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Robert Peake
Getting Things Done On A Mac
One of the most marvelous yet often overlooked aspects of the GTD methodology is that it is technology-independent. It only takes a quick scan through our forums to discover that people implement this methodology in a very wide variety of ways. Perhaps one of the most amusing (re-)emergent trends involves "retro" paper-based approaches like the Hipster PDA -- a hardly-sophisticated yet surprisingly functional organizational technology consisting of nothing more fancy than a stack of 3x5 cards bound with a spring clip.
This article aims to continue to reinforce the idea that GTD is a technology-independent methodology by dispelling the myth that GTD is a PC-centric phenomenon. As CTO of The David Allen Company, I oversee a Lotus Notes and Windows internal infrastructure to support office staff and coaches, and a RedHat Enterprise Linux server farm to support the online business. I do it all, however, using a 15" PowerBook G4. That's right, a Mac.
I was approached at David's RoadMap seminar in San Jose by a harried-yet-hip looking gentlemen. "They tell me you can help me," he said somewhat plaintively, "I've been forced to use a Mac at work and I need to find a good list manager." The discovery is all too common among GTD-ers switching to a Mac as well as Mac enthusiasts discovering GTD -- the default options of the iCal ToDo list or the Palm Desktop for Mac just don't cut the mustard when it comes to implementing GTD. Fortunately, thanks in part to the Mac's association with the open source movement (OS X is, after all, a beautiful GUI on top of BSD Unix) there are a number of options for list managers on the Mac. Some, in fact, have been designed specifically with GTD in mind.
Probably the most ubiquitous offering is Entourage -- an Outlook-like application that makes PC-to-Mac converts comfortable and the more Gates-bashing end of the Mac spectrum cringe. The David Allen Company is currently in the process of editing and field-testing a document on implementing GTD with Entourage as a companion piece to our existing Outlook whitepaper. For that reason, I won't go into too much detail here about using Entourage with GTD. Suffice it to say that Entourage provides a useable ToDo list manager but has some of the feel and shortcomings of a proprietary, closed, Windows-inspired system.
The list manager I am currently using is LifeBalance. This application integrates with the Palm and provides a quick and easy way to input items and categorize them by context. It also has been designed to do a lot more than I need it to do, like create top-level "Categories" for my life which it then uses to make a colorful pie chart of how it thinks I am spending my time. The reality is that taking the time to create these categories, tell it how important my projects are to the categories, how important the sub-projects or actions are to the main categories, and then try to use the woefully inadequate calendaring function to squeeze all my actions and projects into this one application is a waste of time for me.
I have no illusions that I can accurately measure how I spend my time by using a list management system. The best I can do is measure the time I have spent on the items on my list. But, frankly, I don't want to track downtime unless I am going to do something so incredibly useful with that information that it is worth the overhead. For me, it's not. GTD is about Getting Things Done, not tracking energy retrospectively. I want to collect and organize my list so I can trust everything is in order. Then, I relax. Which is not something I track.
So, I use LifeBalance as a purely flat list manager, inputting and then categorizing items exactly as I would with the Palm Desktop. The temptation to "spring load" actions is also there -- since sub-items on a task list will automatically revert to the next level up once crossed off. But nesting, like tracking time and energy, just again strikes me as far too much overhead for the payoff. Instead, I keep notes about possible next actions, project plans, and other ideas in the notes section of my projects. And I keep my lists flat.
OmniOutliner is another list management application that can work as a good flat list manager. Here the idea is to create top-level headings for your @contexts, projects, someday/maybes, etc. -- and then populate the sub-level items with the actual actions or projects. Go no further. The temptation to endlessly nest list items as a way of "organizing" your ideas or projects almost always ends in confusion, frustration, and an aversion to looking at those lists. Unless you want to start losing faith in your system, steer clear of nesting and numeric prioritizing. These are almost always surefire signs that you are slipping -- perhaps because you don't have a complete inventory or haven't stuck with the process long enough or diligently enough to trust you are on top of your game yet.
There are a number of other list managers for the Mac. One that is particularly interesting because it is platform-independent and does not require a database is GTDTiddlyWiki. By editing a dynamic web page built in JavaScript, you can construct a GTD system for yourself that you can operate within a web browser. There are also myriad other open and closed source projects that have sprung up over time to attempt to build a "better" GTD system. Our own Outlook Add-In is obviously one offering. Numerous others have sprung up, I suspect, because most programmers, upon discovering GTD, are seduced by: 1) the desire to fill the niche of a next action list that can be viewed both by context and by project and 2) the desire to create task and project lists that can be shared among multiple users.
Both of these approaches involve data models that are easy to implement in relational databases like MySQL or Oracle but harder for non-relational systems like Lotus Notes or the Palm Desktop to tackle. However, because so many people have their own unique ideas about what actually constitutes the perfect GTD system, and because so many different organizations also have their ideas, polices, and standards for using groupware, it may not be possible for any single system to emerge as the gold standard for GTD software. It is this point, in fact, that allows GTD to actually prosper on the turbulent seas of high technology -- it is a methodology, not a technological system, that can be cut to fit.
In closing, I would like to mention productivity-enhancing tools on the Mac that are analogous to some of the tools David uses and loves. While not totally germane to GTD and managing lists, two applications that certainly fall into the category of improving productivity on the PC are Activewords and MindManager. These are shortcut/macro and mind-mapping applications, respectively. To get the functionality of Activewords, the closest fit on the Mac is a combination of Quicksilver and Textpander. Likewise, to make attractive mind maps on the Mac the best tool I have seen so far is NovaMind.
As platform wars rage on and the GTD meme rises to higher echelons of collective awareness, we will only continue to see unique, hip, funky, and (dare I say it?) fun implementations of GTD-friendly software. The Mac is ideally positioned to realize these new applications due to its close association with the open source movement, excellent support for development, and enthusiastic following. Likewise, GTD is ideally suited to be embraced by Mac aficionados because it is not, in fact, a methodology that requires huge market share to realize great applications. As we have seen time and again in the open source community, a small group of dedicated individuals can change the course of technological innovation.
For now, finding the right fit for Getting Things Done on a Mac is a unique and hopefully enjoyable pursuit. Armed with some of the pointers in this article, you should be further on your way. Fortunately, having made the rounds through a variety of list managers for the Mac, I can say with confidence that the end result of your own tried-and-true GTD implementation on your own beloved Mac -- like a well-tailored suit -- will wear comfortably and feel unmistakably yours.
p.s. Since writing this article, a number of people have written in to champion their personal favorite GTD software for the Mac. While this article was never intended to be anything like a comprehensive list of software options for the Mac, I thought I would mention two more applications that have gathered interest recently: Marketcircle Daylite and Kinkless GTD. Daylite is really what I would call a CRM, rather than a PIM, as it deals with managing many aspects of customer relations and sales that may or may not relate to your specific industry. There are certainly a lot more features there than in a simple task list. Kinkless GTD, by contrast, is an OmniOutliner Pro document and a set of AppleScripts that enhance the basic functionality of this simple-but-elegant list manager and outliner. The product is currently in beta, with no support for synchronizing the task list to a PDA (yet). Both examples seem to have a loyal following, and between them illustrate the broad scope of GTD-friendly applications available for the Mac -- from beefy to lean.
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