Category Archives: GTD Applications

AwayFind – Increase your Email Productivity

In the last update from my email productivity experiment, I mentioned that I had been told about a new online service called AwayFind which apparently would help with the issues I was having.

This blog post is worth reading as it will save you time, just as it saved me time. I use AwayFind as my email solution and do not get paid anything for telling you that I use it. You are getting the best type of recommendation for this product as I am a Raving Fan of it and believe that it can save you time.

I get a lot of free invites and requests to check things out but after a few days, I did manage to log in to the account that had been created for me and check it out. I am happy to say that I was very happy with what I saw.

From the AwayFind website:

Awayfind is not just a web tool,
it’s a blueprint for escaping email, with a handbook and a community to ensure your success.

In a nutshell, AwayFind is a web application that provides you with a web contact form that you can use in your email signature or auto-responder that enables people to contact you. There is also a methodology and associated free eBook once you sign up with simple, clear instructions on how to configure the system in order to reduce the burden email puts you under.

So, somebody sends you an email. Your auto-responder thanks them and tells them you are not checking email frequently so if their matter is urgent to please contact you via the AwayFind contact form. If the matter is not urgent, the email stays in your inbox ready for you to read it at your will.

If the matter is urgent, they will fill in the contact form and you will be contacted immediately via your preferred method.

To get started with AwayFind you need to head over to the AwayFind site and sign up for a free account.

Once you have an account you can login and from here you get your AwayFind Inbox and a very simple control panel. The first thing you want to be doing is editing your contact form.

This contact form is the form that you will direct people to in order to get in touch with you and it is the key component of the AwayFind service.

AwayFind

You can really personalize this form with your own details and logos to make it look an extension of your corporate branding.

Once this is complete, the next important step is to set how AwayFind reaches you. This is the method of contact once somebody completes the AwayFind web contact form. This is an important part. If you are not checking email, there is no point using your main email address as the contact method. It kind of defeats the purpose.

The way I use this is twofold. I have entered my cell phone number so that I get an SMS message and I have also cleverly entered my MobileMe email address.

As I use an iPhone and MobileMe, these emails are pushed to me and it does work pretty neat. I do not use the MobileMe address for much else so I know when I get an email on that account it is an important one. I sometimes have data and no cell coverage and sometimes cell coverage and no data. So, I always know I will get the urgent message.

Once AwayFind is configured you need to set up your mail server to send the auto-responder, for which instructions are available via AwayFind for the major mail server vendors. AwayFind even produce some sample auto-responders for you to use.

AwayFind

So, how have I got on with AwayFind?

Well, I have been using AwayFind for the last month or so. I check email twice a day, or when I need to. I have stopped mail notifications and I manually check email on my iPhone.

I am totally free of “notification twitch”, that common complaint suffered by anybody who has ever owned a Blackberry!

I get on average two or three urgent requests a week. I have had no complaints out of people who email me, just curiosity about the system and how much time it is saving me.

If you want to save time and check email only twice a day, or less, then you either risk missing the occasional important time sensitive emails or you sign up to AwayFind.

I do realize that this will not work for everybody as unfortunately some people would not get away with this in their working environment due to the outdated attitudes of their superiors. However, give it a try, make them try it and I am sure, that you will see the benefit of the system.

I know this has sounded like a long sales pitch, but it is a subject that I am passionate about and I am full of enthusiasm for AwayFind. I wish them every success.

Have any of you tried AwayFind?, any views about the service or methodology? I would love to hear.

Thanks.

Getting Things Done GTD with Remember The Milk

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Remember the Milk is a task management application which enjoys some of the widest support options of any similar program. It fits in nicely with the Getting Things Done methodology as it combines many of David Allen’s key concepts into one tidy, convenient app which can greatly encourage better productivity and lower stress for its users.

From the Remember the Milk Website:

Take your tasks anywhere with this feature-packed application. See tasks located nearby, add and complete tasks on the go, organize upcoming tasks, and sync it all seamlessly with Remember The Milk.

The program hosts excellent visuals and functionality. Everything looks superb and the layout of every tool has been properly developed to encourage ease of use and a genuine desire to come back to the system daily.

Every version of Remember the Milk has been given due attention too which means that whether you’re accessing it via a computer, Blackberry or iPhone, the same convenient navigation and solid layout will be represented across the board.

Remember the Milk uses the same design ethic embraced by so many other GTD developers by keeping everything as simple as possible.

All of the most common features necessary for proper implementation of the GTD system are represented here. Perhaps one of the most interesting (and innovative) features is the “Locate Your Tasks” option which places your various tasks on a Google map for easy access and grouping.

Little touches such as this go a long way toward extending the functionality of Remember the Milk as well as helping in setting it apart from the competition.

The program allows for other important features too. Tasks can be designated for reminders (issued by various SMS platforms) or easily synced and shared with as many collaborators as are desired.

“Quick Add” makes the addition of new information incredibly simple and convenient and the ability to customize your priorities goes a long way toward helping to make the whole package come together.

Remember the Milk allows users to group their various tasks into any number of categories such as headings like “personal”, “work”, “call” and more.

The ability to customize your lists into as many or as little grouping as desired is something that will no doubt be very welcome to those using the application and it really helps to expand the user-base from people who only want to use the program minimally to those who require the presence of very in-depth choices.

If there is a major drawback it is really only in the download for iPhone users which requires a small payment to take advantage of. This shouldn’t prove much of a problem considering the incredibly diverse number of options which can be taken advantage of however.

Remember the Milk is accessible through offline Google pages, Google Calendar, Gmail Gadget, Twitter and Blackberry phones. The latter is perhaps the best salve for users who don’t have an iPhone but still wish to make use of the program while on the go.

The blog and help sections of the main page go a long way toward providing a solid support basis for the application as well. While a forum would be a welcome addition, Remember the Milk has such a robust blog archive that almost every question and scrap of news regarding the system can be quickly and easily accessed.

Overall Remember the Milk is certainly one of the best task management applications currently available for users to get onto no matter which version of the service used. The aesthetics, functionality, loads of essential features and great range of support all add up to make Remember the Milk stand out from the crowd of similar applications.

As part of writing this review I signed up for an account with Remember the Milk and I am trialling it aside my usual application, OmniFocus.

It will be interesting to see how I get one with Remember the Milk and I will report back with my findings.

What do you think, got any comments about Remember the Milk or cool tips for using it for Getting Things Done? I would love to hear from you so please comment below.

reQall iPhone To-Do and Reminder Service Productivity App

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reQall iPhone App reQall is one of the most effective Apple iPhone and iPod Touch productivity applications currently available for users to bring into their day-to-day life.

It effectively combines several different organizational features into a single, extremely handy app. The program is completely free of charge as well and this is definitely something that should propel it to the forefront of similar productivity systems.

The application acts as a to-do list coupled with a quality reminder service. reQall lets users either speak or type their tasks into their iPhone and then store it for a later time.

The reminder function can be set for specific dates, hours and minutes before signaling users that it’s time for them to check off or start carrying out an action.

Reminders can be issued through various options including email, text message, instant message, calendar alert or a computerized voice. The flexibility inherent in using these functions is what makes the program really shine however and users are likely to return to reQall just to play around with the various options.

If for no other reason than the free download, reQall is a great option for busy iPhone and iPod Touch users to check out. It has enough features and customization to warrant regular use and is extremely well polished and developed besides.

From the reQall website..

reQall for iPhone gives you a voice-to-text recorder, task/shopping/idea manager, reminder service and memory aid all in one. It will improve your productivity and change how you remember. Just say what you want to remember; reQall for iPhone will manage the rest.

As with most of these tools, there is also a fully featured Web Application where you sign up for a free account and the data is synced between your iPhone and reQall.

reQall also supports the Blackberry platform as well as the Apple iPhone.

It is a great time to be a Productivity Blogger and iPhone owner, there is so much available right now!

Review of the Nozbe GTD and Productivity Application

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Nozbe Nozbe is a great tool for both strict Getting Things Done adherents and those looking only to provide some better structure for their work and life.

The website and program are both well developed and feature a solid spin on David Allen’s teachings as a way to increase overall productivity while lowering your stress.

The site initially appears pretty cluttered but once you’ve navigated yourself into signing-up and getting into the heart of the system, Nozbe offers one of the best online GTD options currently available.

Everything is visually based to a degree not found in many competitors and this goes a long way toward maintaining functionality.

The only drawback to the entire approach is that it takes a little while to truly figure out the program and start really using it to its full potential.

While Nozbe has a lot of the bells and whistles often lacking in GTD sites or software, this positive trait is often something of a double-edged sword navigation wise.

Nozbe

Nozbe has a lot of great features worth taking advantage of however and, as mentioned above, it hosts some uses that other GTD-centered apps and sites lack.

Users can input their projects, to-do lists, next actions or group tasks as is to be expected but Nozbe also offers a little bit more than the usual fare.

Simple touches like the ability to share files among a group have a lot of potential for making the system far more viable than the more self-sufficient options out there.

Nozbe allows file attachment to tasks and projects as well which is extremely handy for organizing the clutter which can be associated with different work into one place. Images, text documents or little scraps of information (like Notepad files) can all be grouped into one place, an invaluable feature to be sure.
Nozbe
Mobile options are also fantastic to see present here. Nozbe hosts support for iPhones, regular cell phones and a variety of browsers (for both Windows and Mac operating systems).

This attention to compatibility and ease of use is a great implementation of David Allen’s recommendation for portable, PDA-like organizing and Nozbe users should be able to get a lot of mileage from it.

The platform is a bit visually scattered compared to other GTD applications as mentioned before but anyone impressed enough by the huge amount of things done right at Nozbe should be able to get over this and take the time to find their way around.

In terms of a general criticism this should be made clear, although it also shouldn’t be taken as an entirely negative report on Nozbe considering how much it does right.

Perhaps the most enticing aspect of the platform is the innovation that the Nozbe team brings to their system. Although there are better options out there, none of them quite have the scope of vision presented in Nozbe’s mobility, sharing and file attachment details.

These alone make figuring out the sometimes muddy interface worth the time and effort in the end.
Nozbe
It’s difficult to recommend Nozbe for everyone considering how many other fantastic options are out there that succeed in aspects focused on in its overall service.

When you log in go the Nozbe system, there are a collection of videos showing you how to start using Nozbe right through to some advanced uses of Nozbe.

Just the same it is one of the more unique GTD applications currently available and its visual approach coupled with the mobility options makes Nozbe a system at least worth checking out.

For some, the site may be too much trouble to have any real, lasting worth but for others, Nozbe could be exactly what they’re looking for.

I am an affiliate for Nozbe, so by you signing up, you do earn me a small referral fee.

Nonetheless, it is worth signing up to a free account and seeing how you get on.

Do I use Nozbe?, No I don’t. OmniFocus is the GTD app for me because my profile does not really fit a web app.

Did you enjoy this review? What are your thoughts about Nozbe? I would love you to comment so we can start a discussion.

Mind Mapping Tool MindMeister Updates to 3.0

Email Productivity Experiment – Update 4

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This is the fifth post in my mini series about email productivity. For those of you who missed the first four I have provided links to them below.

Email Productivity Experiment
Email Productivity Experiment – Update 1
Email Productivity Experiment – Update 2
Email Productivity Experiment – Update 3

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post on the subject of Email Productivity. In my last post I had hit a few problems with my rigid system due to the fact that I was working on a news story and therefore I had a requirement to check email much more than I would have normally done as I was getting very important information via email that required immediate action.

Unfortunately, whilst doing this it also meant that I collected my other email at the same time as well, totally blowing my email productivity system out of the water.

What I had achieved so far was to reduce the amount of timed I checked email from 62 times to 4 times during a working day. I loosely worked out that this was saving me around 93 minutes in my working day. Now, that is a pretty nice saving!

The only issue was, if somebody needed to get a hold of me between the times I checked email, they couldn’t. Obviously if they had my mobile phone number they could try that but I do tend to screen mobile calls from unknown numbers (another good post topic). So, the system fell down during the time when I was receiving time sensitive emails that required my attention.

During my normal working day, there are not that many times when somebody MUST get hold of me as a matter of urgency. I estimate that this requirement may be once every two or three days, when my input is required at that point either to answer a critical customer request or to provide information to the sales team in order to close a deal.

So, I needed a solution that allowed me to check email less frequently, but still provided a way for urgent emails to get through.

As a matter of sheer co-incidence, I was contacted via Facebook by a reader of this blog about a new web application and servie that he was launching called AwayFind. Sounded very interesting so I checked it out.

AwayFind is based on a principle from the Four Hour Work Week book by Timothy Ferris. I have read this book and loved it, although a lot of it is very impractical in my opinion I still picked up some great snippets from it. The review of the book has been in draft post format and I am just waiting for my third copy of the book to arrive as it is that good I keep giving it away!

Here is the blurb about AwayFind from their website:

AwayFind is a communication tool that bridges the gap between emails and phone calls. AwayFind enables people to reach you with critical information via a web link to your AwayFind Contact Form. Just place this link in your “out of office” auto response message or your email signature. This Contact Form routes messages to your cell phone or delegates them to your co-workers. When traveling with limited cellular or internet access, you can also quickly login to AwayFind and read only your critical messages.

I started to use AwayFind but must admit that I expected a few people to hate it. We were in the middle of migrating company email from IMAP to the Google Apps cloud services so it was a perfect time to start using AwayFind.

Now I am not going to go into too much depth about AwayFind as I am drafting a full review that I will link to from here once the review is ready.

The service from AwayFind auto responds to people who send you email letting them know that you do not check email frequently. There is a URL provided in the auto responder that points them to your branded AwayFind page.

From this page users can send you a message that can be delivered to you in a number of ways such as Email or SMS Text Message.

I have been using this system now for the past three weeks and it is fantastic. People have commented on how good it is as they do not expect an immediate response but they have a mechanism of getting a hold of me with their urgent requirements.

I now check email two to three times a day, when my schedule permits. Email does not control me, I control it..

This pretty much wraps up this mini email series. I went out looking for a solution and I think I found one that fits my working life and practices. I am going to attempt to write a little email productivity eBook that I will provide via this site covering my problems and solutions. I am also going to review AwayFind in great detail along with the way I have implemented it.

I hope you have enjoyed this mini series, please let me know your thoughts and comments.

Thanks.

Productivity, Motivation, and Personal Development Links – 2nd November 2008

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Just watched Lewis Hamilton win the 2008 Formula One Grand Prix Championships. What an amazing grandstand finish. Lewis only needed 5th place to take the title and he was fifth right up to the last lap where he was overtaken. He managed to pull it back on the second to last bend, around 10 seconds before the end of the race to provide a real nail biting climax to a great F1 season.

Being proud to be British when it comes to sport is a rare feeling, so I will savor it..

Here are my collection of links for this week.

My first link for this week is from the 7Breaths blog and it is about how to set up Microsoft OneNote for Getting Things Done. I do not use Microsoft OneNote as I have a Mac, although the article does provide a good series of posts about how to integrate OneNote to a GTD system.
My second link is a good link from Productive Flourishing about why GTD Contexts are not right for the editor of the blog. This is a new blog discovery for me and there are some great posts on it worth a read about GTD and general productivity.
My third link is a link to a blog post showing Task Management on Windows Mobile and iPhone. Now the post is more geared towards Windows Mobile than the iPhone, the phone that I use but it still makes a good read.
My fourth link is a link to a post about tweaking your OmniFocus Workflow form the Poder.dk blog. I use OmniFocus as my current productivity application and I love any little nuggets of information such as this.
My fifth and last link for this week is a link to a great post over at GTD Times about how to perform the great GTD Balancing Act, the Weekly Review with Kids. Now, I have four children and I know how having children makes productivity and time management essential if you do not want things to slip, or kids that grow up not knowing who you are. The work/life balance with a large family is one of the hardest challenges that I have had to face and this post is a good read for everybody else, and there must be a lot of you in this situation.

That is it for this week. Looking forward to some more good posts next week where I will be revisiting my little Email Experiment!

Thanks, Andrew..

Top 5 iPhone Applications for Productivity

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I cannot believe that I have never done a Top 5 list on this blog. In fact I have never done a blog entry based around a list before so here goes.

What better place to start than with a list for my Top 5 Productivity Tools on the iPhone.

I love my Apple iPhone. it has to be the single gadget that has most affected my productivity. Being an advocate of the Getting Things Done methodology, I love to talk about ubiquitous capture, and the iPhone is my capture device of choice.

In my opinion, Apple have brought together an amazing collection of tools that you can carry around as a single device in order to help you achieve what is required from your working day, as well as leaving some room for the fun and social aspects of the iPhone.

Here are my Top Five iPhone Apps for Productivity.

Calendar – Bit of an obvious one this but my life runs around my Calendar. The built in Calendar application is one of the most used apps on my iPhone. I sync to my desktop using MobileMe which now works fantastically after the initial teething problems. I can enter an appointment on my iPhone or on my Mac and they sync in the cloud without having to do anything. What a great technology and it means my calendar, and work schedule is always on my iPhone.
OmniFocus – OmniFocus is the current GTD application that I use. I have multiple projects configured both for my home and work lives and this application is in constant use. I capture my thoughts to OmniFocus and they sync again over MobileMe back to my Mac. I have not really played with the location aware profiles yet but I am sure I will.
EverNote – I record all my receipts and photo notes straight to Evernote. I have every invoice and purchase order in PDF from my business as well as all the other files that I want to share between multiple locations stored in EverNote. The Web application, Mac Application, and iPhone application make this a killer note taking and storing app for me.
iBlueSky – I recently reviewed iBlueSky, the newest Mind Mapping application for the iPhone. I have found myself using this app rather than creating paper Mind Maps. The developer assures me that my little niggles with it are being addressed in a later version for which I cannot wait.
Zenbe – Zenbe for me is about making lists. OmniFocus in my opinion is too heavyweight for simple recurring lists so I have tended to create these in Zenbe. These sync with Zenbe on the Internet and the very simple click process for ticking off your list items makes this my list manager of choice.

I would love to hear from the rest of you to see what your best apps are for productivity on the iPhone.

Thanks for your time.

Andrew..

GTDAgenda – Review of the GTDAgenda GTD and Productivity Application

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This is the second in my review series of GTD Apps. This time we are reviewing GTDAgenda.

GTDAgenda is a Web Based application based around the GTD philosophy. One downfall is the fact that you need an Internet connection in order to use this system so you cannot easily take it with you.
GTD Agenda
GTDAgenda.com is a website designed to assist individuals in increasing their productivity through David Allen’s Getting Things Done model. It does an admirable job of shaping the foundation of his advice into a practical, easy-to-use system that could easily change people’s lives through regular use.

The site’s aesthetic are plain but well conceived and goes a great length toward marrying functionality with a myriad of useful features. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the design is found after playing around with categorization tools and discovering exactly how deep the system actually is.

Seemingly nothing has been overlooked by the GTDAgenda team but the entire page never comes off as overly complicated or confusing. GTDAgenda instead chooses to let users dive into the various functions at whichever level they desire. It’s perfectly possible to use the page as nothing more than an electronic calendar, checklist or broad planning tool but for those who look deeper there is also a ton of great details to take advantage of as well.
GTD Agenda
The layout of GTDAgenda is in itself worth taking the time to discuss. The simple design and ease of use mix together very well. Although the page is relatively plain looking, there is nothing so offensive as to keep users from wanting to use GTDAgenda as a frequently viewed hub for their planning activities. Much like the Word document ‘to-do’ lists which Allen displays in Getting Things Done, GTDAgenda allows for an immediate response from users simply through its simple, upfront look.

All of the features are designed with Allen’s GTD model firmly in mind and go a long way toward allowing the site’s users to fully embrace the productivity system. GTDAgenda hosts a header which lists key organizational points (such as Goals, Projects, Tasks and Next Actions) along with appropriate sorting options within each one of these categories. For example, clicking on ‘Tasks’ displays a sub-category wherein users may prioritize their work to fit different criteria.
GTD Agenda
Each header keeps a few features the same so they may be referenced no matter what you’re concentrating on at the time. A handy calendar hangs on the right-hand side of the page and opens scheduled tasks and action steps by clicking on a given date.

The context menu is also an excellent implementation of core GTD philosophy as it allows users to sort their various work into categories such as @Computer, @Home and Errands. A checklist feature goes even further toward allowing for the kind of satisfaction Allen recommends from crossing off completed work and visualizing what must still be done so it can be taken off one’s mind.

GTDAgenda is difficult to criticize as it does perform a fantastic job of offering a productivity system styled upon the core principles and tools purported by the book. Nothing at all presents itself as ineffective or worth taking the time to negatively address in a review. The bottom line perhaps is that, like every organization tool, GTDAgenda will work for some and not for others.

Anyone even remotely interested in the GTD productivity model should at least check out GTDAgenda. The site and application does a great job of providing a system that allows for as little or as much customization and organization as any user could hope for.

Please note, the links to GTDAgenda are affiliate links so anybody signing up will result in myself getting paid a referral feed. This has not tarnished or influenced my review of GTDAgenda.

GTD and Productivity Links – 28th September 2008

1 Reply

Last week has been a very productive week. Not managed to do another email post but I have to do one pretty soon as some unexpected projects have turned my email testing upside down and I think I have realized some shortcomings of fixed systems that I would love to work around.

It just so happens that I also have a beta invite to an email solution that may fit the bill perfectly for me.

Anyway, more about that later so let’s get onto this weeks links.

My first link for this week is a great document about how to integrate GTD with Daylite from MarketCircle, a rather cool CRM app that I have been looking to utilize at work for the sales guys.

My second link is a great collection of 99 Mind Mapping resources, tools and tips from CollegeDegree.com. I love Mind Mapping and it sure does help me with my daily life.

My third link is re:PocketMod, a rather cool Mac app for printing little books. Very handy for us GTD’ers to make our own handy little pocketbooks. It may also be worthwhile checking out CocoaBooklet, very similar to re:PocketMod and another application that is worth taking a look at if you use a Mac.

My fourth link is a great post from John Kendrick about how to get started in GTD. I love the simplicity of this post and it is a great starter point for anybody new to GTD.

My fifth and last link for this week is a great and well written article from GTD Times about recent productivity coach comparison from Fortune Magazine.

Calling it a day now. It was my son’s birthday today and we have had a rather busy day.

Thanks, and good night all..