Patti O'Shea's Blog

I’ve blogged before about being organizationally challenged. I like that phrase. I’ve also mentioned some of the different programs I’ve downloaded to try and overcome my issues. It’s kind of, sort of, maybe helped, but it’s also created a different set of “opportunities,” to use corporate-speak. I ran into one of these last week.

One of the ways I’ve tried to organize my computer folders is to color code them. There are free programs available that allow people to swap out the plain manila folder icon with a bunch of other choices, including colored folders. I am all about color, the bolder and brighter the better. But it also seemed to me that if I color-coded my writing folders, it would make life easier. So I did.

I gave each project I’m working on it’s own color, and because there are three different shades of each one, I’ve been able to mark each book in a trilogy with a different shade, but the same color. Um, I hope that sentence is clear. I also make the top level folder that all three books are filed under the color of book one. (If there were four shades of each color, that would have been so much cooler!)

This worked great until last week when I was scanning for my bright blue folder for the Work In Progress (WIP) to file a picture I wanted to refer to and couldn’t find any blue folders at all. I actually had to read the folder names.

It turned out the WIP was in orange in my pictures folder.

Oops! So I fixed the color on all the folders after I saved the picture. Today, it occurred to me that instead of having two separate folders for each book–one under pictures and one under writing–I could just have one. Revelation! Just because Microsoft created separate places for the different file types doesn’t mean I have to follow it. Um, yeah, duh, but it really never dawned on me until now.

This still won’t put all my electronic files in one place because I think the OneNote stuff needs to stay together, but it will cut down on some of the locations. Every little bit helps.

Once again, my lack of an organizational system is costing me time and stress. I carry steno pads with me in my tote bag. Yes, plural because I filled one notebook, but I haven’t finished writing those books. I haven’t even written proposals yet on some of those books. And until I am done with them, I’ll never know when I might need those notes. It’s actually a pretty good system because I’ll Post-it flag each idea with a different color and it’s easy to find what I’m looking for quickly.

If I remember to write it in my notebook.

I have a habit of sending think-out-loud emails to my writing friends. This is fine, too. If I remember to transfer the information to my notebook. Usually, though, it goes something like this–send emails with information on ideas. Get home, have deadline (either self-imposed or contracted) so I don’t take time to transfer notes. Decide I can do it later. Later comes, vaguely remember there was something, start searching email. And considering how disorganized my email is, this doesn’t always yield success.

It happened again yesterday. The character from one of my series ideas started coming in strongly and I wanted to reread my notes and work on that arc. Of course, the information wasn’t in my notebook.

I did a search of Gmail. The first attempt turned up too little. The second search term turned up too many.

I got lucky yesterday. I actually had the notes in my Outlook email. Filed even in folders that were labeled for easy finding. This is seldom the case. Usually, I don’t find them and get more frustrated.

The other thing that was awesome? Not only did I find my notes, but one of them had information on a character/setup that I’d completely forgotten. As soon as I reread it, I got a whoosh and I knew who her hero was and his personality snapped into focus. All in all, it was an awesome outcome.

And my email notes? Cut and pasted them into OneNote so that I won’t have to search email again. I still don’t have them in my notebook.

I wish I was better organized. I love organization. I hate clutter. I try to file things in a way that makes them easy to find again and I consistently fail. And not just with paper either. I have a hard time finding things on my laptop, too. I’m constantly doing searches and hoping that the keyword I picked is actually somewhere in the file.

I’ve tried to read books on organization–not many, just a few. Nothing has been implemented, though, because nothing I’ve read seems to fit my style. If that makes sense. It’s like reading a book on writing and knowing something isn’t going to work for you. Like 3×5 cards. I tried to use index cards, and to this day, I shudder in horror when I see them. I’m not a plotter and plotter tips aren’t going to work for me. So how do I find an organization method that will work for me?

I suppose I could read more books, but I have so much else that I want to read more. Like fiction and research books for projects I’m writing. I can’t afford to hire someone to come in and organize me, and even if I did, what if they organized me in a way I couldn’t keep up?

So I’m left with an office and file drawers that are in shambles. I can’t find anything. It’s frustrating and it wastes time. How do you find an organization method that works without reading ninety different books first? Why didn’t the organizational methods I read about work for me? Is it because I’m a pantser kind of person and these were plotter kinds of methods?

And don’t even get me started on computer organization. I must have every free program (and some paid programs available) and I don’t use any of them because my current method is easier for me. It’s not efficient and I never get old files deleted, but I can usually find things for the Work In Progress. It’s the older books where finding things becomes a problem and if the file isn’t writing related at all, well, that’s nearly impossible because the location options are nearly endless. How do other people stay organized?

I had some geeky fun yesterday. I bought a label maker and spent some time in the afternoon labeling my files. Hey, it was way cool! I have some 2″ hanging files and I labeled one “Projects,” then I pulled out my really cool bright-colored file folders and labeled each one of those with the stories I’m working on or have worked on.

I tend to make notes on lined paper as I work and then it all starts piling up. I had notes in my great room, on the kitchen island counter, in the spare bedroom, and accumulating in my office. They were making me nuts and had to go somewhere. Now everything is neatly labeled, so I’ll be able to find it when I need it, and when I sell one of the projects, I can move its file from “Projects” to its very own hanging folder.

Speaking of needing to organize, I found the electronic version of something I needed for the current project. It’s not the hard copy–I looked everywhere for that darn thing and I still can’t find it–but the e-copy is good enough. I’ll just print it out again and add it to my collection of papers. And yes, I do have a file labeled for this project, but while I’m working on something, I drag every scrap of paper with me to the EDJ so I can work on it during lunch.

BTW, my insomnia is back, so forgive me if this post wasn’t quite as coherent as it should be. I thought I was bad yesterday, that’s nothing compared to how I feel today.