I normally do not write posts that just quote others on the Internet. Tony Schwartz wrote a very nice article on managing time:
http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2012/03/the-magic-of-doing-one-thing-a.html
Take the time and read the article!
Tomorrow is SOPA blackout day. I feel strongly that the Congress of the USA is being led down the wrong path on these very badly designed pieces of legislation. Here is a simple message and a set of links to help you understand:
Bob Fairbairn
Well it is a new year. I am not a proponent of resolutions as they tend to be non-productive. BUT…. there are some things that need doing NOW.
What are you using to keep your tasks, calendars, etc. under control?
I am in the process of moving all of my web sites to a different host. Please bear with me. The new provider seems meet my needs provides better performance and more.
RJF
Part of the productivity problem today is that we do not take downtime from work and our lives suffer for it.
Take time off. Stop syncing your work email to your phone. Do not take your work laptop with you! Turn off you work cell phone! Set voice mail to an extended absence greeting…….
It takes me a couple of days to get out of the work habits. But it really takes a couple of weeks to wind all the way down. Try a real two week vacation, it does wonders.
Email is noisy; beeps,popups, flags in the icon bar. They all interrupt you, they take you away from your real work. Microsoft has a nice article “Best practices for Outlook 2007“. In Gmail turn off desktop notifications!
A nice quiet inbox!
As my friend Michael predicted a split calendar is proving problematic. Trying to keep work and home separate has created more work and less productivity. I have tried using invitations back and forth, duplicate entries, time separation. Nothing has worked. So it is back to “One Calendar to Rule Them All!” I am now keeping my work calendar and personal calendar synced on the iPhone (and soon the iPad).
Thanks Michael for the warning! As we move access to our work calendars out to the cloud that will reduce friction on the work side and keeping the iPad as the central tool for GTD still seems to be the winning play.
RJF
I have mostly been using the iPad and the iPhone for my GTD. Omnifocus at the core does a very good job of helping me to keep my tasks in hand. That is as long as I keep them updated. I have used paper capture modes for years with good success. Write a note on my David Allen Notetaker wallet and pop the list in the inbox at the end of the day is very workable. Having the smartphone eliminates the manual steps but may not be as natural as paper and pen!
With backend sync between iPad and iPhone and my home Mac I have my work list everywhere. Now the fact that there is not a Windows or a Web client access to this data slows me down a bit for work tasks. Requires more cut and paste.
Using the iPad as my review tool has turned out to be a boon to getting things done as the Omnifocus application on the iPad has great tools to help. The review function is great.
Omnifocus is a significant investment in time and initial cost. It has taken me almost a year to get into the flow and start making real use of that investment. I feel that it removes friction from my workflow and improves my ability to keep it out of my head.
RJF
Can the iPad be the central control point for all of this? Keep all the calendars synced to the iPad. Use OmniFocus as the GTD core!
One task list to rule them all!
Keeping the work system simple has allowed me more freedom of movement. I am only using Outlook with the GTD add-in to manage my work projects. I am syncing work email to a Windows Mobile phone that syncs tasks so I can see the tasks when mobile. This keeps the organization overhead down and the speed up. Breaking life up into Work/Other may help keep your sanity up.
One issue is calendars and how to have them visible. I have decided that during work hours the work calendar is the tool, outside of work hours the personal calendar wins. They do not cross.
