Read-Me Files
I’m finding it nearly impossible to keep track of all of the things I want to read: books, magazines, blog posts, news feeds, articles, etc. I have a readme tag in EagleFiler and del.icio.us. I keep tons of blog posts because they link to an article I want to read or because the post itself is something I want to read, but it is long. I tried a paper file one time, but the kids just ripped it all up and I lost the articles completely. I have a stack of books and another stack of magazines, all to be read.
I’ll tell you what. Nate Klaiber is my hero. He has a family and a busy career, but still finds time to read books. On top of that, he has time to blog about the books he’s read, providing a great review that helps others decide if the book is worth the time or not.
So, how does one keep a good read-me file? I need something that is portable, so I can take my unread articles, etc. with me. I can steal a few minutes while I’m waiting for my son to get released from pre-school or on the drive to Sam’s Club (husband driving, of course). It has to be contained and small enough that I can easily move it out of the kids’ reach. It has to be interesting and efficient enough for me to actually keep it in front of me at all times and use it. I also have to have some way of cross-linking digital files with paper files, since not everything can be digital.
At first, I was thinking something like the Sony Reader or Amazon’s new Kindle would be the answer. They are small, very portable, and can hold vast amounts of reading material. Best of all, they hold digital files, which means I’m not killing trees! However, I’ve read reviews and it seems that getting existing files over to them in a readable format isn’t always easy or possible. I don’t have time to monkey around with exports and settings just to get reading material in one place. Not only that, but these are expensive little gadgets and they would require that I purchase digital versions (where available) of the books that I’ve already bought. Ick.
So, now I’m starting to think about a portfolio or accordion file or something that I can put at least my articles and magazines into, if not books. Something that I can close, so that things don’t fall out and I can carry it around. Maybe I’ll go shopping at Staples. There are a few downsides, though. I can’t put books in there and I’d have to print out the digital media that I want to read. That means wasting paper and coming up with a way to cross-reference the softcopy with the hardcopy. Again, Ick.
I’m sure I’ll be pondering this for a while and trying to come up with something. In the meantime, if there are any suggestions, please leave them in the comments. I’d be ever so grateful.
December 4th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Dana,
This is certainly a tough task to achieve. I found with me, personally, was to reduce the amount of noise I had. This meant pruning some RSS feeds, this meant checking email less often, this meant checking social networking sites less often (some of which can be addictive). By reducing the noise, I have been able to focus on what I believe to be the valuable things.
There are so many blogs out there that simply re-iterate other conversations around the web. While they might be good blogs, why not subscribe to the source blogs instead? Then you don’t have to constantly be referred and feel overwhelmed by unread RSS items. Find the quality ones and continually refine and adjust.
Unfortunately, I don’t know that I can provide a solution as I am still working through this process myself. I have a notebook I carry with me everywhere for quick notes, thoughts, writing ideas, and inspirations. I have a swap file on my computer where I can store digital files that I want to check out. I use Spotlight on the computer to my advantage to find things tagged with certain keywords. I use some digital services to keep track of the same tags. Keeping consistent with your tags will help you make sense and find things at a later date.
Obviously, it’s always good to just chat with others in the same field to keep updated as well. It’s part of what we all do with the CWSA.
Regardless, I wouldn’t consider myself a hero - though I appreciate the kind words. As far as finding time to read books, I have had to shift that time to later than normal so I can spend more time with the family. he.
December 4th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Reducing my RSS feeds is really great advice. I’m definitely going to re-evaluate those. I’m sure I can prune away. I always have this nagging feeling that I’ll be missing out on something . . .
I totally agree about consistent tagging, too. I’ve been trying to keep tagging consistent between del.icio.us, EagleFiler, and RememberTheMilk. That does help.
Thanks for your advice!
December 4th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
I have found with RSS, that if it is something really important you will find the discussion on the bigger blogs as well.
And, as long as I don’t get pruned from the RSS feed, then it’s ok. he.