ORGANIZE THIS - class material

It's not unusual for photographers to be attracted to old barns and buildings. There's something about the textures and the history that we want to capture before it's all gone.

I feel that way about life sometimes. I want it to stop and just give me the time to catch up. And so it was with my organization idea this week.  For a few years I've collected speakers notes, e-course material and tips founds on the Internet.  As you can see here, I just tossed them into a folder.

The idea was to have them in one place. The trouble was--they were a pile of notes with no organization. So yesterday I gathered my stuff.

 1.  Supplies: binder, tabs, 3-hole-punch, trash can (because you probably will throw out 1/3 of the notes you have.)

2. Divide and conquer the papers according to topics. Be brutal--if you can't understand the notes, throw them away. 
Some of my tabs are:
- Portraits
- PhotoShop brushes
- Textures
- Specific classes
- Specific software such as Lightroom

3. Create sub-tabs if necessary with small Post-It Notes. Under PhotoShop you may have "actions, eyes, backgrounds, etc."

YOU ARE DONE and you have a great place to add information in the future.



 

 I've done the same thing with my loose recipes for years and it's a great time-saver! When I find something on the Internet or in a magazine, it goes into a notebook. My daughter uses her laptop as a recipe book. It works for her but I would have food all over it if I ever tried that method!

NOTE: It's always an easy way to toss recipes you realize you never will make or that your family didn't like.

If you enjoy doing portraits and would like PhotoShop tips on how to improve them, buy Suzette Allen's Quick Answer Box. It is FULL of great tips and beautifully organized so you won't have any trouble finding the tip you need.  I'm not getting anything from this suggestion other than the satisfaction of sharing a great idea.  Go to www.shopsuzette.com for more info and pricing.


So that's it. Start and stay small. If you make the job too big, you may never get started. Organizing my notebook took about 30 minutes and I feel great that I can find my notes!

Please share how you keep your notes organized.