Goodreads
The book in 3 sentences:
- The PARA method by Tiago Forte is a book that teaches you how to organize your digital information into four categories: Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archives.
- These categories help you sort your information according to its actionability and relevance, and make it easier to find what you need when you need it.
- The book also shows you how to use PARA as a flexible and tool-agnostic system that can adapt to your changing needs and goals.
Ideas:
â—† Chapter 6: How to Distinguish between Projects and Areas
▪ Projects: A Goal with a Deadline My definition of a project is any endeavor that has: A goal that will enable you to mark it “complete” A deadline or timeframe by which you’d like it done
▪ Areas of Responsibility: A Standard to Maintain over Time While projects are important, not everything is a project. There are facets of your work and life that don’t have a clear end goal or deadline. We call them “areas of responsibility.” An area of responsibility has: A standard to be maintained An indefinite end date
▪ If you have a project (such as writing a book), but you treat it like an ongoing area, without any particular goal or outcome in mind, it will feel aimless and directionless. Likewise, if you have an area (like maintaining a certain weight), but you treat it like it’s just a onetime project, then even if you succeed in losing the extra weight, you’ll likely revert right back afterward because you didn’t put in place long-term habits.
â—† Chapter 7: How to Distinguish between Areas and Resources
▪ The word “resources” calls to mind the utility of a piece of information. Instead of asking, “Is this interesting?” which always results in overcollecting, I ask myself, “Is this useful?” That’s a much higher bar and forces me to consider what this piece of information will allow me to do that I couldn’t do otherwise, which problem it could help me solve, or which obstacle it might help me overcome.
â—† Chapter 8: Extending PARA across Multiple Platforms
▪ I use the following rules of thumb to tell me which digital storage medium is best for any given piece of information: If it’s an appointment or meeting happening at a specific time, it goes on my calendar If it’s a task that I can complete anytime, it goes in my to-do list app If it’s text, it goes in my notetaking app (since that offers the best search function by which to find it again) If it’s content that I’ll be collaborating on with others, it goes in my cloud storage drive10 If it can’t go in any of the above locations (because it’s too large or a specialized file type, for example), then it goes in my computer’s file system (the Documents folder)
â—† Chapter 10: Using PARA with a Team
▪ I suggest creating a “PARA Playbook” for your team that includes decisions such as: What is our definition of a “project,” “area of responsibility,” “resource,” and “archive”? What needs to happen when we kick off a new project for it to be considered “active”? What needs to happen when a project gets completed, put on hold, or canceled (to be considered “inactive”)? What are the officially supported platforms on which PARA will be used? What are the rules, guidelines, and norms that govern how people will use PARA? Who will be the “PARA Champion” who oversees its implementation and makes sure the guidelines are being followed?
â—† Chapter 13: Using PARA to Enhance Focus, Creativity, and Perspective
▪ Use PARA as your secluded log cabin in the woods—a place where you can shut out the world and tinker with your own ideas, theories, and creations before venturing back out to share them with the world.
â–Ş These are the kinds of questions that are relevant on this short-term horizon: Which projects are most active right now? Which tasks are most time-sensitive? What are the next steps you need to take to move them forward? What information do you need access to in order to do so?
▪ At these times of deeper reflection, ask yourself these questions: What is the standard (of quality or performance) I’m committed to in each of my areas of responsibility? Am I currently meeting that standard? If not, are there any new projects, habits, routines, or other practices I can start, stop, or change? Are there any resources that would enable me to do so?
▪ When evaluating your resources, ask yourself questions like: Are there any new interests or passions I’d like to pursue more seriously? Are there any curiosities or questions I’d like to start exploring? Are there any hobbies or pursuits I’ve allowed to stagnate that I’d like to reboot?
â—† Chapter 14: When in Doubt, Start Over
â–Ş If you ever get stuck or feel overwhelmed, simply archive everything and start over following the instructions I provided in chapter 3.
▪ Yes, you read that right: the act of declaring “digital bankruptcy” is an escape hatch that you can use anytime your digital world starts to become too chaotic and suffocating.