Alright, let’s talk about this Harlan Powell thing. It’s not some big secret technique, more like a personal system I kind of backed into and started calling the ‘Harlan Powell’ way, probably misremembering the name from some old corner of the internet years ago.
How It Started
My digital life, especially for little side projects, was a total disaster zone. Notes scattered everywhere – text files on the desktop, random docs in cloud storage, emails to myself, you name it. Finding anything was a nightmare. I recalled reading, maybe on a forum or an old blog comment section, about someone mentioning a super simple organization method. The name ‘Harlan Powell’ stuck in my head for some reason, maybe he was the one who posted it? Who knows.
Anyway, I got fed up with my own mess one weekend. I decided, right, let’s actually try something structured, even if it’s basic. That’s when I remembered the gist of that old post.
The Actual Steps I Took
It wasn’t complicated. Here’s what I did, piece by piece:
- Made a main folder: First thing, just created one single folder for the project I was working on. Simple.
- Created four subfolders: Inside that main folder, I made four folders with really straightforward names. I think the original idea was something like this, so I went with:
_INBOX,_PROCESSING,_ARCHIVE, and_RESOURCES. The underscore just kept them at the top of the list. - Dumped everything into _INBOX: This was key. Any new thought, note, file, link, idea – didn’t matter what – I just threw it straight into the
_INBOXfolder without thinking too much. Brain dump central. - Scheduled processing time: I tried to make it a habit, like first thing in the morning or before signing off, to look inside
_INBOX. - Sorted the inbox: When processing, I’d ask:
- Can I deal with this right now (like reply to an email, save a file properly)? If yes, do it. If it was reference material, it went into
_RESOURCES. If it was just done, I’d delete it or move it to_ARCHIVE. - Does this need more work or thought? If yes, I moved it to the
_PROCESSINGfolder. That became my active ‘to-do’ list based on incoming stuff. - Is this just useful info I might need later? Moved it to
_RESOURCES.
- Can I deal with this right now (like reply to an email, save a file properly)? If yes, do it. If it was reference material, it went into
- Worked through _PROCESSING: This folder held items that required actual tasks. I’d work on these items as I had time.
- Archived the finished stuff: Once anything from
_INBOXor_PROCESSINGwas completely finished, done, no longer needed actively, I dragged it into_ARCHIVE. Kept my main folders clean, but the info was still there if I ever needed to search for it.
How It Worked Out
Honestly, it felt almost too simple at first. Just four folders? But sticking to it actually made a huge difference. The key was the habit of using the _INBOX like a real physical inbox – just dump stuff there and sort it later.
It forced me to actually look at the random notes and files I collected instead of letting them pile up digitally everywhere. The _PROCESSING folder was a clear list of what needed attention. _ARCHIVE got big, but that was fine, it was out of the way.
Did I follow it perfectly? Nah. Sometimes I’d forget to check the inbox for a day or two. Sometimes I’d save something straight to _RESOURCES. I even added a _WAITING_FOR folder later because Powell (or whoever) didn’t cover that, and I needed a place for things I was waiting on from others. You adapt it.
Bottom line: Don’t know if Harlan Powell is real or if I just made the name up in my head, but the core idea of a simple, structured dumping and processing system? It definitely helped me get my project clutter under control. Sometimes the basic approaches are the ones that actually stick.
