. Should just I go through the magazines and cut out the things I want to keep:

• Inspiration - Examples of good design/ideas. I have a large basket of things I'm inspired by. I pick through it when I'm starting a new project.

• Neat Paper - Ads for paper, printed on the actual paper being advertised. I could include this with my inspiration materials, or start a "Paper" file.

• How-Tos - This one I need advice on. Tutorials on doing interesting things in Photoshop or other programs. These are "inspirational", but they are also a SD/M project. I'd like to do the tutorials when I have time... someday. Maybe. Where should these go?

 

[TesTeq]

Read/review in real time.

Once upon a time I was very "new inspirational information hungry". And then I realized that I am not able to consume all the information that I gathered. So I've thrown away all the computer books and magazines older than 5 years, reviewed the rest and now I am trying to have the inspirational information inbox manageable and read/review nearly everything in real-time. Of course there are some exceptions but they are very rare.

 

[andersons]

I cut and file. For your tutorials, I would file them separately from the other inspirational stuff, like under "tutorials" or whatever term first comes to your mind. Then, if you're ever in the situation where you want to take action, you can just grab the "tutorial" file and get going. If you mix them with the other inspirations, it seems like it will be harder to find and choose a tutorial. (I am certainly no expert on filing, so others may have much better ideas.)

I have the tendency to want to create elegant, conceptual divisions. I have to resist that tendency because with filing it's all about how to retrieve and use the information.

 

[Grant]

• How-Tos - This one I need advice on. Tutorials on doing interesting things in Photoshop or other programs. These are "inspirational", but they are also a SD/M project. I'd like to do the tutorials when I have time... someday. Maybe. Where should these go?

Depending on the size of your files...alphabetized under tutorials or a seperate drawer/cabinet w/ these alphabetized?

Given your description, this sounds like personal skills development in the future, if you have time. I also think you have to question keeping these forever...is there a single book or some other resource (www?) that you could access to improve your skills in the SD/M timeframe if that day ever arrives?

How much space will you dedicate to the future vs. the here and now? For me, cutting all of those out would be a SD/M project, much less reading/learning them.

Grant
-----
there is only one time that is important - Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power. ~ Tolstoy

 

[clh]

For me, cutting all of those out would be a SD/M project, much less reading/learning them.

I agree that cutting the stuff out of magazines is a SD/M project in itself, but it's one that takes little concentration. I can take a stack home and go through them while watching TV. New context list - @TV.

 

[sablouwho]

my way of handling magazine articles

Hi CLH~

I'm an interior designer and can related to your need to clip nice visuals from magazines for safe keeping and future reference/inspiration.

I like your suggestion of @TV for a context--indeed, this kind of stuff is easy since you're looking at visuals and not reading an article--so you can quickly know whether the idea is worth saving.

Going through a stack of magazines and then throwing the magazine away always makes me feel really good. You can store the pages at this point in a whatever temporary holding file that you like, or if you are so inclinded, you can proceed with the next step:

Sort the pages into stacks logical categories that make sense to you.

Then, file the pages, by category, in a storage system that you like. This could be acetate sleeves in a three ring notebook (archival, even, if that matters to you), or in a photo box, an accordion file, or whatever kind of storage container you happen to like.

Every one in a while, I review these visuals and I get rid of things that are no longer appealing to me. I think this is helpful as it gives me the ability to understand, from a design perspective, what my true north is in terms of design, and what I am attracted to on a more temporary basis because it was trendy at the time.

Hope this helps a little!

~Cindy