#readwise # The PARA Method: A Universal System for Organizing Digital Information - Forte Labs This article is part of a two-part series. The second article is [[P.A.R.A. II Operations Manual – Praxis]]].  ## Metadata - Author: [[Tiago Forte]] - Full Title: The PARA Method: A Universal System for Organizing Digital Information - Forte Labs - URL: https://fortelabs.co/blog/para/ ## Highlights **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.** --- **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. ^5dftpf --- **An area of responsibility is a sphere of activity with a standard to be maintained over time**. Examples include: Health; Finances, Professional Development; Travel; Hobbies; Friends; Apartment; Car; Productivity; Direct reports; Product Development; Writing ^10ay0p. --- **A resource is a topic or theme of ongoing interest**. Examples include: habit formation; project management; transhumanism; coffee; music; gardening; online marketing; SEO; interior design; architecture; note-taking --- **A project has a goal to be achieved — a discrete event that will happen, allowing this item to be completely checked off and struck from the list. And this goal is supposed to take place by a specific moment in time. It has a deadline or timeframe, whether externally or self-imposed.** --- **An area of responsibility, by contrast, has a standard to be maintained. And there is no end date or final outcome. Your performance in this area may wax and wane over time, but the standard continues indefinitely and requires a certain level of attention at all times.** --- **Projects always fall into Areas**. A few examples: - Running a marathon is a project, whereas Health is an area - Publishing a book is a project, whereas Writing is an area - Saving 3 months’ worth of expenses is a project, whereas Finances is an area - A vacation to Thailand is a project, whereas Travel is an area - Planning an anniversary dinner is a project, whereas Spouse is an area --- **Projects require you to be laser-focused, to ruthlessly drive toward an outcome, to smash through or circumvent obstacles, to ignore distractions** (i.e. people). **Areas, on the other hand, require mindfulness, balance, flow, and human connection**. This is the realm of habits, routines, rituals, and intentional communities. Areas require introspection and self-awareness, because **determining whether or not you are meeting your standard is an intuitive exercise, not an analytical one.** --- You can easily see how failing to make this distinction leads to common frustrations: **if you have a project that you think is an area** (for example, the book I’ve been “writing” for a couple years now, that feels like a never-ending part of my life), **it will tend to continue indefinitely. If you have an area that you think is a project** (for example, a health outcome like “losing X pounds”), **you’ll revert right back after it’s been achieved, because you didn’t put in place any mechanism for maintaining the standard.** ^bi9359 --- This is problematic because **a project without a corresponding goal is known as a “hobby.” If you’re not committed to or haven’t fully articulated the outcome you want, you must be doing it just for fun.** ^bl04n2 --- **If you have a goal without a corresponding project, that’s called a “dream.” You may desire it with all your heart and soul, but without an active project, you are not in fact currently making any progress.** ^o2sf66 --- Day to day, in the trenches of getting things done, you might focus on the first column, looking at material related only to the active projects. This would probably include your task manager (or at least the “Today” or “Next” section of your task manager) as well as the “Projects” stack in a note-taking program like Evernote. --- **On a wider horizon, for example, while doing a weekly review, you would expand the scope of information you’re considering to include Areas of Responsibility. This is a deeper level of introspection: are you currently meeting the standard you’ve set for yourself in each of the areas you’re committed to? If not, are there any new projects, habits, routines, rituals, or other practices you’d like to start, stop, or change?** ---