#30 File and Folder Organization

I actually had a really great time with this exercise. The oldest files I deleted were those just barely over two years old that were held in a young adult folder since before I took my position...so I took what I could from the previous staff and refashioned and reformulated the labeling schema and file organization to best serve the needs we have now.
I also went through my personal folder and was able to delete several files that I no longer needed (just a few months old), such as proctoring forms, forms I'd downloaded to fill out but are available on Harriet, etc.
I was a little surprised by how organized our files had become by default or organically developed over time. Yes - there was some overlap and inconsistency with labels. Yes - there was some confusion as to what belongs in what folder. But with just a little clean-up I was able to affirm that I had become organized, that defunct files and folders were deleted, and I have done my duty to help keep the cost of storage down :o)

#29 E-mail and Other Waves of the Past

I'm still more comfortable with e-mail than almost any other form of communication. I suppose I'm just a text kinda gal (although I'm a terribly slow texter on my phone; I no longer regularly IM my friends as I did in high school and at the beginning of college; and I don't really post messages to forums, discussion boards, or MySpace pages). I prefer shooting an e-mail off to folks rather than trying to catch them on the phone; leaving an e-mail is almost like leaving a phone message...except I can delete, edit, rephrase, and reorganize my thoughts in a WYSWYG kinda way.

All that said, I am extremely rigorous about deleting e-mails (sometimes deleting things that I probably should've kept....and then needing to have someone resend me the e-mail that they had smartly tucked away for later). With both of my personal e-mail accounts (hotmail and google), as well as with my work e-mail, I have a series of (perhaps not clearly) labeled subjects that seem to work okay for my purposes (such as health insurance, identity theft, online shopping, family, recipes, articles, outreach, programming, etc.).

If I need to hold on to an e-mail for future reference (perhaps I'm working on something in particular and I need to make sure I have a whole group of e-mails to facilitate an ongoing project), then I'll keep it aside in a folder. If the e-mail seems just like an FYI or a "how're you doin'?" note, then I usually delete it if it holds no sentimental value (like a love note from a J.A.M. would certainly be kept). I do a better job of maintaining order in my work e-mail than within my personal e-mail accounts, but it has worked for me so far :)

#28 Getting Things Done & Other Flights of Fancy

I'm an avid list maker. I sense a great feeling of release (and perhaps excitement) in making a To Do list and checking off everything that I have completed. I suppose I'm a little bit behind the curve in not integrating my To Do's and schedules on the web. I'm just too attached to my spiral notebook and daily/monthly planner to forfeit the joy of physically writing out my goals and visually seeing them completed with the scratching-off motion and aesthetic.

I'm a planner. I love making short-term and long-term plans. My To Do lists almost always include a list of things easily accomplished today, followed by more intensive projects that might find completion in months or years.

I'm a librarian and pride myself on my multi-tasking, prioritizing, and organizing capabilities. This whole ideology behind "Getting Things Done," for me, does not seem particularly revolutionary. I feel I already do an alright job of maintaining an organized workflow, of recognizing what can be done immediately and what is worth a more intensive time-commitment, and of eliminating junk.

I'm thinking that the whole "Getting Things Done" system of "establish[ing] a work flow process, us[ing] 6 levels of focus and the five stages of the natural planning method" does not really prevent one from spending more time organizing than actually doing (which is giving as a sort of warning or threat). In fact, getting a little too crazy about defining your work flow, six levels of focus, and five stages of planning might actually just be confusing the whole matter.

#27 Podcasting

I'm comfortable with podcasting technology and of making my blog's feed podcast-ready. I developed and hosted a podcasting program for teens at the Library last fall; of course, although it is realitively straight-forward and simple, the teens seemed to think it was "too hard." Mastery in a few minutes seems to have been the attendees' expectation. I've made podcasts in the past and, while I feel it could potentially be an awesome service, I do not feel I have the "stage" presence necessary to provide an exciting podcast or one worth the time of prospective users - just like some audiobooks are better than others based on the reader, some individuals are better at projecting excitement and at engaging with a distant audience.

I think what some people don't seem to realize is that having a successful podcast is extremely dependent on a vast amount of organization, planning, preperation, and patience in editing, as well as just having a basic knowledge of the technology. Knowing the technology is available and knowing how to mobilize it does not make a good podcast or one that people are willing to hear however often the podcasts are posted. I believe that is why so many of the most successful podcasts are coming from independent, alternative, as well as mainstream media sources; people who have a knowledge of how to put together a "package" seem to have had more business in terms of downloads. Just my two cents :)