June 26, 2009
iPhone to Outlook - one less choice
For those of you who have followed by journey with GTD & iPhone, at one time I tried and mentioned KeyTasks by Chapura for synching to Outlook. They just discontinued it. So pull back your horses on that one, it's dead.
As best I can tell, Toodledo seems to be the only option for iPhone>Outlook synching, unless the new iPhone 3.0 OS has brought something new to the table around all that.
Posted by Kelly at 08:24 AM | Comments (10)
June 04, 2009
New iPhone feature for Lotus Notes?
As many of you who have followed my blog know, I switched from my beloved Palm to iPhone about 6 months ago. I am still giddy and overjoyed with my iPhone--EXCEPT--for it's lack of synching to Lotus Notes where all of my lists live now.
So to bring y'all up to speed, here's what went down since I wrote these two posts:
GTD & iPhone
More on GTD & iPhone
November 2008 - I drove off the lot, drunk on entertainment features, with my new 8GB iPhone, even though I knew there was no secure iPhone>Lotus Notes (LN) sync that my IT group would approve. I kept my lists in Palm Desktop, where they happily lived for over 10+ years, for the time being.
January 2009 - Fed up with having email in LN and lists in Palm Desktop that weren't synching to anything anymore, I searched high and low and found KeyTasks for Chapura, which could sync lists on the iPhone to Outlook on my PC. I wasn't necessarily wanting to move to Outlook, but it was better than nothing. That lasted about a month before my setup with Chapura just became too frustrating. I had duplicates, their server was sometimes down (required for synching) and Outlook kept crashing. And, my job shifted such that meeting requests started coming in like a fire hydrant into Lotus Notes. It didn't work to keep Calendar data in 2 places, or even copy and paste like I used to into Palm Desktop.
February 2009 - I moved everything into Lotus Notes--lists, calendar, contacts, memos--all of it. I was never a fan of the ultra-unsexy Lotus Notes To Do's, but the eProductivity boost for Notes made it palatable (and actually fun.) Alas, still no synching option from iPhone>Notes. I recall Tweeting about my dismay with this lack of synching option and an IBM'er (who actually might have something to do with the project?) took pity on me and Tweeted back, "Coming soon." My hopes were raised for a little longer. For the last few months I've resurrected my old Palm and have been synching Palm>Lotus Notes and using my iPhone for everything else. Yes, I now have TWO handhelds. How did this happen? Ahhh...I needed to have an iPhone before the business solutions were there.
So you can imagine my glee when I saw an article today that showed "Notes Synching" as a future feature of the new iPhone.
...but something tells me they mean the Notes pad, not Lotus Notes.
Overall, I am still thrilled with the iPhone as an entertainment device. I think Palm still does an exceptional job as a productivity device. Well, I am productive on my iPhone, if bowling and Twittering count, but not in terms of my GTD workflow management. Yet.
Posted by Kelly at 04:53 PM | Comments (10)
March 09, 2009
More on GTD & iPhone
Well, my previous GTD & iPhone post was by far the most popular post in the history of my blog. What...my previous 4 years of crafting pithy posts, witty GTDisms and David Allen inner-circle wisdoms didn't do it for ya?? It was the iPhone that pulled you out of your caves to share. Thank you. Nice to hear from so many of you!
Overwhelmingly, OmniFocus by OmniGroup leads the pack for Mac users as the most popular application. It deserves to. It's a solid application, with a smart team behind it that has worked hard to make it true to the GTD logic.
Things by Cultured Code, for the Mac, also seemed to be a fan favorite. It seems to have the core components to make it work as a GTD list manager.
For those of you who favor web-based applications, RememberTheMilk.com and Nozbe are your top choices.
And for Outlook users, whose choices are few and far between, KeyTasks by Chapuraand Toodledo are in the lead for Outlook integration. There don't seem to be many developers clamoring to figure out the iPhone to Outlook sync, from what I could find.
Since that post, I have moved my entire system out of Outlook and into Lotus Notes. I was using KeyTasks synching to Outlook 2007. But given that my David Allen Company email and dozens of collaborative databases live in Lotus Notes, and the KeyTasks synching server was MIA for a period of time, I decided to jump ship and move my entire system over to Lotus Notes. Eric Mack's eProductivity template finally made Notes To Do's functional for me. As for iPhone synching, that's now a new project to figure out. I have a couple of leads, but nothing synching yet. So I am relegated to printing my lists for the short term.
Posted by Kelly at 08:43 PM | Comments (15)
February 02, 2009
More on GTD & BlackBerry
I'm curious to hear from BlackBerry users out there, who are familiar with the GTD processing & organizing logic, how you are handling actionable emails on your handheld device?
Every time I think I have a solution nailed down for this, I come across another client setting where the syncing is different than the last and putting out guidelines of GTD and BlackBerry would not hit everyone's configurations. For example, some of the inconsistencies I've seen include:
- Some people read mail on the BlackBerry and it shows up as a read email on the desktop. For others it stays unread on the desktop Inbox (this one particular irks me because it forces people to double-process. What are companies thinking?? Their employees don't have enough input as it is?!)
- Some people can file emails into folders on the device that sync to the desktop, others cannot and everything has to stay in the Inbox.
- Some have Tasks syncing to the handheld, others do not.
You know I am not a fan of just leaving it in the Inbox, especially if new mail continues to pour in. If anything, I tell my BlackBerry clients who can file into folders on the BlackBerry to create one called "@Desktop" and file it in there. That at least corrals it into one place to process to completion back at their computer. And/or, if filing on the handheld is enabled, file the email just like you would on the desktop and go over to the Tasks application and manually add a Task.
If you've got a trusted solution that works for you, like I asked back in 2006, please share it here.
Posted by Kelly at 04:36 PM | Comments (19)
January 09, 2009
GTD & iPhone
More and more people have been asking me lately about GTD & the iPhone. Since I recently switched from Palm to iPhone (I wrote up a case study on that on GTD Connect), I thought it might be useful to share some direction and tips for those of you looking for a GTD solution with the iPhone (or iTouch.)
Because iPhone was not built with any Tasks functionality, it has forced and given developers an opportunity to fill that void. You need to find both an application that runs on the iPhone AND a corresponding app to sync it to on a PC or Mac.
Frankly, I was shocked at how few GTD-friendly Tasks solutions there are in the App store. And, if I may be blunt, some of them claiming to be a "GTD" App seem to have no clue as to the best practices of GTD and what makes (and doesn't make) a useful GTD list-manager. So here's my take on that, given my 15+ years of working with this methodology and loads of software tools to manage workflow:
* It allows lists to be sorted by context/category
* It allows due date, but does not force it
* It does not force priority codes (really folks, this is GTD 101)
* It does not force or only allow tasks to be sorted by which day your going to do it
* It provides a note field for additional details about the project or action
* It does not force everything to be listed and assigned to a project (where would "get haircut" fit? Your "Maintain my hair project"??)
* It's easily accessible and user-friendly for viewing, adding and editing lists
After testing a few of them, the best one for me, as a PC user, is KeyTasks, by Chapura. It's $10 per year and syncs to Outlook 2007. This is not an endorsement, just a suggestion for those of you on Outlook stumped about how to sync it. Check it out if it's of interest.
There are also a few decent web-based solutions available, if you have nearly ubiquitous web access, and there are a few that are designed for Mac users that seem to be popular. Since I have not personally used those and don't want to claim to be an expert on them, I am not going to list them out here, but would leave it to you to run them through my list of what makes a good GTD list manager. And if you have a good solution, that meets the criteria of my list above, feel free to post it here as a comment.
Posted by Kelly at 10:33 AM | Comments (68)
February 20, 2008
GTD is for anyone, but those techies sure love it
While GTD's popularity seems to span across generations and professions...it's the techie groups that seem to be especially drawn to it. Perhaps it's due to the "open source" nature of GTD that allows people to engineer their own list manager. We don't tell you what tool or program you need to use. If you understand what builds a great system, there's tremendous freedom in what that looks like to make GTD work.
NPR explored this topic yesterday in a feature about GTD and it's appeal to the technology world. Running time 4 minutes.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19105832
Posted by Kelly at 08:58 AM | Comments (1)
September 14, 2007
Becoming Master & Commander of your Inbox
While GTD can apply to nearly any tool you use to manage email, I wrote an article addressed for you BlackBerry(R) users out there. It's about how to become Master & Commander of your Inbox. It gives some good tips & strategies for getting email under control again and a few different ways to do that, GTD style.
Posted by Kelly at 01:02 PM
September 04, 2007
Beaming your business card
Years ago, when I did my e-newsletter & web site called Palm Mastery (which some of you may remember) I used to share tips & tricks for using Palm handhelds. I've been using one since the early "Pilot" models and use a Treo 650 these days. While some has changed, much of the OS has not, and there are a few tips & tricks I still share with people that still make it a fun and useful device. Here's one:
1) Create yourself as a contact in your address book with whatever information you would share publicly.
2) Then choose Menu>Select Business Card. Your Palm will ask:
"Make this name your business card?"
3) Tap OK
A business card icon will show up at the top of your record:
What that means is that your record will be deemed your electronic business card. That is the record that will be beamed to another Palm user when you select Menu>Beam Business Card or hold down the Contact button (if you have one.)
Funny story around this. A good friend of mine did this beaming trick, but forgot he had put his key information like his ATM pin# in the "note" field of his own contact record. He was at a Comdex show happily beaming his business card to people not realizing he was also beaming this information in the note field as well. Whoops.
Posted by Kelly at 04:05 PM
Chatting about the Tablet PC
I did a podcast with my tech buddy Eric Mack about the new Tablet PC. Eric's been using one for a while and was showing me some of the cool features. Will be Interesting to see if more laptops take a swing in that direction. Give it a listen if you're interested.
Posted by Kelly at 03:53 PM
July 13, 2007
Jott as a capture tool
I've been playing around with Jott as a mobile capture tool for my GTD system. If you're not familiar with Jott, it's a free voice to text service. This is bound to strike a chord with some of you given how many people raise their hands in my seminars when I ask, "How many of you leave yourself voice mails as reminders of things you need to do?"
Here's the scenario:
I'm driving in my car, which is a place I often do my best thinking. I pick up my Treo and press the shortcut key on the side to activate Voice Dial (I'm using VoiceSignal for Palm).
Phone: "Say a Command"
Me: "Call Jott"
Phone: "Jott...Connecting"
Jott: "Who do you want to Jott?"
Me: "Myself"
Jott: "Jott to self"
Me: "Check iTunes for that Fergie song"
Jott: "Got it"
Hang up and you're done. Usually by the time I get back to my computer, Jott has sent me my voice message as a transcribed text message that I can easily edit, copy and paste into my Action list.
A thing I wish worked a little better is the speed that the messages come back to my email Inbox. There seems to be a delay. I wish that were in a matter of seconds, but sometimes it seems to be up to several hours, at least with my initial testing.
I played around with doing a GTD Mindsweep (random collection of ideas and thoughts) into Jott. I loved it. Each time I paused it assumed I was done and prompted to create a new Jott. Each one came into my Inbox as a separate message.
I was initially thinking it would be great to build some scripts to have Jott messages automatically go to my To Do list if I'm dictating a clear action step, but I sometimes need to correct what Jott transcribes so I'm not going that route yet, but that would be a great addition. Reminds me of the parsing technology Actioneer created a few years ago.
You can also delegate Jott messages to other people. I have spared my husband of that one so far.
Posted by Kelly at 04:27 PM | Comments (11)
October 03, 2006
BlackBerry questions
I have a few questions for you BlackBerry users out there please:
1/ Will all recent models of BlackBerry's allow filing an email on the BB?
2/ Are email folders only created on the desktop and then sync down to the BB?
3/ Are there any limits to the number of folders the BB will show?
4/ Do emails filed in an Outlook personal folder show up on the BB?
Whatever you know and can contribute here I'd appreciate it. I've been running a BB Simulator and have scoured the BB website, but haven't been able to figure these ones out. I'm suspecting it makes a difference in model and server, but I'd love some input on this.
Thanks!
Kelly
Posted by Kelly at 11:56 AM | Comments (4)
January 15, 2006
More on Groove
I was intrigued by some of Groove Networks collaboration features. The client I worked with last week in Jamaica uses Outlook for email and Groove to share documents, send instant messages and have discussion threads. This is what Lotus Notes does so well and it's no surprise that Groove has some overlap in functionality given Groove was created by some ex-Lotus Notes minds, most notably Ray Ozzie.
Microsoft obviously saw potential in Groove too and bought the company back in April. Or, as one Microsoft employee told me when I asked him what became of Groove, "we ate them."
More than anything, I think Groove fills the void so many Outlook users I work with seem to deal with: sharing documents. What I typically hear from Outlook users is that they key documents are buried in individual users email folders. Everyone is keeping the same copies for fear they won't have the latest. This of course contributes to email file sizes exploding and IT people mandating quotas. With Groove, documents are managed from one central location instead of on individual PC's.
I'll be curious to see what Microsoft does with Groove. Will it stay as a stand-alone product or will its features eventually be folded into Outlook? We shall see.
Posted by Kelly at 09:11 AM | Comments (1)
December 14, 2005
Fun Collection Gear
For a while now, I've been using the Levenger letter-size Circa notepad as my primary paper collection tool for meeting notes, random thoughts, brainstorming etc. I love the design with its ability to both easily remove and refill the pages.
I recently found the same style from Ultimate Office, including a pocket-size one called the Mini Jotz. I bought a couple of these for my travel bag for times when the larger pad is too cumbersome (aka an "evening module" as David Allen calls it.)
Posted by Kelly at 07:10 PM | Comments (3)
November 03, 2005
Shower Gear
Some of my best ideas come when I least expect them--like the shower. I was going to get some waterproof crayons or markers to leave in the shower, for those times when ideas pop in my head that I don't want to lose. Then I saw that this month's issue of Business 2.0 had the same idea but with a totally cool suggestion for good ideas in the shower: the DiveSlate. For $10, you can have a clean and a clear head with a waterproof tablet and pen made for scuba divers.
Posted by Kelly at 09:32 AM | Comments (1)
October 27, 2005
Treo dimming
Any Treo users out there know why my Treo keeps going into a dimmed backlight view? I swear it wasn't doing this until a week ago, but it seems to go into a power-save lighting mode or something after about a minute. I can't find the setting for this anywhere. Anyone have any ideas on this? Thanks...Kelly
Posted by Kelly at 12:04 PM | Comments (2)
October 21, 2005
Great handheld application
A GTD'er turned me on to a great handheld app called City ID. It automatically displays the city and state for incoming or outgoing calls on your phone. Works with Palm Treo, Pocket PC, Windows Smartphones and Symbian devices. Very handy when getting calls and the person is not in my address book. City ID automatically tells me where they are calling from so I can make a better guess about who it might be (and whether or not to take the call!)
Posted by Kelly at 11:45 AM | Comments (1)
August 01, 2005
Choosing your Tool
I often get asked what system or tool works best with Getting Things Done. I think any tool can work, with GTD as the overlay, as long as you like and trust it. I've used a Palm for about 8 years now and like its compactness, portability and reliability. For many years before that I used a paper planner and think paper systems can be fantastic for providing a visual overview that the Palm often lacks. But it was tedious to update my lists in a paper planner and I found myself spending lots of time rewriting.
I think the key is that you are attracted to whatever you choose as a tool, enough that you are motivated to review it regularly. It can become your greatest asset for having mind like water, so make it something that's easy to use, quick to update and trustworthy enough to allow your mind to let it go.
Posted by Kelly at 12:26 PM | Comments (2)
July 11, 2005
What's on my Palm
Nothing passes the time on a long plane ride or waiting for meetings to start like some good games on the Palm. Here are my favorites:
Backgammon by Stand Alone
Scrabble by Handmark
Bejeweled by Astraware
Golf by Jeff Jetton
I get most of my Palm gear from either PalmOne or PalmGear.
Any other good Palm games out there?
Posted by Kelly at 02:51 PM | Comments (4)
