I would like to store them else where, with each project having it’s own little spot, however, any one project can involve multiple large binders or books, so a little file folder isn’t going to work for me.

Also, I often work in different locations (home, office, bookstore cafe) so portability is key.

Any suggestions?

Do idometric exercises at your desk while reading your emails, etc. I’m sure you can think of many. I call this productive multitasking!

But for the important things- day to day, where did I leave my keys, my cell phone, the pen I just had, I can offer a few tips.

1- I bought a purse with TONS of pockets. I sat down and either marked inside the flap or by using a different zipper pull for EACH pocket. Then I made a list. Cell phone goes in the front left pocket, easily identified by a flag pin. The default places for wallet, checkbook, atm card, et cetera are all decided and WRITTEN DOWN. After a few weeks of checking the list to remember where to put them, it became not a visual memory, but a MUSCLE memory. If my celll phone rings, I reach for the ‘flag pocket’. The written list is to help hubby and teenage kids remember NOT to just put things in ANY pocket of the purse.

Try doing the same thing with a messenger bag or briefcase. Suit it to your own needs, especially if the writer is male; messenger/laptop bags basically do the same job as the ubiquitous ‘purse’. If you can’t decide what to buy to store your stuff, lay out everything you need to carry with you on a regular basis and TAKE A PICTURE. Being able to look at an inventory will help you decide which bag will do the job best. If it’s a laptop bag, BE SURE to note your laptop’s measurements ON the picture, because I can guarantee it’s easier than trying to remember to take the laptop with you to size against said bag!

2- Keep a ‘dump book’ for every little thing you might need to make a note of. For me it’s just plain printer paper in my half-size day planner; the point is to have a place to jot down ‘Put my phone on the charger at 9am.’ Post it notes are HORRIBLE for this! It’s MUCH easier to write down these little snippets of totally OBVIOUS-to-everyone-ELSE details on one sheet of paper and then TOSS the sheet out at the end of the day. As I’ve used the system, it’s slowly become a shorter list. Consider the success of being able to remember where you put the cordless phone down after making a note of it every day for a month as major progress. (No, I’m not teasing; I’ve actually had to call hubby at work to find out where I put my hairbrush when he interrupted me that morning. I know whereof I speak.)

I adore carabiner clips for this reason! I use one to attach a simple spiral note pad to my usual work corkboard, simply by hooking the carabiner through the hole at the top. Which, inevitably, leads to ‘where do I keep the spiral pad’ in easy reach but off my work space?

3- You’re on the right track with “putting things in sight” but your’e also on the wrong *level*– Find several places to mount cork boards, or sticky hooks (3M makes a great variety of sizes). I mounted a pencil cup TO the wall beside a custom-cut square of bath board (for dry erase purposes) on the wall right beside our front door. Why? Because the cup on the end table kept getting moved by the kids, and thus the dry erase pens got lost! If you have some odd-shaped items that look interesting, try tracing around them with decorative paper you like. Hubby is fond of black and silver, so I traced around his keys onto a harlequin-diamond paper, and glued the shape to the cork board mounted beside his desk. That way, one look not only tells him THAT there’s an empty hook, but reminds him of what SHAPE it is.

I can’t use the slanted file baskets that mount to the wall– impact hazard from falling, and they’re expensive to replace, so I use *oversized* manila envelopes mounted at the bottom edge of the cork boards. Hubby uses a letter tray on his desk for *magazines* as they arrive in the mail, and when the tray gets full it’s time to donate or recycle the old ones.

If you’re a perfectionist or avoiding things, try starting small. Don’t try to do the WHOLE DESK, ever, LOL. Work on ONE spot. Work on ONE type of paper and set a time limit. I’ll be the first to admit that it took about a month to sell hubby on the idea of putting a 1′ square cork board next to his desk specifically as a favor to me. Then I took a week or so to pick out decorative papers I knew he’d like and made shadows of the items he transitions out of his messenger bag on a regular basis. He tried this all as a way to ‘buddy up’ with me, because I can tell you he seldom misplaces anything!

Martha Stuart doesn’t have to live with the extra frustrations we do, so don’t let HER decide how to decorate for you!

lol.

this is one i can definitely work on. thanks!