Implementing a Personal Information Architecture

A project I’ve been working on since the beginning of the year is implementing a personal information architecture. This has included creating a better-organized professional archive, but has gone well beyond that to include all the Stuff I deal with on a daily basis.

I am using a very specific instance of the word Stuff here. If you are not familiar with David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) then here’s an official (though slightly sale-sy) description of it. GTD generates a certain amount of cult-like devotion, but the fact is that for many it's a highly effective system for organizing life.

The foundation of my personal information architecture is GTD--which I implemented both at work and at home. It took me two full days (in the week between Christmas and New Year's) to do this, a timeframe that is not unusual. Up and running on GTD, I started the New Year operating with two main categories of Stuff: Projects/Next Actions and Reference Material.

GTD has a lot to say about organizing Projects/Next Actions but fewer specifics on organizing Reference Material (Stuff that needs no action but may have future informational value). But, of course I already know a lot about organizing reference material-type Stuff. I am, after, all an IA!

However, in a case of a cobbler’s-kid-with-no-shoes, my reference system clearly needed to be better organized. I looked at my various storehouses for reference material and found they all used slightly different systems for organizing information and not everything was well organized. My storehouses included:

• Three computers file folder systems--my work iMac, my home iMac, and a 12” PowerBook
• Bookmarks--thankfully, just one set of these due to .mac bookmark syncing
• Folder system in DevonThink (the software I use to manage my professional archive)
• Email accounts--one for personal use, one for business, and then one for the various mailing lists I subscribe to
• Bookshelves--at home and at work
• Filing cabinets--at home and a work

I started with my three most heavily used storehouses: my computer file folder systems, bookmarks, and the folder system in DevonThink.

The first step was a content inventory and some major pruning out of clutter--stuff I’d saved but realized didn’t have much future value. As I sorted out the chaff from the wheat, I began developing my top-level categories. To help me think about categories across all my storehouses (not just the three I was working with) I created a spreadsheet. Across the top (in the columns) I listed each of my reference storehouses; down the sides (in the rows) I listed my possible top-level categories. Though my goal was to create set of top-level categories that would work across all my storehouses--personal and professional--I did so with the understanding that some categories might not have content in every one of my storehouses. For example, the Food category is unlikely to have content in my bookshelf at work (though I do have a Food file folder at work for menus from local restaurants). At home, the Food category is huge: with a whole bookshelf of cookbooks and a "tear file" of recipes I might want to try.

Developing the top-level categories was (surprise!) a highly iterative process. I first implemented the categories on my bookmarks, which pushed me into developing the system into a full-fledged taxonomy with categories and subcategories.

Next, I tackled my computer file systems. In addition to cleaning up the file systems I developed a clear “role” for each computer: while I may transfer files related to active projects between my various computers, I needed to define more clearly what reference material each computer would store: personal information on my home computer, work-related on my work computer, and my professional archive on my laptop. This may seem obvious--but with the blending of work and home life it’s easy to wind up with personal files store on your work computer and visa versa.

Work and personal email is really outside of my reference system as most email I receive is Project/Next Action related or personal correspondence (which gets saved but is easily retrievable by sender). There is a good article in this month’s MacWorld by Merlin Mann that interestingly describes, quite exactly, how I have my email organized.

The Inbox Makeover

The similarity is not that surprising (I implemented this system before the article came out), given that Merlin is a Getting Things Done enthusiast who runs the GTD blog 43folders.

I have a separate email account for mailing lists that, using filters, automatically puts mail into a folder for each list. When the occasional pearl of wisdom arrives in a mailing list message that is not actionable (that is, it is not a Project/Next Action) it’s saved either to my professional archive or to the appropriate folder on either my home or work computers. Again, I am very selective here--clutter in the virtual world is just as much as a barrier to productivity as it is in the physical world.

It’s been a big relief to get this system implemented. It takes much less time to file and retrieve reference information. Though I’ve touched lightly on my professional archive here, as a consultant it is a central importance to me. A great joy and challenge of working in the user experience field is keeping current with the latest technology, research and ideas. Much as I’d like, I can’t keep everything in my head. A good retrieval system outside my head is the next best thing.

Technorati Tags: Getting Things Done, Personal Information Architecture