Okay, let’s talk about this “michael ruud” thing I tried out a while back.
Getting Started with the Idea
I first bumped into the name, “michael ruud,” I think it was on some old forum thread or maybe someone mentioned it in a group chat. Can’t recall exactly. Anyway, the way people talked about it, it sounded like some kind of method, maybe for organizing stuff or tackling tasks. My own notes for my little side projects were getting completely out of hand, just piles of paper and digital files everywhere. So, I thought, what the heck, let’s give this “michael ruud” approach a shot. Couldn’t make things any worse, right?
The Actual Process: What I Did
So, the first step was just getting everything together. I pulled out all the notebooks, sticky notes, random scraps of paper, and even opened up all those messy folders on my computer. It was quite a sight, took up the whole kitchen table.
From what I pieced together, the “michael ruud” idea involved a specific way of sorting. It wasn’t super clear, honestly, but I interpreted it as focusing on the next immediate action for each item. So, I decided to try this:
- I grabbed a bunch of different colored markers.
- I went through every single note, every file. Took forever.
- For each one, I forced myself to decide: what’s the very next thing I need to do with this? Is it urgent? Is it something to think about later? Is it just a reference?
- I used different colors for these categories. Red for urgent stuff, blue for thinking/research, yellow for reference, you get the idea.
- Then I physically grouped the papers based on color. Digital files got tagged with colors in their filenames.
This whole sorting and coloring thing took basically an entire weekend. I remember drinking a lot of coffee and getting pretty tired of looking at my own messy handwriting. Some notes were tough, like they could be multiple colors. I just had to make a gut decision and move on.
How It Turned Out
When I was finally done, things definitely looked tidier. I had these neat stacks of color-coded paper and folders that seemed organized. Felt pretty good, like I’d really accomplished something major.
But then came the real test: actually using the system day-to-day. When I needed to find a specific piece of information, like my notes on that one supplier, I didn’t think “was that urgent or reference?”. I just thought “where are my supplier notes?”. Searching by the color system, this “michael ruud” way, just didn’t click with how my brain retrieves info. I spent more time trying to remember what color I assigned than actually finding the note.
It turned out that while sorting by action was interesting, it wasn’t practical for me for finding things later. I needed to find things by topic or project, not by the type of action.
Final Thoughts
So, yeah. I tried the “michael ruud” method, or at least my interpretation of it. It was an experience, for sure. Put some effort into it. In the end, I didn’t stick with the full system. It just wasn’t the right fit for my workflow. I went back to a simpler topic-based organization, though maybe I kept a little bit of the “urgent” flagging idea for my immediate to-do list.
Guess the main takeaway was that you gotta try things yourself. What works for one person, or what sounds cool online, might not work for you. Experimenting is good, though. That’s how you figure out what actually helps you get stuff done.
