https://fortelabs.co/blog/para/

Imagine for a moment the perfect organizational system. One that supported and enhanced the work you do, telling you exactly where to put a piece of information, and exactly where to find it when you needed it.

This system would have to be:

• universal, encompassing any conceivable kind of information from any source
• flexible, able to work with any project or activity you take on, now and in the future
• simple, not requiring any time-consuming maintenance, cataloguing, tagging, or reorganizing beyond a bare minimum
• actionable, integrating seamlessly with task management and project management methods
• cross-platform, able to be used with any application, now existing or yet to be developed
• outcome-oriented, structuring information in a way that supports the delivery of valuable work
• modular, allowing different levels of detail to be hidden or revealed, depending on the needs of the current task
• opportunistic, in the good sense, taking advantage of work already being performed, instead of requiring dedicated overhead time

I believe I’ve developed a system for organizing digital information that meets all these requirements. After several years of introducing it to a wide variety of people, I’m confident that it works. In this post I will attempt to show you how.

P.A.R.A. stands for Projects — Areas — Resources — Archives, the four top-level categories that encompass every type of information you might encounter in your work and life.

Let’s start with definitions. These are very precisely formulated:

A project is “a series of tasks linked to a goal, with a deadline.”

Examples include: Complete app mockup; Develop project plan; Execute business development campaign; Write blog post; Finalize product specifications; Attend conference

An area of responsibility is “a sphere of activity with a standard to be maintained over time.”