Collection tricks & ideas?

I bought a new Palm the other day (m515) and discovered a new collection trick, the Notepad. Well, not new, but I didn't have this on my old Palm (V).

In some instances, not all, it is a very handy capture tool. What's really nice is that even though I synch to Outlook, Palm made a standalone app so that I can manage these inputs both on the handheld and when I'm back at my desktop PC.

It doesn't replace low tech tools like my Notetaker wallet (borderline dork factor with the Palm Notepad :roll: ) or small pads, but it does help.

Anyone else have collection ideas/tricks?

Mark

> Anyone else have collection ideas/tricks?

I've tried to make it a habit to always have some kind of collection "bucket" with me at all times. Here's what I've been using:

1) My Handspring Visor goes with me everywhere. I treat it like my wallet and my keys. I'll sometimes enter things directly into the note pad or to do list on the palm, but the great majority of the time I use DiddleBug, a great little freeware app that lets you create virtual post-it notes. I just write quickly directly on the screen; no mucking about with Graphitti. When I do my processing I process the notes in DiddleBug along with everything else. You can download a copy from <http://diddlebug.sourceforge.net/>

2) I keep an inexpesnive digital voice recorder in my car at all times. I tried writing notes in the car, but wound up in too many near accidents that way. I take the recorder into the office with me in the morning and process the notes off of it when I do all my other processing.

3) I went to staples and got a big pack of little 3x5 note pads and some ballpoint pens. I have a notepad on my desks at work and home, by each phone in the house, on my nighstand, and in my bathroom. There's always a notepad handy if I need to jot down a thought. Every morning I go around and collect all the notes, put then in the "In" folder in my briefcase, and take them to work with me for processing.

One I had all the buckets set up, the real taks was disciplining myself to get every thought and idea out of my head and into a bucket immediately, no matter how small or insignificant I thought it was at the time. The difference in productivity has been remarkable. My someday, project, and next actions lists have all gotten longer, but I'm much more relaxed and focused because everthing is out there instead of stuck in my head.

Ken

About 6 years ago, I started putting 2X3 pieces of paper in my velcro wallet. That was when I spent most of my days with at least two pens in my shirt pocket...yeah, I know...pretty geeky!

Anyway, in the past 5 years of practicing GTD, I've realized that the tool is such a minor aspect of the Martial Art of knowledge work. What is the powerful piece IS the processing algorithm.

What's the NEXT ACTION?
What's the SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME?

Once that habit is held on to, you could quite literally collect something on a restaurant napking, trusting that eventually it would be processed into your "organizer."

How does one build up that trust? Consistency...Always write things down when you think of them. (Write them down, record them in a digital recorder, ask an assistant to take a memo...I even call my own answering machine if need be!)

Then, process those collection buckets regularly. There ARE many ways to do the individual steps, the only common demoninator is that GTD'ers do all 5 phases as individual steps. Sometimes you go really fast through all five, other days...I just want to collect!

Great work!