How to Set Up Your Information Management System 🗃️

Simple steps for establishing The PIES Method for Digital Organization

As we continue through my series about The PIES Method for digital organization we are on to system number two, your Information Management System.

There was a study that came out in 2007 showing that the average person was consuming 174 full newspapers worth of information each day — 5x more than in the 1980s.

Can you even imagine what that number is now? Post-pandemic, with smartphones, widespread Wi-Fi, and social media?!

We have access to more information than ever (what a time to be alive!), but the methods most of us are using to organize and manage all that info can’t necessarily keep up. This leaves us feeling overwhelmed and exhausted rather than empowered and informed.

If you have tidbits of information scattered across notebooks, scraps of paper, Google Docs, and various phone apps. Or struggle to locate information, expand on research, or complete projects…this post is for you.

And you’ll be relieved to know that we don’t have to get fancy or complicated in order to organize the massive amounts of information we’re consuming — some of the best methods are really simple (and, ahem, free).

This is probably my favorite system to talk about because it can make such a massive difference in your organization, mental bandwidth, focus, and ability to build upon the knowledge you’re collecting. Let’s get into it…

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🤔 What is an Information Management System?

An Information Management System is a place for you to preserve your personal knowledge.

You’ll use it to gather and organize information so you know how to locate and utilize it.

I suggest building an Information Management System that has two parts: a short-term capture system and a long-term capture system.

Short Term Capture - A system that captures information quickly and on-the-go.

Long Term Capture - A system that allows you to more thoroughly store, process, and make use of information.

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🎖️ Key Features

I recommend choosing tools or services with these key features:

• Has both mobile and desktop apps so you can access your info from anywhere

• Allows you to add information in various formats (text, voice, image, lists etc.)

• Makes it easy to share the information with others or to different platforms

• If possible, have your short and long term capture tools exist within the same ecosystem (ex. Google, Microsoft, iOS etc.) to increase efficiency

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✨ Examples:

Examples of things that could go in your Information Management System would be:

• Screenshot of a post you saw on Instagram about a topic you’re researching for your doctorate dissertation

• Notes for the production and launch of a new product you’re creating

• The quote from that podcast you were listening to this morning that you want to use in next week’s blog post

• Things you want to eat, do, and see on your upcoming trip to Paris

• Notes from your client meetings

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👩🏻‍💻What I Use and Recommend

Since this is a 2-part system, it’s vital to find two tools that work well together to ensure things don’t fall through the cracks. I have tried out practically every possible option and have found a combination that was absolutely *life changing*.

⏱️ My Short Term Capture System

The system I use for short-term capture has become one of my FAVORITE tools I’ve ever used. It has basically eliminated my frustration with losing information, not making use of interesting information, or feeling like my information is spread out in a million places. It’s accessible, well designed, super functional and, just like most of my favorite things, it’s free.