How do You Stay Organized?

[edgali]

I have found multuple monitors worked well, but if you can afford I will go with multiple computers, becuase you can do something on one pc and and something else on the other, that way you don't have to slow down your main pc.

 

[Hi on Helium]

i have a private forum... on which i create a new thread for each new project/task.
all the details are then posted as replies.... sometimes using quotes to show linkage between two sets of info.

wow, that's actually a pretty good idea. You could make each niche a category and each domain a subcategory. That's a really good idea, I'll have to keep that in mind.

-HoH

 

[GangsterProfit]

This is an awesome thread with some awesome ideas in it. Thanks to the OP for starting it and for everyone that has posted.

I use OneNote to manage all my projects. I like being able to have pages of data under a section and the search feature is awesome.

Thanks again!

Brett Phillips
Customer Support Specialist

 

[Xaviers]

I use pen and paper or print up stuff in text for and file it in subfolders in a backpack. That's it. Several composition notebooks and folders with printed pdfs.

 

[Amaya521]

make a list of the things you need to do on spreedsheet..

do it one at a time..

separate every other works into folders

stay on track all the time

 

[nivonuke]

I run an SEO business and with the combination of in house employees and outsourced staff I found that using the following methods were helpful:

1. Basecamp- I create templates so that every time I need to run an SEO campaign involved in article writing, submissions, and using tools such as SENuke, AMR, etc.. Its all detailed and listed every single time in a To Do list. Basecamp is free for the first project but the $25 a month is totally worth it for multi user collaboration.

2. Dropbox- I have three folders: Active / Pending / Closed to organize all of my clients by subfolder. And in the client folder I have

Initial/
Resources/
Articles To Use/ (sometimes I just hire someone to create 10-15 articles in one shot and just leave them there to sort through my campaigns)
Campaigns/

I keep my black hat tools, proxies, scrapes, etc.. in a completely separate folder structure.

3. Google Docs- Again, building standard reporting templates and a data sheet each of my employees has to check off when completing a campaign. They have a separate sheet to post the backlinks from any Web2.0 or Article campaign I give them. I also use the Google Presentation for building Powerpoint presentations. I wish I knew a way to integrate forms that can work alongside the spreadsheet to make entering information a little easier.. I guess that's going to be down the line.

I also have a Google doc with multiple sheets that has all of my tools and websites with all of the login information for employees to access as a reference, along with another doc that has all of my black hat hotmail, YT, Google, and Twitter accounts.

4. Evernote- We use notebook sharing for client research, grabbing sites and making notes.

5. Adobe InDesign- This is what I'm currently using for my report building and client proposals. It seems to be simple since I'm taking resources from many websites and putting them all in one PDF.

6. Stick Em Up (mac) This is a great little sticky program that has multiple customizable categories for your stickies along with color changes and other neat features. Great for jotting initial stuff down.

If anyone has any other ideas, I'm all ears too!

 

[drywallrob]

I run an SEO business and with the combination of in house employees and outsourced staff I found that using the following methods were helpful:

1. Basecamp- I create templates so that every time I need to run an SEO campaign involved in article writing, submissions, and using tools such as SENuke, AMR, etc.. Its all detailed and listed every single time in a To Do list. Basecamp is free for the first project but the $25 a month is totally worth it for multi user collaboration.

2. Dropbox- I have three folders: Active / Pending / Closed to organize all of my clients by subfolder. And in the client folder I have

Initial/
Resources/
Articles To Use/ (sometimes I just hire someone to create 10-15 articles in one shot and just leave them there to sort through my campaigns)
Campaigns/

I keep my black hat tools, proxies, scrapes, etc.. in a completely separate folder structure.

3. Google Docs- Again, building standard reporting templates and a data sheet each of my employees has to check off when completing a campaign. They have a separate sheet to post the backlinks from any Web2.0 or Article campaign I give them. I also use the Google Presentation for building Powerpoint presentations. I wish I knew a way to integrate forms that can work alongside the spreadsheet to make entering information a little easier.. I guess that's going to be down the line.

I also have a Google doc with multiple sheets that has all of my tools and websites with all of the login information for employees to access as a reference, along with another doc that has all of my black hat hotmail, YT, Google, and Twitter accounts.

4. Evernote- We use notebook sharing for client research, grabbing sites and making notes.

5. Adobe InDesign- This is what I'm currently using for my report building and client proposals. It seems to be simple since I'm taking resources from many websites and putting them all in one PDF.

6. Stick Em Up (mac) This is a great little sticky program that has multiple customizable categories for your stickies along with color changes and other neat features. Great for jotting initial stuff down.

If anyone has any other ideas, I'm all ears too!

Great list! I use Evernote and dropbox all the time.

Give Zoho Docs a try. It has more features than Google docs. I prefer google docs for most of my uses, but Zoho has a few extra. You can add a form to the spreadsheet in G docs, to add data. Check the menu.

 

[jerdude]

I use folders, subfolders and text.

If you are just using one computer for your work there's no need for cloud based service. I have a home computer and an office one so I opt for Google docs.

 

[B.O.S.S]

Lots of folders, .txt files and excel, simple yet effective,

Same as above.

 

[Emergent]

I highly recommend Stardock Fences for your desktop (can't link it).

YouTube a video about it for a quick idea of how it works.

What is great about it is for me out of sight is out of mind, so I don't like to for example put a huge amount of folder/files I use regularly in a single folder on my desktop.

With fences I have an work fence with all my sites, an Important fence, recently modified files fence, a fence for folders, and fence just for files, a fence for my SEO/IM apps, etc.

Next to going 3D it is the best way to get more real estate out of your desktop.

 

[bertbaby]

With standard projects Excel with pinned worksheets is fine to use but with new projects the free form nature of Microsoft OneNote makes it easier outline a new thought process.

 

[StillSmiling]

I'm using daily:

Workflowy (Still can't believe this is free!)
Fences (My desktop looks GREAT)

Just the tip of the iceberg, but I'm actually making COMPLETE to-do lists, and for the first time in a while (with the help of automation), I'm actually completing the stuff on my lists!

 

[WizIMS]

I prefer papers.

I have papers sorted for every project I do

 

[FruitPage]

For basic task and to-do management, I use 3 apps

• Wunderlist
• Wunderlist
• Wunderlist

For brainstorming, info architecture, visual planning, and mind-mapping

• Xmind (It works great for me. I use their free version. It's lite and not over-bloated or complicated, plus you can add notes to all the nodes to further any details.)

For project management I use several as I'm still deciding which will be best for me to stick with. They are all web-based apps.

• Taskant (The free version is pretty handy for lite project-by-task management. You can add blog-style comments to each task that function as a diary or progress notes list.)
• Dooster (It's a little clunky but has good project management and collaboration features. I have been using the free trial to evaluate it, but I don't think I will be returning to it.)
• Podio (So far this is my favorite. It is always free for one user and I believe you can invite external collaborators for free on a limited access basis. What I like about it is that you can create workspaces for different functions, niches, or concepts, and from there you add apps from their app store. The apps are free so it's not really a "store". But from the range of apps, they cover just about every industry and function from marketing campaign management and staffing, to project management and CRM.)

Login management

• Last Pass

Bookmark management

• Xmarks

Social media management

• HootSuite (I pay 6 bucks a month and can manage many social profiles, identities, and accounts.)

On-toilet conceptualization

• I have not been able to find anything better than good old fashioned pen and paper.

ASIDE​

I also use Curio by Zengobi (it's a Mac-only app). It is mindblowing as it replaces a bunch of different standalone apps and you can extend the free, fully functional trial indefinitely by trashing all app associated files and caches and then registering a new trial with a different email addy. App Cleaner works great for clearing remnants of programs you want to trash. I will gladly buy a copy of Curio once they enhance their integration with other OSes and GTD apps and improve their cloud.

UPDATE: Almost forgot...

• Dropbox for quick moving and sharing of files
• Box.net for storing files I always need access to (The regular free account is 5 GB, but if you open an account directly from your smartphone, they will give you 50 GB for your free account.)
• And Evernote for just about everything else that's not mentioned

 

[jiggsaw]

Wow... thanks for the Wunderlist suggestion. I think my combo is complete now. Freedcamp, evernote, excel, and now wunderlist.

 

[and_]

Good question!

I have been trying to organise my stuff for over 10 years now! I use 5 hosting companies, 4 domain registers and have around 300 domains, and it has been challenging to say the least.

I have just started using excell and tabs which is making life a lot easier when it comes to updating a domain. I can finally see where it is hosted and under which account. I am slowly populating other tabs for sponsors, and other stuff which will save me tons of searching through emails and note pads.

I also use 2 computers. A 17" laptop for working on and travel, and a powerfull desktop for any graphic/video stuff and gaming, but I share the desktop monitor with my laptop for duel screen.

 

[FruitPage]

Wunderlist is just an awesome creation. I'm absolutely addicted to it. They are working on releasing Wunderkit, which will probably a premium version of Wunderlist where you can have sub-tasks, social integration, and various other functions including media files.

I'm pretty sure it will be a paid app or will have some type of subscription levels. But it's literally a drug for me. They got me so hooked on it that I will have no choice but to pay up.

If they ever hook up with Evernote, it will be like pure MDMA everytime I turn on one of my devices.

Wow... thanks for the Wunderlist suggestion. I think my combo is complete now. Freedcamp, evernote, excel, and now wunderlist.

 

[FruitPage]

One more app I found quite helpful for syncing contacts and calendars across the board...Connected. They used to be a paid service, but then were acquired by LinkedIN. Now the service is absolutely free.

 

[leonardodv]

first get your mind organized...then everything will be organized...i prefer to keep it simple... more tools and software will get you on the other side.

 

[WizIMS]

This workflowy is awesome I cant believe I didn't know this before.. But is this safe??