Simplify your System or "Throwing away my PDA" [Archive]

Anonymous

03-10-2005, 03:41 AM

I though I’d share this…

I have been using a Palm for 3 years. I synch with Outlook at Work.

I have always thought it to be valuable to be able to carry my calendar, addressbook, Project, NAs, Lists etc around with me.

Since “The Day I forgot my Palm” I have had a gnawing doubt about just useful this device is.

After some brainstorming, I have concluded that in fact it is nothing to do with the tool. The real question is “Do I really need to carry around all this information with me everywhere I go?”.

And my conclusion is “No”.

At work I spend 80% of my time at my desk. The remaining 20% is at meetings which are nearly all on-site. So I literally walk to and from the meeting room.

My Weekly Review is at my desk.

I always carry a notebook for collecting anyway and then do updates at my desk.

My @desk context list can stay at my desk. Pointless carrying my @desk NAs around with me.
My Waiting Fors can stay aty desk. I need e-mail or a phone to follow them up anyway.
My @home context list can stay at home.
My @Agenda lists can be taken to the appropriate meeting with me.
My @Errands need to be with me when I’m out and about. A simple post-it inside my wallet will suffice.
I don’t have a mobile phone so I don’t need a @calls list with me at all times.
My Projects/Areas of Focus etc are only needed at Weekly Review time so they can stay at the desk.
My Calendar – well I can print out a monthly view from Outlook and carry it at the front of my NoteBook.

Get the gist? I don’t need a Palm. I don’t even need a Planner of any kind. I do need capture tools (paper and pen) and to prepare for meetings and trips but heck, I did that anyway.

I certainly don’t need to carry around reference material/Project Support.

Occasionally I do have action support to be moved between Home and Work so I’ll keep my Transit file.

...and so it goes on...only a small part of my system really needs to be mobile...

How many other people have been seduced into Palms/Planners who just don’t really need them?

Don’t forget that David Allen and Jason Womack, big advocates of there Palms, live a very mobile professional life. I would say they are in the minority.

My challenge to everyone is to review your mobile tools. What do you really need to carry with you everywhere you go? Do you waste tiem Synching, tweaking, formatting, tidying. prepping?

Can you simplify your system?

gator

03-10-2005, 03:52 AM

I know where your coming from. I however am in sales and I'm on the road quite a bit. I invested in a PPC PDA / Phone and now I regret that investment. I do use the phone / pda because it has all of my contacts and it's a great way to keep hundreds of contacts in a compact system. I however have gone back to my trusty 8 1/2 x 11 paper planner for scheduling and lists. Writing it down just seems to work better for me. I do keep my errands list on my pda / phone, since it's nice to have when inside a store and I can browse that list. Just my thoughts!

Bridgecrosser

03-10-2005, 04:18 AM

I, too, have stopped using a PDA, not because I have nothing to manage, but because I have so much to manage. With longer and longer lists, it became obvious that managing it all on a little screen, or even on my laptop, was going to be a challenge. I dug out my Time/System binder, reorganized it with my lists and calendar items, and have not looked back. My Palm now only carries my contacts, memos, and Docs to Go files.

The other intersting discovery in the switch is that I have more time to work because I am not tweeking/resetting it all the time.

While my PDA used to be almost a hobby for me, it now holds files and contacts I need while mobile. Old fashion paper now does the trick for my organizational needs, and does it much bettter than I expected.

Jeff K

03-10-2005, 06:18 AM

Do you gather all the lists together, including @home, to do your weekly review?

AMS

03-10-2005, 06:43 AM

I also ditched the Palm and went back to paper. I do still use a planner, but it's paper (Plannerpad) and only goes between home and work. With Palm, I found myself just slapping things on lists on the fly without adequately processing them know where they should really go. Overall I love being back to a paper system although it's a bit less portable, but I do miss the Palm for addresses and phone numbers.

kewms

03-10-2005, 07:02 AM

I decided to be organized about the whole Palm or not Palm question. For a month, I was going to log every time I actually used my Palm and every time I wanted my Palm when I didn't have it with me.

Then my hard drive failed, and I was really happy that my address book, my calendar, and all my NAs were safe in my Palm. Whatever system you use, make sure it will still be there in a disaster, because that's when you'll need it the most.

For me, having an electronic calendar and address book makes sense because electronic versions are so much easier to update. And once I'm carrying the calendar and address book around, the NA list can come along "for free."

On the other hand, when I'm in the office I usually work from a printed NA list because it's easier to scribble notes as I go. And when I'm out of the office, I use the Palm mostly as a reference tool, mostly using index cards or a softcover Moleskine for notes.

*shrug* Works for me. YMMV.

Katherine

kglade

03-10-2005, 11:03 AM

I have often wondered if I could give up my PDA.

I use it mostly to carry my address book. I have found it much easier to keep the address book up to date in outlook, and then carry it around with me on my Palm. However, for a few years I tried making a printed copy of the address book once per year, and just manually keeping it up to date with a pen. It worked.

I also use it for the calendar. Could I switch to paper? Don't know.

I also use the PDA for my @errands list. Could I switch this list to paper? Probably.

I also use the PDA for reference materials. Most importantly, directions to customers, engineering formulas and reference constants, model numbers of personally owned stuff (like my lawn mower), computer tips and shortcuts, and packing list for trips. I don't know if I could switch this to paper. It is many pages, and I update it often enough to wonder if I'd get out of sync without the PDA.

I switched to a PDA from a paper day-timer. The DT worked very well for me, but I found it necessary to re-copy information to often, and hard to keep sync'd with my outlook calendar, address book (including company address book that many users can add to), and reference notes.

I guess, overall, the PDA gives me advantages over paper in terms of portability and syncronization. I do miss the feel of paper and pen, though.

Bridgecrosser

03-10-2005, 03:06 PM

I have some 300 reference files in Docs to Go, as well as 560 Memos. I have 854 Contacts to manage, and can only do that reasonably in my Tungsten T5. But I am using the paper-based system for Tasks and Calendar and its keeping me more in touch with what I have going on. I can't replace my Palm, but I can augment it with paper.

terrys

03-10-2005, 10:51 PM

One feature I use most on my Palm is an encrypted file of passwords. How do you handle "sensitive" information in a paper system? Thanks.

Gameboy70

03-10-2005, 11:54 PM

The medium is largely irrelevant. I could do GTD with clay tablets. As it happens, since I carry a cell phone, and since I need to carry some calendar and list manager with me, a Palm smartphone was a good choice. I use a Treo 650, plain vanilla setup. At work I use Outlook. After work I use the Treo. For initial capture I use a notetaker wallet, which is way faster than entering data directly into any Palm, whether it's by stylus or keyboard.

Because the Palm (Treo) is used strickly as a calendar, list manager and address book, I don't waste time noodling with additional software, nor do I try to load it with Office docs. I just want to know: what are the calls I have to make, the errands I have to run, the emails I need to send, etc. It's just more convenient to have a tiny device attached to my belt than to carry a binder around all the time. I like having my hands free.

arthur

03-11-2005, 03:11 AM

Hey Jac, I just posted on “The Day I forgot my PDA”. And I agree, at times I spend a significant amount of time at my desk and do not (Necessarily) need my Palm. However, when I’m on the road or gallivanting about, I find it indispensable.

In the other topic I posted this, seems relevant here:

“You guys are right, Palm shouldn't be a hassle to use. It should be quick and efficient otherwise it shouldn't be used. No tinkering for me, all use...and no games on my Palm (no room) :)

arthur

Bridgecrosser

03-11-2005, 04:31 AM

I also carry a small Cambridge notetaker wallet with me to capture items that come to mind (Staples $4.95). This is much quicker than my Palm for capturing those thoughts. I add them to my binder when I get back to the car or office.

While at church (I'm a pastor), I happily leave my calendar at the office, for people would try to book with me on the spot and I used to get into trouble booking appointments on the fly. I now ask them to call or email me at the church office and I book there. This way, my appointments are scheduled as best fits the weekly schedule.

I capture dozens of thoughts/To Do items in my little wallet during the day on Sunday and throw them into my Inbox and process them during my weekly review.

AMS

03-11-2005, 06:16 AM

For those that use a Palm/paper system, do you always carry both, or just carry the Palm when out and about?

bvkeen

03-11-2005, 07:12 AM

I always have the Palm with me, but not always the paper. I just use the paper part at work, for the most part, and then only my most busy days (juggling NAs for twenty or more tasks). Otherwise, I use the Palm and Outlook.

MikeC

03-11-2005, 07:18 AM

I remain 100% Palm. How are you backing up your Paper Systems? They do disappear from time to time!

kewms

03-11-2005, 07:40 AM

Bruce Schneir (security expert) keeps his passwords on a card in his wallet. He figures he's got a lifetime of experience keeping that safe.

My system is mostly electronic, augmented with paper, but I've never really felt the need to backup the paper portion. I've lost far more data to computer failures than to lost paper.

Katherine

jkgrossi

03-11-2005, 07:51 AM

I've been wrestling with this very thing a lot myself, lately... over the past two or three years, I've been going back and forth between my paper FC planner and my Palm (for what it's worth, between GTD and FC systems as well). There are things that I like about both systems/mediums that aren't necessarily interchangeable.

For one, I like having a daily "prioritized" list... what this does for me is keep important "To-do's" on my radar that aren't necessarily "date specific" but are more important than other things that need to get done. I've found that with the GTD system and categorized lists, I'd always go for the "easy wins". For example, "Call Bob about riding this weekend" is a lot easier than "Draft proposal for XYZ Client", even though it's obviously less important. With GTD, I battled with finding a way to psychologically "trick" myself into doing the more important todo's first... nothing ever seemed to work.

I also like the feel of pen to paper... and with GTD, I missed having my Daily Record of Events. Over the last couple of weeks, though, I've been wondering just how critical this "daily record" is. Important project related notes would go in a project folder along with other relevant support. Misc. daily notes could be captured in other ways via the GTD system as well...

The palm is much slower get info into, unless you do it at a PC and then sync up. On the other hand, with the paper planner I find myself having to constantly re-write my lists, and it's very bulky to carry around everywhere. I found myself just using pad and paper to capture, and then re-copy important stuff into the paper planner... not very efficient. In addition, I find the paper planner simply unable to keep up with the pace of my work as well as unable to manage long lists very well.... GTD is much faster at this.

I also have trouble with the visuals on the palm - I like to have my monthly calender in full view, not just a bunch of days with little dots or other symbols indicating appointments or events...

So, the bottom line is that I feel stuck between the two. Anyone else feel this way? I'm honestly tired of going back and forth, and want to pick one system and stick with it.

jmcorey

03-11-2005, 09:26 AM

I ditched the palm for NA's and projects. That hurt a lot. My handwriting is not neat, and I have lots of inputs to manage on multiple systems. That makes life pretty crazy. The messy handwriting really made the edges seem a lot less clean.

I resented having to carry a planner in with me into Target to get things on my @Go list, or around. If it doesn't fit in a pocket, it doesn't go.

Upgrading from an M500 to a T5 really mad a great difference. Much better tool, and I've been much more effective and happier with that then with paper.

Bridgecrosser

03-11-2005, 11:48 AM

I relate to going back and forth between paper and Palm.

I would use one, then the other, enjoying the feel of pen and paper (low tech) but miss the coolness factor and amount of information I coud carry in my T5.

I split the difference and use Palm for my reference files, Contacts and memos. I have typed my Lists, by Context, into a WORD file and have hole punched them into my binder. Now, all my lists are there and easy to view in a hurry. Surprisingly for me, I even like my calendar on paper. I just had to type a one-page Reoccuring Appointments page that I keep in the front of my daily page to remind me of those things that keep reoccuring. The same is true of my Monthly reoccurring items.

The biggest gain is seeing my whole month at a glance, as well as my year. I no longer make appointments that do not take into consideration the events in my life that are happening around the day and time of the requested appointment. I also don't miss tapping and hunting to try to book an appointment in a meeting, either. I know in an instant if I'm free or not!

I have to admit I am less stressed by paper management. And this from a diehard six-year PDA user!

outlawyr

03-11-2005, 02:38 PM

I've gone back and forth. My old Palm , a IIIe, became more bulk and bother than it was worth, and I switched to a paper system, but was never as organized as I had been with the Palm. Finally I upgraded to a Tungtsten E, and am totally digital again. Most data entry happens on the computer followed by a hotsync. If I have to enter data on the go, I put minimal info on the Palm, then flesh it out when I get back to a computer. If I'm really in a hurry I can use Notepad to scribble a note, set an alarm so I'll see it later, and can convert it to a calendar entry or task when I'm at the computer.

I love paper and pen, but overall you can't beat the power of a Palm. Add to that a built in MP3 player, pictures of the wife and kids, several good books, excel spreadsheets and Word docs, all on one small device. For me, the Palm is simpler AND more powerful.

Ecg

03-15-2005, 04:01 PM

Erm, yes, anyway,

I just started a new job in which I have to again keep track of stuff that I do.

I carry a pda, (currently Dell Axim X3i) and have since a Palm Pro in like 1997-98, and I love the things it can do, like play games and let me read books, many many books, like more than 100 a year.

Howsomever, I hate the data entry portion, and I hate trying to keep my lists in there. It feels awkward and artificial for some reason, or at least very unsatisfying and therefore not fun to use and check and update.

So I bought a nice black nylon FC binder with all of the starter kit inserts, threw most of them away and used the templates from DIY Planner (http://www.douglasjohnston.net/templates/) Plus some free form list type dealies that I made myself like "music to get" "books to read" (those damn books again!) "home info" (things like furnace filter size, phone numbers for plumber) etc...etc.

I don't know but I FEEL more organized, even if I forgot to call that lady back about the thing from yesterday, because I forgot to put it on my NA list, and I forgot to remember to put the birthday list in my new planner, so I put that on my NA list for tomorrow.

Geez, I don't think I'm even a white belt yet!

Well, the intention is there, so...

Ecg

gator

03-16-2005, 03:57 AM

Just went back to paper as well. My awakening was when I dropped my PPC / Phone and cracked the battery cover. This caused the unit to not work unless I held on to the battery tightly. I was on the road (outside sales) and no info at my disposal. I now will keep my errands lists, contacts, long term reminders in my PDA. Everything else goes down on paper. Sleeping better already! :idea:

hth

03-16-2005, 04:24 AM

My system is mostly electronic, augmented with paper, but I've never really felt the need to backup the paper portion. I've lost far more data to computer failures than to lost paper.

Of course one loses normally more data to computer failures than to lost paper. But especially in the GTD-context the PDA with his backup is very useful. I would never carry my paperplanner with me to a camping holiday, a bike trip ... With my PDA I have my UCT and reference material always with me without fear of complete data loss.

The drawback is ... it can brake:

Just went back to paper as well. My awakening was when I dropped my PPC / Phone and cracked the battery cover. This caused the unit to not work unless I held on to the battery tightly. I was on the road (outside sales) and no info at my disposal. I now will keep my errands lists, contacts, long term reminders in my PDA. Everything else goes down on paper. Sleeping better already! :idea:
Nevertheless I can lose may paperplanner, it may rain on it ...
Although I indeed like more to write with a nice pen on good paper, I believe a PDA is the best solution for me.

Yours
Alexander

TesTeq

03-16-2005, 05:35 AM

hth

03-16-2005, 07:31 AM

I would never carry my paperplanner with me to a camping holiday, a bike trip ... With my PDA I have my UCT and reference material always with me without fear of complete data loss.
I never carry my PDA (or paper planer) to a camping holiday or a bike trip. This is a time when I know I have no commitments and I can fully enjoy the freedom and joy of life.
It is a strange idea to have PDA or paper planner within reach during this free time. The only GTD device that can be useful is UCT (voice recorder built into MP3 player or cell phone for example).

I carry my PDA nearly always with me as UCT with the advantage that I am able to write the information where it finally belongs. I use other features of the PDA also in holidays (5 minutes a day learning vocabulary using supermemo).
My main PDA-usage out of buildings is my bicycle-commuting time. I don't know why, but when I'm cycling many ideas come up which want to be written down. I tried using a voice recorder, but then I had to write it down afterwards. I didn't like this second cycle.

Yours
Alexander

student987654321

03-23-2005, 01:37 PM

I find pda's are cleaner. I can move stuff around, and there's no trace, the old one existed.

Then, as a student, I daily use French-German-English dictionnary, and encyclopedia. There's enough other books, which I have to carry around anyday, so that's kind of a relieve. Same goes for calculator, PTE (chemistry), flash cards, some ebooks...

I luckily don't need a laptop. My desktop is enough. I use the palm for ALL the planning, projects, addresses etc. I don't NEED to sync with the desktop, so the palm is the easiest and fastest way to have things stored. Why does anyone (with a normal schedule) need to have any datebook/project on the desktop???

TesTeq

03-23-2005, 10:52 PM

I don't NEED to sync with the desktop, so the palm is the easiest and fastest way to have things stored. Why does anyone (with a normal schedule) need to have any datebook/project on the desktop???
If you do not sync PDA with desktop and do not make any backups just pray that you won't lose your PDA. You must do backups. It is essential for peace of mind expected from GTD.
TesTeq

Jason Womack

03-24-2005, 04:57 AM

If you do not sync PDA with desktop and do not make any backups just pray that you won't lose your PDA. You must do backups. It is essential for peace of mind expected from GTD.

If I may add... there are days when the first three phases of Mastering Workflow

-Collect
--Process
---Organize

will indeed be seperate activities. I personally wouldn't dream of taking meeting or class notes (COLLECT) into my PDA, nor would I want to stop someone mid-stream to open my Palm calendar and Grafitti something in there...t'would take too long.

Also, after collecting on paper, and getting back to a work-station, it might be that the first time I PROCESS something - by virtue of the location/tool set-up there - I won't actually have to organize it into the list system... can Process/Do right there at the desk.

And, finally, ORGANIZE for me is always best done as a seperate activity where I'm not distracted or rushed in between meetings, phone calls, travel.

This - by the way - is the reason that paper is my favorite collection tool. I can get it in, and then process everything at once in one sitting later that day.

http://www.davidco.com/coaches_corner/Jason_Womack/article43.html

mscudder

03-24-2005, 08:47 AM

This - by the way - is the reason that paper is my favorite collection tool. I can get it in, and then process everything at once in one sitting later that day.

Same here.

I use my pda primarily as a reference database for contacts, addresses, maps, city guides, travel notes, and so on.

Except for appointments and, occasionally, contacts, I found my pda (Palm) cumbersome at collecting. Instead, I use a small (3" x 4") note pad with quadrille paper and a pen with waterproof ink. I deposit notes, receipts, business cards, and the other bits of paper I accumulate into a wooden cigar box which sits on my desk. (Larger sheets -- such as meeting notes -- go into a file folder labeled "data input".) Once every day or two, I process the contents of the cigar box, using my computer to organize. Then I either download (sync) pertinent information -- tasks, appointments, notes, contacts, and so on -- to my pda or print it, as appropriate, for later reference when I'm out-and-about.

jrj102

03-24-2005, 11:28 PM

I use Outlook with the excellent GTD Add-in, so I have a list of projects (a quick glance shows 63) and next actions broken down into the various "@" contexts (182 right now.) I should mention that the GTD add-in was not particularly useful to me until I figured out how to view my actions by project when I need that kind of vertical thinking-- until then, it hardly got used... now, I couldn't live without it.

Your post talks about what you need to take with you. I stopped carrying a PDA recently (Always had a PocketPC) and have started using a Motorola SmartPhone. Those of you who have used a SmartPhone know that the task functionality is... ahem... shall we say "abbriviated." You can add a task, mark a task as completed, and view the list. There's no notion of categories (i.e. contexts) or even priority! It's pretty bare bones.

When I first synced it, it was useless. There was nothing you could do with the 200+ entries (actions+projects.) It was almost worse than not having it at all.

Then I had what DA calls a "blinding flash of the obvious:" Only take what I need.

Now the only tasks that get synced to the SmartPhone are
@Calls
@Errands
@Anywhere

This list is more like 18-25. Managable. Perfect.

Now I have the info I need, but I'm not distracted by the stuff I don't. When I'm in meetings, I have my TabletPC with my Outlook data, when I'm out and about, I just have this perfect little subset of my lists.

beirne

03-27-2005, 07:39 PM

I do fine using my Palm for GTD and am a desk worker. It may depend on the tools, though. I use Life Balance (http://www.llamagraphics.com) to manage the system. I have it running on both my work PC and on the Palm. LB organizes both actions and projects well and seems a lot easier to me than using the to-do list would be. This way I have one system so that wherever I am I can see what my next actions are and I can add items as I think of them. I do lots of other things with my Palm, though, so I happily have it with me everywhere, even when hiking up a mountain or going for a bike ride.