My friends would call me organised. I've heard some even call me motivated. The grand irony is that this seems, amongst my immediate peers, what I'm most known for, and what I feel in many respects that I'm worst at.

So, I got a hold of a book, the contents and title of which I've seen bandied around the likes of 43folders, lifehacker, etc: Getting Things Done. I could talk all about how I read this book and how it's changed my life for the better, and possibly found the cure to cancer on the way. At least one of those things is partially true. I would, however, just end up sounding like a GTD fanboy, which is not at all true.

What's important is that I identified with some of the situations discussed in that book (although it could've been any book that contained information and ideas on organisation), and so I'm busily streamlining the rearranging and house-organising process that I was already dead-set on going through in the first place.

As with any sort of self-help book, because you've read it, doesn't mean you're cured, it just means you've got some more weapons to fight the good fight. That's what GTD has given me, a way of fixing problems that I was already aware of, and in most cases, half-way to writing up my own GTD-esque methods. Taken verbatim, you'll end up like some of the 1-star reviewers on Amazon, who don't seem to understand the phrase “Can't see the wood for the trees”, or as I like to scream¹⁾ while standing naked²⁾ on my bed³⁾ “Perspective”.

As a part of this ongoing effort to tame too-many-ideas, I needed a way to start carrying less crap around with me if I was at risk of taking notes. It was time to sort out a new wallet. It needed to contained a couple of things my old one did not (note taking materials, mostly, pen+paper). I could have used a filofax type pad, or a reporter pad, but having got and used both of those items, the way I'm working these days means I need to be certain that I will feel naked without it, and I only want one it, which precludes pretty much everything past my wallet.

Mark one was a decent enough test, but I underestimated the size the fold needed to be, to accommodate … erm, pretty much anything.

Most duct-tape wallets I've seen around the web don't use any backing or filler material, making them look pretty soft to me. I've taken some leftover mounting board (as previously used in making picture mounts for frames, or in MattyV's case, an overbearing mount for some choice Magic: The Gathering cards) which is amazingly stiff for it's width. This made a good backing to cover in duct tape.

The card holder in mark one was easy to make, but suffered from being a bit sticky if you stuck a card in too far and didn't look good enough for my liking.

Mark two was a huge improvement. I made three backing boards, two for the front and back, and a third for a mid-fold-out-thing. Laying a strip of duct tape out first, I placed the front and back boards on it with a space of about 1 and a half inches (!) between the two. Added more strips of duct tape to both sides and trimmed down a bit.

The card holder was “built” around pairs of cards this time, rather than just laying strips of tape on top of each other. The internal pocket that the card holder was built on is good for putting stuff in, and handy for holding pound notes or receipts.

Add a spare card wallet (salvaged from a test-piece of mounting board for MattyV's M:TG frame, see above. Dude's been very useful!) and some more tape for a driving license holder.

To make the paper-holder, the third board was coated with tape and a cutout pocket was made for a small stash of record/index/3×5 cards.

Swipe one of girlfriend's many nice writing implements to act as a stylus, and I have myself a wallet-with-extras. It's not as overbearing as a full-on filofax, it's a darn sight cheaper than a digital something (which wouldn't carry my cards and notes anyway) and it's a real unique piece!

I think everyone should have a one-off wallet. Get building people, I'll be 'round to investigate later …