My O(1)-write O(n)-read filing system
I end up with a lot of papers still. From the many years I was doing visa and residency applications I always kept everything in dates folders.
These days I probably don't need to keep it all, and I can never be bothered to get out a file, drop in the letter in the right place, put the file back...how overwhelmingly bothersome.
Not to mention the random things that don't quite need to be filed. Like a receipt I might need, postal tracking slips, coupons,... they're useful for the new few weeks but not beyond.
But I need to put them somewhere.
And I very rarely actually need those things, so I don't care about how long it takes to find something in this system.
So I use a floor basket. That is, a basket I have on the floor under my desk. I just drop stuff in. If I need something, I leaf through until I find it. Newer things are at the top. It is about full, so now is the time to go through it and throw the useless stuff and put the rest in a file and start afresh, but that sounds awful so I'm writing this instead.
This gives me O(1) writes and O(n) reads, which is perfect for my needs!
