Ask LifeHack Readers- How do YOU Get it Done

Gemma says on July 11th, 2007 at 12:17 pm

I’m a MASSIVE procrastinator if I’m not careful, so unless I create a structure for my day with certain goals to have completed by a certain time, I will quickly meander off the straight and narrow.

I love my new filofax – you can write down all your to-dos on the handy to-do lists and tick them off as you do them – very satisfying! But also you can check what you’re supposed to be doing later, who’s birthday’s are coming up… essentially, it’s a great way for me to sort my life out! Highly recommend it : )

Alex says on July 11th, 2007 at 12:36 pm

Most of my “to do” centers around papers for my masters degree. I use Google Notebook to separate everything out, including other non-masters work. Then, I use Google Reader to subscribe to a lot of items, and any useful notes are copy-paste to the notebook. I also have individual “whiteboards” on Google Notebook, which are shared areas that others can post information to. I use 30 Boxes as my calendar, to track tasks and to e-mail me reminders of tasks.

mcoker says on July 11th, 2007 at 12:47 pm

I don’t… that’s why I’m reading this :-)

Rob Slagle says on July 11th, 2007 at 12:57 pm

Just tap into the Killer GTD setup meme and you should be able to mine what you’re looking for.

Jake says on July 11th, 2007 at 1:13 pm

Most of my to dos are kept in BasKet Note pads. I also sometimes use KNotes for stickies… but that is for real life stuff for the most part.

For blogging, I usually keep some ideas in my admin panel. I also will write article ideas in Kate, which seems to work well for that. Google Reader also helps, since things I may want to link to or blog about later I star.

Greg says on July 11th, 2007 at 1:30 pm

I’m still trying to figure out what technology to throw a my disorganized life. Right now, a spiral college-ruled notepad is my best shot.

Part of my problem is some of my tasks are very chronological (in days), which I do pretty good at keeping on track, while other tasks are all the left-field got-to-do’s and fires that come up. These are the ones that always stack up and then I forget, or miss, something important.

Any input on how you organize by linear time and non-linear priorities in one place?

Jordn says on July 11th, 2007 at 2:00 pm

Couldn’t survive without keyboard shortcuts – cuts down a lot of time. I generally keep everything as centralised and simplified as possible so it’s easier to find things.

Google Reader’s excellent – I’ve subscribed to just about too many feeds for my sanity to cope with and the ability to quickly switch between list and expanded view helps.

But, in life itself, I’m lazy. I’ll wait until I can’t be bothered *not* doing something before I do it.

Hestia says on July 11th, 2007 at 2:16 pm

I built my own PHP-based password-protected online management system. Gives me total control over what information I want to track and how. It took some time to get it up and running, but I love coding, so I didn’t mind.

Chris says on July 11th, 2007 at 3:09 pm

I am a big fan of separating tasks and projects. Todos are next actions in a strict GTD sense or a task in a Franklin Covey sense. I prefer to use a digital checklist of Todos in my Palm TX. But to keep track of the major projects, notes on those projects, and tasks that might be needed later, I use Freemind with a project master mindmap. This way, I can keep track of the Todos that are non-linear or non-chronological in a form that is easily to transport and check off but also have a over all sense of what is undone on projects, and not confuse the two. I prefer to use the 1 hour rule for tasks vs. projects. 1 hour probably means more than 1 place and more than 1 set of resources required. The trick really is to put the projects outside of tasks so you know what each item is AND so you can check off tasks to show progress on projects. Just my current version of Todos.

Bobby says on July 11th, 2007 at 5:25 pm

Eh, how I get stuff done..ah! Why, am I forgetting something? :)

I am GTD neophyte and have been working on my work flow for about six months. For everyday I have an manila folder I carry around that serves as my inbox-on-the-go. Inside the folder I keep my printed out calendar, daily agenda (which Google Calendar kindly emails me every morning), printed off contacts list (which I staple to the back), and my personal next action/projects list. I like to print out my calendar so I have a quick and easy way to write down my info. I also have a PDA but really like the pen and paper quickness.
I sync all of my calendars and contacts up with Plaxo. At work I have Outlook, at home Outlook, and also Google calender. On the go, I can update Google’s calendar, then it syncs up when I get to work.
At work I print off my next action/projects list and carry it around with me. That way I can glance at it when I am waiting for something to download at a computer, or if I see someone that I need to talk to I can just ask them, rather than the lengthy email conversations. It is quick and painless. Also, I feel it gives a personal touch when interacting with people. Sometimes they share something with me about their life and I feel it helps give the Tech Department good re pore with the users.

Joe says on July 11th, 2007 at 8:53 pm

A trick I’ve picked up very recently is to time myself. Whenever I’m trying to complete a task, especially on my computer I use a nice little app named CoolTimer (downloads.com). It’s purely mental, since I could just turn it off or extend the time, but it’s worked great so far.

Another problem is that, since I’ve also got net access at my desktop, I find myself browsing around and getting way off-track. The timer has helped that a lot, but another solution is to remove myself from he range of the wireless signal. There’s a bookstore at the mall near where I live and, although they provide wireless, I’m cheap enough that there’s no way I’d pay there fee and, therefore, I don’t have to worry about it. Go someplace public for a little solitude.

Charles Poulsen says on July 11th, 2007 at 10:19 pm

I have a txt file on my desktop named “todo.txt”. I put a shortcut to this file in the Windows start menu: “Start > Programs > Startup”. This way, every time I turn my computer on, my todo list pops up in my face. Basically, every line in the todo.txt is just an item to be done. When i finish something, i delete it. When i finish something, i put a new line. At the moment I’ve been going with the stack approach, adding new items to the top.

Martin Wildam says on July 12th, 2007 at 3:11 am

I use the rules from Eisenhower, Pareto and 60% rule (do plan only 60 % of available time, the rest fills up with unexpected interuptions and issues). I do separate actual open “issues” from project planning – from the work “in line”.

Everything I plan I do in Google Calendar because everywhere available and sharable.

Greg says on July 12th, 2007 at 7:18 am

Those of you using Google, or any other, calendar for organizing tasks; do you find yourself forgetting or not going back to see if you’ve missed something?

Kwabee says on July 12th, 2007 at 7:31 am

I use a pin up board and four landscape a4 papers. One paper has a photo of what I want to achieve. One paper has the calendar month. The other two papers, I have multiple columns for each project I’m working on and things to do. I have this in my office where I see it all the time. It’s so powerful in getting things done!

Joseph Nilo says on July 12th, 2007 at 9:22 am

I use a good combination of pen and paper, Google Apps, Todoist.com and now my iPhone to attempt to stay organized.

I am always trying to not give in to my compulsion to switch to the latest greatest GTD app.

bobby says on July 12th, 2007 at 10:35 am

Todoist.com Man, I like that. Glad you mentioned it!

Quotes and quotations says on July 12th, 2007 at 10:43 am

I carry an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper folded in my pocket. On it, I keep my task list, goals, and metrics.

HED says on July 12th, 2007 at 3:34 pm

I use two main things to keep track of GTD items:
- whiteboard in my bedroom : it’s practical and collaborative !
- Netvibes + Rememberthemilk widget (different list for Workplace and Home) + Google Calendar for deadlines (and birthdays :) )

I also carry random paper sheets on me, and I transfer recorded items on one of the two system above.

Dean Jackson says on July 12th, 2007 at 6:05 pm

Three things make my life more productive.

1. I keep a running, exhaustive list of everything I want to do. Sort of like a GTD Brain Dump.

I organize it into projects and next actions.

2. I have a specific place where I go to Get Things Done. I call it The Evil Scheme Hatchery.

Here’s a Tour:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AuITmXZvz4

One “wired” room. One “Clean” room.

3. I use a Staging Area to keep all my projects organized.

I have a big envelope full of all the papers, notes, doodles etc for each project…and a row of index cards I call “Widget Tickets” that require a 1 to 2 hour focus period.

I schedule my “Widget Cranking” times, and roll in to the Evil Scheme Hatchery, pick up the top ranked Widget Ticket…and take it in to the Focus Room to work exclusively on THAT.

Lather.

Rinse.

Repeat.

jason says on July 13th, 2007 at 10:52 am

Tomboy with the NoteOfTheDay plugin is a great way to organise ToDos

Slake says on July 17th, 2007 at 1:55 am

JOE (Java Outline Editor) on the PC, Projekt on my S60 3rd Edition. Keeps it very simple and manageable. Projekt is by far the most usable outliner I’ve used on a portable device.

Nomad says on July 24th, 2007 at 3:09 am

Getting things done in fits and starts more like it. I started off a while ago with 6 little notebooks, very small ones for the different contexts in my life and wrote my separate to-do lists in those, but I’m so disorganized and scattered that I quickly jumbled the whole thing. Then when I learnt about GTD I started trying different ways of implementing some of the principles to varying degrees of success. I have 2 moleskins, an A5 and an A6 which serve as my project planning/ to-do list space and my mind dump space respectively. I also use 30boxes which is great when I can remember to check it or when I respond to the email reminders. I think my my daily coffee overdose is one of my main GTD threats but haven’t managed to kick the habit completely. Still trying but only “GTD” in fits and starts.

Khoa Bui says on July 29th, 2007 at 8:38 am

I’m a big fan of GTD. I read books and experiment with the latest tools every day. I’ve even designed and developed my very own GTD tool called Destiny Goals which helps you achieve your goals. You can get your FREE account at http://www.destinygoals.com

David Allen’s book “Getting Things Done” is the cornerstone of GTD :)

enpointe says on October 2nd, 2007 at 11:40 am

I am addicted to organisation systems and have tried countless apps over the years- and i think i’ve finally found the one. i use a combination of thinkingrock, google calendar and rainlendar to do everything. When I’m on the run, I use the Notes function on my nokia as my collector. When I get back to my desk I enter everything into thinkingrock and process from there. Scheduled items have to be manually entered into rainlendar, which syncs with gcal, which sends me sms reminders. For the Do ASAP items, I decide if theyre pressing tasks or not. If they are, they go into rainlendar as well. If they aren’t, they stay there in TR until my Alternate Day Review (which takes place every other day) and during those reviews i either reorganise or do the stuff i can. i just hope this ones going to be long term, because i am so used to having flings with every gtd app that comes out. i have a diagrammatical representation of my system if anyone wants it. all the apps used in my system are free.

harry says on June 9th, 2009 at 7:35 pm

You may also want to try a web-based goal tracker, http://www.goalsontrack.com

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