I present to you my low-tech solution to a common hassle: what to do with all those business cards you collect? If I were an organized person I would purchase one of those nifty electronic card-scanners and input the card's data into my contact software. But I am lazy and unorganized. Instead I use an off-the-shelf binder full of transparent sleeves with 10 card-sized slots into which I pop the biz cards as I get them out of my pocket. That's the key for me: they are "organized" only by the chronological order in which I receive them. That single bit of data, which costs me no energy, seems to be sufficient to locate most cards. "Let's see I met her before him, and after that meeting." I reckon I have about a 90% percent retrieval success rate, even when hunting back a few years. Good enough for me. I've been doing this for 15 years now and am working on my fourth book.

There are a bunch of different brands. Get the ones that are a one-piece vinyl book rather than 3-ring binder. More compact, handy and cheaper. Each holds 480 cards. I use mine all the time. As a bonus, I have a remarkable fossil record of past industries, companies, and careers. If you've ever given me your card, its most likely layered here. Let's see, I met you right about......

-- KK

Rolodex Poly Business Card Book
$19
Available from
Shoplet

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