iPad as a gtd tool

[macgrl]

So I am wanting to get an iPad 2 and looking for reasons to justify getting one haha:D

It would be a great tool for my legal research for my phd and thinking that it would great gtd tool - for omnifocus, a diary / day planner etc.

Any one use one and have any thoughts ?

[Barb]

So I am wanting to get an iPad 2 and looking for reasons to justify getting one haha:D

It would be a great tool for my legal research for my phd and thinking that it would great gtd tool - for omnifocus, a diary / day planner etc.

Any one use one and have any thoughts ?

I was completely a PC woman--but now my entire GTD system is Omnifocus on the iPad. I just love it! I also use Evernote for just about all of my notes and the time-saving apps out there alone are justification enough. Don't hesitate! It is SO MUCH cooler and more useful than I ever would have dreamed it would be.

[macgrl]

Thanks for your reply! Very much appreciated

Are there any good aps you can recommend. I was thinking that I would want to get a stylus and handwritting app for taking notes in meetings and classes - easier than using the screen keyboard I think? Any such apps that are any good? :)

[Barb]

There are apps for any and everything you might want to do! It would quite literally take me an hour to tell you about all the apps I use and what they do--I'm sorry, but I just don't have that much time today. But I'd recommend you go online and check out the Apple apps store and spend a couple of hours looking at everything--you'll be like a kid in a candy store!

If you're a serious note taker, you may be frustrated by the apps that take handwritten notes. For those occasions when I'm really taking a lot of notes, I bring along the external keyboard (I type like the wind) and do it that way. For light note taking, either the on screen keyboard or a handwriting app will be fine.

[macgrl]

Thanks so much! :D I will have a good hunt through the app store. I have a MBA if I am going to take lots of notes. I just need to take small notes in meetings etc and also read docs of it and of course omnifocus and any other nice apps I can find haha :-)

[tjhoo]

I was completely a PC woman--but now my entire GTD system is Omnifocus on the iPad. I just love it! I also use Evernote for just about all of my notes and the time-saving apps out there alone are justification enough. Don't hesitate! It is SO MUCH cooler and more useful than I ever would have dreamed it would be.

How effective would Omnifocus be on iPad ONLY if I've never used Omnifocus?

I primarily use the following for GTD
-MS Outlook (used constantly through work and personal)..
-Evernote
-Dragon speech recognition (windows desktop)
-iPhone/iPad/Laptop/work desktop/home desktop

I don't see Outlook going away as my work uses it. I do use it personally as am an owner of the business.


Please see link to separate thread about iOS and reminders:

http://www.davidco.com/forum/showthread.php?13001-Anybody-used-iOS5-reminder-app


BTW, I listen to every single GTD podcast, and appreciate your contributions there! Have not had time to join GTD connect so have not been on the live calls.

[Barb]

TJ,

I still use Outlook for email and I still use the Outlook calendar. But on my desk sits my trusty iPad with Omnifocus at my fingertips. So if I need to refer to my task lists, I just swivel my chair and look at the iPad. If you're someone that is constantly turning an email into a task, you may not love OF on the iPad so much. But you might just do a 30-day free trial, play with it, and see what all the fuss is about.

One very cool feature: If you have a task and you need to print it out or send it to someone else (along with all the notes), you can email it from OF. For instance, I had a long list of things to buy at a store yesterday and all those things were in the notes field. I emailed it, printed it from my pc, and off I went. Sometimes I send my husband a list of stuff to pick up on the way home too (much better, right?) :p

If I were rich and had a huge amount of space in my office, I'd buy a Mac to go along with my PC just because of OF! But I'll never switch over to a Mac completely because of the investment I have in PC software and the learning curve to go "all Mac". If the OF people ever develop a product that works on PC's, LOOK OUT!

P.S. Thanks for the kind words about the podcasts. It's a great group of people and a lot of fun to participate--I just wish I could be on every call, like the old days. As for GTD Connect, I can't say enough about it! I think I've been a member for about 5 years now and I learn something new every week. Best money I have ever spent (I own my own business too, by the way).

Hope this helps. I'm happy to answer any other questions you have. I don't often look at the public forums and could miss something. Feel free to shoot me an email privately.

[nextbaron]

I use Wunderlist (http://www.wunderlist.com) for GTD b/c it is simple and easy to use.

OmniFocus is good too but expensive and without freemium model.

[ProfessorSue]

I echo Barb's enthusiasm for the OmniFocus app and the iPad in general. iBooks makes a very nice reader, and I also use it to read PDF files that I "print" from various sources on my computer. I would probably use the iPad more, except my laptop is a very lightweight MacAir, and I usually don't want or need the extra weight of the (older version) iPad. Despite that, I never regretted the investment.

[supergtdman]

I use omnifocus on iPad too and it's the best gtd app I've ever used. Also iThoughtsHD is another great app even though not necessarily for gtd, it is a mind mapping app, but it's great for project support and planning

[TedAllen]

Im not sure whether I have anything to add other than piling on to say the iPad is an excellent tool for GTD. the hardest part may be finding and deciding what the best apps are for your needs. Like most people my employer is standardized on Outlook. So moving information and tasks from outlook to your GTD app on the iPad is not seamless or automatic. I don't find that to be a problem. I have to actually process actions
I definitely am able to do GTD done better having the iPad.

[Jamie Elis]

Last I checked, there was no usb port or way to hook up to an external hard drive. I recall there was talk about a cloud back upbut not sure where that went or if people would be comfortable from a privacy viewpoint. Second only to laptops, thieves love ipads and then there is the issue of inevitable electronic or mechanical malfunctions. Can you print something from a iPad if you need a hard list? Mac store people do not know the answers to these questions and take over six weeks to repair a laptop. so while I am sure I could find a great GTD ap for iPad, just not sure it is great idea. Please tell me I am just plain misinformed!

[Oogiem]

Can you print something from a iPad if you need a hard list? .... Please tell me I am just plain misinformed!

You sync the iPad with your computer using iTunes. That makes your backup.

Printing varies by printer model and make but is usually over wifi. Some will support printing over the 3G network.

[supergtdman]

"How do you back up your GTD on IPAD?"

Use cloud services for stuff generated on ipad, eg
Omnifocus syncs data in the cloud
Evernote syncs in the cloud
IthoughtsHD integrates with dropbox

So all stuff generated and kept on ipad is synced with the cloud and with desktop. I also back up everything additionally with crashplan service. So for example if my ipad gets stolen and my home burns down so I lose all my desktop computers AND Evernote and dropbox and all cloud based services also go down - I would still NOT loose anything! Also it's all completely automated, there is no effort required to maintain this.

Btw ipad also backs itself up with iCloud but I dont rely on it, though it is still a very convenient additional backup

[rdgeorge]

The Apple Wireless Keyboard makes entering information into OmniFocus faster and easier on the iPad.

We use Outlook at work, but I use it only for work e-mail. All GTD stuff is done in OF.

Synching OF with iCloud (to three devices) works just fine. If terrorists want to hack into the Apple cloud servers and steal my "to do" lists and take care of the tasks for me, they are welcome to do so. I never have sensistive numbers or information in e-mails or OF entries.

I use iCal for calender stuff, also synched in iCloud. I have multiple layers, all color coded:

- Work
- Personal
- Spouse
- Child 1
- Child 2
- Church
- Girl Scouts

Contacts are also synch'd through iCloud.

I have been experimenting with DevonThink PRO on my MacBook Air and Mac Pro and DevonThink to Go on my iPad, as an alternative to Evernote.

I also subscribe to the Apple Joint Venture business class support program.

rdgeorge

[supergtdman]

I have been experimenting with DevonThink PRO on my MacBook Air and Mac Pro and DevonThink to Go on my iPad, as an alternative to Evernote.


rdgeorge

How does it work for you compared to Evernote?

[Oogiem]

How does it work for you compared to Evernote?

Not rdgeorge but I also went from Evernote to DEVONThink.

My reason was not wanting any of my notes and bits of info out in the Evernote cloud. DT is based on my computer so I control it.

However, I found that once I got used to it and managed to get the sync working it's a LOT more adaptable and powerful than Evernote. I'm now creating DT databases on my Mac that I do not sync to my iPhone just because of the powerful tools for searching and storing data in DT.

[TesTeq]

it's a LOT more adaptable and powerful than Evernote.

What can be more adaptable and powerful than simple free-form notes storage with multiple tags (plus notebooks if you need them)?

[Oogiem]

What can be more adaptable and powerful than simple free-form notes storage with multiple tags (plus notebooks if you need them)?

Support for more file types, ability to create searchable indices of folders on your hard drive without importing the contents, handles much larger datasets, import of e-mail into a much more convenient searchable format, support for many more folders (including sub folders) than Evernote can support notebooks, no risk of critical or sensitive data being in the cloud, support for either tags or folders or both, multiple separate databases instead of one big one if desired, data can be individually synced as needed, better OCR support, better intelligence with suggestions for filing based on content, a low level artificial intelligence system that actually works very well once you get enough data in it for the autoclassify to work properly, better bulk import of files, better support for export in many formats so your data is not held hostage (I had to monk most of my data to get it out of Evernote!), support for scripting to extend the capabilities of the program just to cover the ones I've used and the reasons I switched to DT out of Evernote.

For me there is really no comparison between the capabilities of the 2 programs. :shrug:

[rdgeorge]

Having used both Evernote and DevonThink Pro, I think DevonThink Pro combined with DevonThink To Go is on a different level altogether. The mileage of others may vary, but I would be wary on those with a strong opinion that had not really used both programs at length.

I am aware of the cost difference.

rdgeorge

[Oogiem]

I would be wary on those with a strong opinion that had not really used both programs at length.

I tend to agree, esp with respect to DT. I used Evernote for about a year, it worked well enough but not great. The cloud sync and poor support for encryption bugged me so I never used it for more than the minimum required stuff.

Moved to DT after DTTG came out. It was buggy as all get out trying to get sync to even run but once they got major upgrades done and I learned more it's been working just fine ever since. I've been on DT now for about a year and I'm just now starting to see how powerful it really is.

They really are in separate classes, sort of like MacPaint vs PhotoShop.

[mmurray]

Last I checked, there was no usb port or way to hook up to an external hard drive. I recall there was talk about a cloud back upbut not sure where that went or if people would be comfortable from a privacy viewpoint. Second only to laptops, thieves love ipads and then there is the issue of inevitable electronic or mechanical malfunctions. Can you print something from a iPad if you need a hard list? Mac store people do not know the answers to these questions and take over six weeks to repair a laptop. so while I am sure I could find a great GTD ap for iPad, just not sure it is great idea. Please tell me I am just plain misinformed!

My wife has an iPad that I am tech support for. With iOS 5 it does back up to iCloud but that seems to only mean doing a complete restore. You can't go looking on iCloud for a specific app and associated files. Or at least not as far as I could tell the other day when I tried to do this after system upgrade seemed to nuke a couple of apps and their files.

So I imagine the best thing is to do as Oogiem suggests and backup to the mac via iTunes.

I haven't investigated security carefully but if it is like the iPhone it is pretty good. You can track it and erase it remotely if it is stolen and you can set password security so that after a certain number of failed attempts it erases everything.

Beware that it isn't quite a laptop in that it doesn't have normal pc file system. Apps keep track of their own files and while a certain amount of passing of information and files between apps occurs it isn't quite the way a pc would do it. There is no centralised file browser.

Michael