Organizing Contacts
All right.
So some of you might've noticed that I'm pretty organized. This is because organization doesn't come naturally to me. As a result, I've worked on it all of my life and I've gotten very good at organizing any specific thing I choose to organize. I chose a new one today. I'm going to organize the people I know.
The sad part is, I'm not quite sure how I should go about it. I'm taking suggestions on any system you think would be interesting. Or even parts of systems or vague ideas; I love trying things out...
Here's some of my thoughts up to nowish:
Put it in Outlook - What happens if I stop using Outlook? Also, I don't know if Outlook has some way to have ticklers (reminders w/dates) attached to contacts for birthdays and such. Another con is that notes can only be seen once you open the contact; I hate slow.
Put it in Stikkit - This is nice b/c it's online. The whole thing is a note, it's very searchable, and it can have reminders. This is really quite awesome. The only reason I can think of to not use Stikkit is that it's an internet thing. As such it could cease to exist or be rendered obsolete. Also, I tend to be big on switching programs around... In response to my concerns, I could download everything as a bunch of text files and do a variation on my next idea.
Make my own system - Use one .txt file for each person. Then have a python program that goes through and makes a database in whatever form I want. I certainly know how to make this searchable and navigable due to my experience from OlinDocs. It's very customizable, but not necessarily pretty. And I can toss it online with security if I want remote access... Problem: takes time to make the program. Also, unless I write a gui or something for quick updating, going through lots of files could be annoying. I guess this is a problem with Stikkit too.
Use Excel - This might sound a bit under-powered considering how much I want my system to be able to do, but it can be done. With liberal use of concatenation etc, this can look pretty awesome and be nice to look stuff up in. Issue: inputting stuff would suck. A lot.
Use a Moleskine - Get a Moleskine address book. Or, more Borisly, get a normal Moleskine and do one person every 2 pages. That way, I can have a lot of updates before anything fills up. Also, it'd be easy enough to carry it with me whenever I meet someone new. Issues: Not searchable at all. Losable. Not very dynamic.
After writing this I have a bit of direction. Yay typing! That being said, it is only an inkling. What do you think? Comment or hit me with an e-mail (boris at students).
3 comments:
Hey,
I would recommend try using 37Signal's Highrise. It's a people-centric to-do list organizer. It practically has the "never eat alone" philosophy built-in.
I don't know whether you only facebook close friends, but I like adding people I meet as a way of solidifying and maintaining the acquaintanceship. I've found that strategy useful. I already know what my close friends are up to anyway (and for some reason a lot of them are anti-facebook).
Haha. This is funny. Guess what book I read this weekend? Keith Ferrazzi's "Never Eat Alone." I feel a little bit transparent right about now. I'll be sure to give Highrise a look... I seem to recall seeing it repeatedly on Lifehacker (always a good sign).
I'd second the Highrise rec, but it comes with that nice "limited number of contacts unless you pony up cash" feature. I've been thinking about hacking Wordpress (private/local copy) to do something similar- one blog entry for each person, comments on my interactions with them. Everything's chronological, searchable... and if I can find a plugin for calendar reminders, that'll clinch it.
Currenly I'm using my Thunderbird address book and Google Calendar for (a paltry number of) birthday reminders, but that system leaves something to be desired.
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