Newbie GTD'er Requests Suggestions On A Few Basics...

[staley]

Hey folks, my first post here. I've been through the books, CD's etc., and have done a lot of the preliminaries. OK, a bit about me and what I'm currently doing:

1) I work at home and also do some traveling

2) I use (and LIKE using) my Mac G5 Powerbook, which is pretty much always with me.

3) I use and very much like Entourage which (to my understanding) is essentially the Mac version of Outlook

4) I use my "tasks" pane to manage individual tasks as well as projects.

5) One task is labeled "Someday/Maybe" and another "Waiting For." When I want to add things to these "tasks" I open the task window and simply add to the list.

Here are my question, and let me preface by saying that I do understand that GTD can look like different things for different people, and that there is no single "best" way to practice GTD.

I'm not sure what incarnation my next action list(s) should take. Should it be on the computer, a note pad, something else? How do you folks do this? Does anyone keep their "errands" list in the car? is there a better way?

Thanks everyone, I hope that wasn't too disjointed!

[ericlechner]

Have you taken a look at www.43folders.com? It's got a lot of mac-specific GTD ideas and suggestions for tools.

[staley]

Thanks so much, I was unaware of that resource!


Have you taken a look at www.43folders.com? It's got a lot of mac-specific GTD ideas and suggestions for tools.

[jmarkey]

I keep my next action lists on my PDA and sync to my laptop. I use Handyshopper on my PDA for errands.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to GTD, staley. GTD presents incredibly useful principles and habits for mastering your workflow.

You are right that there are many ways to implement the context-driven NA lists. There are quite a few people here who prefer paper lists (see topic with subject something like "The Day I Forgot My PDA"). Lots of people use Outlook, and there are many ways to use Outlook's features effectively for projects and actions.

I personally use a PDA with Life Balance software (www.llamagraphics.com), and would never go back to paper lists. I maintain some 500 actions and projects, yet the software consistently puts my most important actions in a given context right at the top of that list. It's just beautiful. Another advantage of the PDA is that I always have it with me. It's much easier and faster to check to-dos on a PDA than on a laptop. I can whip it out and check my @Errands list in 2 seconds when I'm in the car doing errands, or in a store. Life Balance, Outlook, and many other productivity apps can sync between a handheld and a laptop or desktop, providing the additional advantage of the large format of the laptop/desktop. Also, everything in the PDA is easily backed up.

-andersons