I have a three-way version of this, due to the inclusion of a hybrid space: the “quick access” (aka to-sort, aka “robe 9”, aka “new junk, old habits”) space.
Basically. My workspace is like in the article. It has a limited amount of items I’m using right now. If there are too many items on/in my workspace, it means I’m not working on most of them, so those get dumped into the “quick access” space.
The quick access space has limited (real or self-imposed) room. It’s for items I just used, might use again soon, but I’m not using right now. Organisation is sloppy or non-existent, depending on the medium. If it’s full it gets cleaned:
- will I use this item now? If yes, move it to the workspace
- else, will I use this item in the future? If yes (or maybe), move it to the storage
- else, trash the item
The storage has lots and lots of items. Strictly organised; and depending on the medium, labelled. Items here get moved to the workspace if I need to work with them.
So for example:
- Kitchen - my “workspace” is a counter, the stove, and the electric oven. The “quick access” are the other counters, sometimes the microwaves oven (I temp store things there). The “storage” is the fridge, freezer, cabinets; I label some items if there’s a chance I might confuse them (like different beef cuts).
- Computer files - the “workspace” is the desktop. The “quick access” is the downloads directory, linked in the desktop for easy access. Any other non-system directory is storage; it must have a good filename, and be in the correct directory, this is non-negotiable.
- Physical desk - the “workspace” is the desk itself. The “quick access” are two small drawers I use to dump stuff. The “storage” are the closet, archive and similar. Paper sheets go into neat folders, clothes are neatly folded and whatnot, etc.
I do it this way because I want to have things organised, but I’m too lazy to organise them. And I tend to gather junk that might be useful in the future, but I’d rather not have it cluttering either my storage or my workspace.
