Note Card System Tutorial #2 | Sorting Your Cards: Organize the Brain Dump!, by At Your Level with Mandie on YouTube. 2 min 55 s.
- Video length
- 2 min 55 s
- Time to do it
- 15 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 7
What you need
Steps
Clear a table or floor space and put your brain dump cards in one stack. Keep a pen and a few sticky notes nearby for labelling the piles.
Pick up one card at a time and read only that card. Ask what kind of thing it is: a task, an errand, a reminder, an idea, or something to look up later.
Start a pile for each type as you go and write the pile name on a sticky note. Aim for three to five piles at first so the sorting stays quick.
Put any card you cannot decide on into a separate not sure pile. Do not stop to think it through now. You can sort that pile in a second pass.
Keep going until every card sits in a pile. Work in bursts of about 15 minutes and stop when the timer goes if you start to feel overwhelmed.
Go through each pile once more and pull out duplicates or cards that clearly belong together. Stack each pile face up so you can see the top card.
Leave the sorted piles out or band them together, with space to add new cards as more thoughts come up during the week.
Tips and common mistakes
Sort in short bursts of 10 to 15 minutes so you are not trying to organize your whole life in one sitting.
Do not rewrite or reword cards while sorting. Save that clean-up for when you set up your tabs.
Label piles on sticky notes instead of writing on the table so you can rename or merge them later.
Allow yourself a small not sure pile, but keep it small so one tricky card does not stall the session.
Questions
How many piles should I make?
Start with three to five broad piles such as home, work, errands and ideas. You can split them into smaller groups once everything is sorted.
What if one card fits two piles?
Put it in the pile you would look at first, or make a temporary both pile and decide when you set up your tabs.
Do I need special cards?
No. Plain index cards and a pen work fine. The system is about getting thoughts out of your head and onto paper, not about the stationery.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
