I'm overloaded with issues.  As my day progresses I run into a great
amount of random issues that tend to become things to do.  Sometimes
they have to be done right away, other times they aren't done for a
while.  Some of the issues connect with one another and others sit by
themselves.  In some cases the connection between issues is clear and
at other times there first appears to be no connection and one later
presents itself.(Simplification/delegation/etc are not options.)

I need a system for keeping track of a large number of disparate
issues and somehow manage them in a useful fashion.

All the systems I have tried (paper or computer based) break down
after more than ten things are going on.  Yes, you can introduce
hierarchy, but then you just get infinite trees of things that you can
never sort out.

Can you come up with some different systems for sorting or classifying
a wide variety of things yet still be able to make some sense of them
all?

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Request for Question Clarification by catherine-ga on 21 Jan 2003 02:55 PST

In what form are the issues you need to keep track of? For example are
you describing

- managing information that is paper-based (eg newspaper articles,
reports, faxes, notes etc)
- organising concepts or subjects (eg notes for a book) on computer or
paper
- handling specific activities or tasks (which requires a time
management solution as outlined by respee-ga below)

It would also help if you give a little more information about what
you do(I'm guessing some kind of research?)

catherine-ga

---

Clarification of Question by vigilare-ga on 21 Jan 2003 08:50 PST

Hello catherine,

Thank you for your response.

I am looking for a system for organizing concepts or subjects.

I was trying to keep the request general, because I'm not sure the
subject area should affect the functioning of the overall system
(though it might affect the details).  However, I am in computer
telecommunications research and development.

An example of a general solution I am looking for is Mindmapping.
http://directory.google.com/Top/Reference/Knowledge_Management/Knowledge_Creation/Mind_Mapping/?tc=1

However, this system falls apart when you have more than about 10
things to keep track of.  You are then forced to subdivide. 
Inevitably the details can become overwhelming.

Thanks.

---

Request for Question Clarification by catherine-ga on 21 Jan 2003 11:45 PST

I’ve only managed to find one system which sounds suitable so I am
posting the details as a clarification not an answer, as your original
question asked for a choice of different systems. Let me know if you
think I am on the right track and I will carry on looking for some
alternatives.
 
There is lots of software claiming to organise and manage information
according to your criteria but everything I've looked at so far is
based on a hierarchical system, except for a program called 'The
Brain'.

It is based on a metaphor of the human brain and it allows you to
organise your information by creating 'thoughts' which can be linked
to any other thought, 'forgotten' then 'remembered' again, copied,
deleted and so on. A thought can represent any kind of information
that exists on your computer - a file, a shortcut, a document, a
webpage, an email or email attachment, a program.
 
There is no hierarchy so no one piece of information is more important
than another - except when you click on a particular Thought which
brings it to the forefront, showing all related links and thoughts. 
When you create a new thought, you can decide its relationship to a
linked existing thought (parent, child, or sibling) to show its
relative importance. At any time you can create a new relationship
between thoughts or delete an existing one.

I haven't tried out the software myself, this description is based on
reading their website and reviews.

You can download a free 30-day trail version (for Windows 95 and
above) from their website - registration is required. A licensed copy
is $79.95. There is also a business version - BrainEKP, TheBrain
Enterprise Knowledge Platform, for multiple users and information
sources.

The Brain website: http://www.thebrain.com/

---

Clarification of Question by vigilare-ga on 23 Jan 2003 19:50 PST

Hello catherine,

Thanks again for the information you provided.

I tried the tool you mentioned, but it's not quite what I was looking
for.

Perhaps let me try the question a different way.

I know nothing about archaeology, so all this is speculation, but I
assume that there is some system for categorizing and indicating that
things are conencted to each other because of how they were pulled out
from the archaeological site.  Somehow the archaeologist must be able
to tell how this shard was laid beside that coin or lance.

Similarly, at a crime scene I speculate there must be some
sophisticated way of determining where evidence came from and how it
is connected to other evidence.  This would be used later to determine
how the crime occurred.

These are examples of professions that have a wide variety of things
that aren't necessarily related to one another, but are nevertheless
connected together.  The people need to have some system for making
sense of everything they are cataloguing.  I also presume that the
information being recorded is not hierarchical.  It's more random, I
believe.

I'm not asking you to research those professions, but I am looking for
a system that allows me to sort through information or things to
achieve a similar end.  (That end being the ability to analyze the
data.)

It does not have to be computer based.

I hope that helps somewhat.

Thank you for the time you have spent on this so far.

Best regards.

Hello:

I'd like to share my system with dealing with many concurrent issues. 
It is not a scientific or widely known system, just my own personal
system.

While I am a heavy computer user, I think a combination of paper and
computer based reminders of what I have to do work best for me.

Ultimately, actions required from you will fall into several
categories:

1. Can be done quickly (easy or hard)
2. Must be done now (but will take some time)
3. Must be done later (but will take some time)
4. Doesn't 'really' matter if I finish it or now

I like to take the path of least resistance.

1. Things that can be done quickly:
Set aside part of your day (maybe an hour or so) and do all the things
that can be done quickly.  This may include just responding to an
e-mail, returning a phone call, discarding junk-mail, or just sending
off a quick e-mail.

Reason:  If you had 3 'hard things' and 50 'easy things' open, you
knock out the 50 easy things and you're left with only the 3 'hard
things.'  For me, this gives me a feeling of accomplishment and puts
me in a better mentally controlled state of mind.  The alternative
would be to work on the one hard thing, at the end of the day, you're
left with 53 open issues, instead of 3 hard ones.

2. Force yourself to do the critical, time-sensitive tasks.
We are all procrastinators to some extent or another.  We all don't
like pain or adversity.  I think its just human nature for people to
avoid these scenarios, hence the procrastination.  I tell myself, if
you don't push through it, it will be on your desk until you do.  I
don't like the feeling of something hanging over me.  It's kind of
like a splinter in your mind (bothersome, but you know its there).
After your easy things are done, work on this category next.  For me,
its important that I psych myself up to condition my brain into
thinking "whatever you about to tackle is going to be tough.  Just
PUSH through it until it gets done."  Afterwards, you'll feel all
better.

3. Tackle lower priority tasks.
When categories 1 and 2 are done, then tackle lower priority non-time
sensitive tasks.  Set aside a date on your calendar and 'schedule'
yourself to tackle these issues.  Just force yourself to do it.

4.  Things on your desk that shouldn't be.
Some people are pack rats and just keep every single piece of paper
given to them.  Develop a skill for immediately identifying and
discarding paper that you don't 'really' need or requires action on
your part.  If you constantly 'clean' you desk, the buildup of
paperwork won't be as overwhelming.

Just wanted to share one perspective.  Hope that helps a little.

I have the same kind of issue overload that you describe. I find that
"systems" simply are not flexible enough. Something always comes down
the pike that just doesn't fit in. I use a combination of manual and
computer organization.

My office has giant whiteboards. As things hit, I get out my colored
pens and make notes, draw shapes, arrows, flow charts,
trees...whatever makes sense for what I need to track. As things
change shape or get completed, I can erase, re-color code, etc. Not
sophisticated, but it works for me.

When I need something more permanent or long-term, I turn to Visio.
Again, I can make whatever kind of diagram suits me. It is extremely
flexible and the basic functions are intuitive and easy to use. Shapes
and text can be connected, and the connections stick when you move
objects around on the drawing. I can have as many as I need and
save/load them at will.

- Hammer

vigilare,
I use OneNote to keep track of all my thoughts and well... notes. It
is great because you don't have to stucture anything and I basically
write things as they come up - but I do use folders to try to classify
them.

For me, the nicest thing about OneNote is that you basically dump
whatever it is you have to do, then you can flag those notes, assign
an "Important" tag, or a "To Do" one. If you want, you can even turn
those To-Do items into Outlook To-Dos to add reminders and everything.
It then becomes really handy by letting you search across ALL your
notes really quickly not only for free text, but also for all your
notes according to their different flags.