Ordering and Sorting to Your Advantage
Ordering data is a fundamental computer function. So low-level that you might not even give it a second thought.
With any data set (emails, notes, journal entries, tasks) it’s worth taking a moment to consider how you might use this to your advantage.
You can even apply your own ordering where you might not think. Some examples:
Journal - I keep all of my journal entries for a given year in one document. Typically you think writting from top to bottom. Jan-Dec. But one year, scrolling to the bottom of the document became an minor irritation.
Instead, I flipped the order. New journal entries go at the top and old entries automatically end up towards the bottom. No more scrolling.
Note Inbox - You might even apply different sorts for different contexts. Throughout the week, my note inbox is sorted by newest first helps me get back to those things I captured not long ago. When processing my note inbox more thoroughly, it’s helpful to switch to oldest note first to find the things I might have forgotten.
Creating your own sort - Finally, you might prefix a numeric order to apply your own sort to alphabetic items. For example my primary document folders are:
- Projects
- Areas
- Resources
- Archive
Sorted alphabetically it lacks the prioritization I want and actually puts archive at the top!
- Archive
- Areas
- Projects
- Resources
By prefixing these folders with a number, it allows me to apply my own sort so these folders are in the right place every time:
- 01-Projects
- 02-Areas
- 03-Resources
- 04-Archive