Posts

GTD revisited again (and again)

Looks like September is my month for working on my system. I've recently upgraded to an Android device (oh, the joy of no longer being tied to Windows Mobile) and am now trying to figure out how to get GTD working on it. As you know if you've read any of my other posts on this topic, I'm a nut for PocketInformant on the WM platform, so it was the first app I purchased on Android. Now these are 2 different platforms and so I expected differences, but I was still a bit surprised by how far apart they were. PI on WM is an amazingly mature app with all kinds of configurability and amazing capability and functionality. PI on Android is ... well, let's say it's still young. Hopefully there will be lots of upgrades coming down the pike. I'm not looking for a replacement, but that's only because I'm already a great fan of WebIS and know that they will really get it right as they move forward. But the great thing about PI on Android is that there is built-i

RTM <--> PI sync, take 13

I haven't actually tried this, but here's another possibility that looks like it might do what I want: SprinxCRM has a sync tool between RTM and Outlook. Clearly the Outlook/WinMo sync is pretty straightforward (I won't say problem-free after using it for years, often in great frustration, but it does work). So I could theoretically use Outlook as my "middle-man" in my sync. My frustration then is that I am no longer "in the cloud" -- I am tied to my home computer... I won't try it right now for that reason (the priorities solution is largely working for me) but I'll keep this in the back of my mind for now...

RTM <--> PI sync, take 12

Here's my latest attempt which seems to be working technically so far. Whether it is an effective way for me to work is a different question (I am losing some capabilities I would have liked to have in order to make it work). I have created real lists (in addition to smart lists) for each of my major projects. This means no more overall grouping of projects (by client, personal vs work, etc.) unless I include that information in the name of my project -- which unfortunately makes the project names pretty long and unsightly. Then I am using the priority field in RTM which syncs to the Importance field in PI as follows: 1=NA for today 2=NA for this week 3=Someday/maybe NO=all else (i.e., fodder for my weekly review) Unfortunately 3 and NO priority don't do well on the WinMo database, but I think I can survive not having that differentiation on my phone. I have not yet figured out a way to map contexts to my phone. :-(

back to the to-do drawing list

Nope, RTM doesn't transmit the names of the smart lists to the phone as categories like I thought it would. So now either I change products to some other tech solution that doesn't quite match how my sytem works or else I change my system... Why did I think technology was supposed to enable you to get things done instead of changing how you do them? What was I thinking?

No perfect to-do, but maybe good-enough will be good enough

I am NOT satisfied with this system, but maybe it will allow me to keep functioning and GTD'ing until WebIS gets their toodledo sync done... (Of course, that still leaves the issue of offline access open) Anyway, here's my tho'ts: Keep with RTM. I don't like having a new folder for each project (I wouldn't mind if it could be created on the fly), but if I just do new folders for "major" projects (whatever that means) then that is do-able. What that means is I will have a few projects that have tags on my phone. The rest will look like one-off tasks even though they are part of a project, but I guess I can live with that. Maybe I'll add a "+misc" project name (in addition to their "real" project name) or something so they can be differentiated on my phone. Then I will have a few smart searches saved for the rest of my tags that I need (na, thisweek, context, etc.). Actually, I will probably use saved searches for the projects a

Oh, for a to-do-list that would do it all...

After a dismally unproductive summer I've decided it's time to Get Things Done again. This time I'd really like to be able to do it technologically rather than plain-paper... My current hardware is a Windows 7 notebook and a Tilt 2 (Windows Mobile 6.5) phone. I'm doing my best to do everything "in the cloud" as I often don't take my computer to the office and want to have an equivalent office there without hassling with sync. Via gmail, google docs, google calendar, google sync, etc. I've got just about everything working as I like it -- including sync'ing to my phone. The missing piece is my to-do list. And this is not because nothing works, but because I'm fussy and have pretty specific requirements for what I'm looking for. It must be based "in the cloud" -- I want to sit down at another computer, log on, and see just what I see at home. It must have off-line access (my ISP is notorious for outages at the most inconvenient

The Case

Targus is easily the #1 name out there for cases, as far as I'm concerned. Great guarantee! I've got a leather one that clips on my belt and swivels around. You just don't get any more convenient. Unstick the velcro and you are ready for a quick-draw... Twice in about 4 years the velcro has gotten less sticky and both times I've sent it in and gotten it replaced no questions asked. You can't beat that!

The Stylus

Spend the $15 and get a stylus with a pen attached to it. Pentopia or something like that is the one I've got and it's been invaluable -- all those times when you don't have a pen with you and you just pull out your stylus and pop the top off and you're set...

Software

My most common pieces of software on my Palm (Oh, I forgot to mention that Handera is built on a Palm basis - older version now but still going strong): Datebook: Pimlico Software DateBk5 Contacts: Chapura KeyContacts (www.chapura.com) ToDo: Code Jedi's Shadow (www.codejedi.com) Memos & Doc reader/writer: Blue Nomad's WordSmith (www.bluenomad.com) Input: MessageEase Launcher: Launcher X Password holder: CryptInfo Bible Reader: OliveTree Spreadsheet: Tiny Sheet Hacks: X-Master Find-hack: FindHack 3.6 I've got a bunch of other stuff (ah, the beauty of Palm OS) but if you have these then you've got the core of what, for me, is a very productive PDA. Enjoy!

My PDA - Handera 330

What, you never heard of a HandEra 330? Well neither have most other people and they are no longer in the PDA business, but they made a really nice PDA when this first came out. It has possibly the first virtual grafitti area, possibly the first expansion slots (that's right - 2 of them, one for SD and one for CompactFlash), etc. Shoot, these guys probably invented the wheel if we really looked into it. Everybody knocked it because it wasn't cute, but man did it have great functionality. Now I'm hankering after a phone like the Treo 650, but that's for sometime in the future.