Category Archives: GTD Applications

MindMaker – Mind Mapping for the iPhone and iPod Touch Review

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MindMaker
Being an avid Mind Mapper, I was excited to see the release of MindMaker, the first Mind Mapping application on the iTunes store for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

I have been using the app for a couple of days and thought I would post a little review of my findings of the app. I am quite experienced in using Mind Mapping applications having used them for around 8 years. My current favorite is Mind Manager from MindJet which works like a dream on my Mac. Mind Mapping works for me and has helped me pass many exams and helps me plan important events.

MindMaker initially presents you with a list of Mind Maps that you have created on the device. When you first install it there is a demo map that helpfully shows you some of the features of MindMaker.

MindMaker

Clicking on an existing Map name will take you straight to that Map in the map view mode. Clicking on the + icon at the top right of the screen starts a new Mind Map with a blank center map piece.

Once you get to a Mind Map the navigation is very simple and exactly what you would expect if you have experience of other Mind Map applications. Adding branches to your map is very intuitive making large maps very easy to produce. The ability to drag branches is nice and the animation of the branches moving is very slick and smooth.

So, what are my thoughts about the app. Well, it is a great concept but I have questions as to how much I would use such an app on my iPhone. I personally use Mind Maps for project planning as well as to brainstorm an idea or technology. I then use them as memory joggers when I need to refresh my knowledge on a subject. The killer for me is to be able to view Mind Maps on my iPhone rather than create them. I am more than happy to create the Mind Map on my Mac and then save it as a PDF and view it on my iPhone using the AirSharing app or similar. This works for me.

MindMaker

Note taking on my iPhone and idea collection is covered off pretty much with OmniFocus and Evernote. I cannot see myself using MindMaker to replace either of these functions.

Version 1.0 is lacking some very important features such as the ability to view the map in landscape mode and the ability to export and import maps. Luckily, the developers of the application seem to have covered these shortfalls in their roadmap.

The current version is 1.0. The developer has announced some features that are coming in later versions.

Version 1.1

  • Mind maps can be saved as images
  • Support for Landscape mode
  • Translucent hideable interface

Version 1.2

  • MindMaker will be able to upload mind maps to a web application from which users can download it in different formats.

Future features

  • Cross links between nodes
  • Reordering of nodes
  • Editable colors
  • Export to different formats

In summary, MindMaker is a great little iPhone app but I do feel that it is an app that has limited usability due to the input constraints of the iPhone.

I will update my iPhone with the latest versions as they come out and I will ensure that I follow this review up when the updates come out.

GTD and Productivity Links – 21st September 2008

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Time seems to have accelerated over the past week. It is a strange phenomenon that when you have a very busy week time seems to accelerate.

I have been out or away from home 5 out of the last 7 nights on work related trips and meetings. It is now Sunday night and I am eventually getting/making some time to write my thoughts down on my blog and letting you all know of what cool productivity and GTD links I have unearthed in the past week.

Well, without further undue, here are the links for Sunday the 21st September 2008.

Well, time to catch up on a few blogs and then off to bed, another busy week and I have a big project to start this week along with some learning I have to do for another looming project.

Hopefully back tomorrow with some more insights into my thoughts..

Thanks, and good night all..

GTDInbox – Review of the GTDInbox GTD and Productivity Application

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I am starting a process where I review all of the available GTD and Productivity applications available and then make them available via this blog and a simple applications page that lists the applications as well as links to their reviews.

GTDInbox

To kick this process off, I have provided a review of GTDInbox. I met with Andy Mitchell, the creator of GTDInbox at the recent Northern UK Bloggers Meetup so I thought it would be great to start with a review of hid GTD Application.

GTDInbox is one of the best (and most popular) applications designed to help advocates of David Allen’s Getting Things Done productivity model implement the system into their day-to-day life. Designed by Andy Mitchell and continuously supported by a community of users, GTDInbox is an ongoing project (started in 2006) that seeks to add greater functionality to the pre-existing and widely used, Gmail.

GTDInbox

The program works as an add-on for the Mozilla Firefox web-browser and easily transforms Google’s Gmail into a less cluttered, productivity-friendly email system. In terms of the software itself, GTDInbox does as an admirable job of both adhering to the principles of the GTD model while still providing an inbox that you’ll actually want to use. Important organizational facets of Getting Things Done have been made a keystone design element so that users are able to sort their mail and tasks with a level of depth not present in any existing email inbox. Even for those who only want the cleanest, easily navigated email service, GTDInbox is a good bet. It provides an intuitive interface and focal emphasis on sorting so that users are able to keep their inbox under control rather than thrown into haphazard folders and lists.

One of the most interesting features of the add-on is the ability to use your email inbox for more than just sending, receiving and archiving mail. GTDInbox adds a personal database to Gmail so that daily planning, next-action steps and to-do lists can all be accessed easily. Considering that almost everyone uses their email inbox as their daily hub anyway, the extra functionality is one of the stand-out features of the program. Email can be transformed into tasks, which constitute a central concept of David Allen’s model (wherein the author advocates this very process but could only advise a roundabout process which didn’t yet exist) and makes for a fantastic, stress-free inbox. Each email/task can be assigned a priority in the same fashion as the personal database and these are all modeled after the general ‘inbox’ described in Getting Things Done (such as sorting by ‘Projects’ or ‘Next Action’, ‘Action’, ‘Someday’ or ‘Finished’ statuses).

GTDInbox

It’s difficult to identify any glaring flaws with GTDInbox and it’s at least worth a try for anyone who either wants to start implementing Allen’s model into their work-life or just take advantage of a great, email client add-on. Users should know that the initial add-on is free of charge but that accessing GTDInbox Pro requires a donation (from as low as $15 USD) through PayPal. The Pro version only adds minor features such as early release beta downloads, multi-computer (preference setting) synchronization and special recognition on the user forum so this is hardly a drawback and more of a way to show support for Andy Mitchell and GTDInbox as a program.

Obviously GTDInbox only functions as one part of the Getting Things Done whole but considering the wide array of practicality set out in Allen’s book, Andy Mitchell and team have done a fantastic job of giving consumers an entry point into the system. In terms of achieving the fundamental GTD philosophy of organization and pro-action toward increasing productivity, GTDInbox succeeds marvelously and is well worth the download.

I hope you have all enjoyed this review and look forward to hearing your comments and feelings about GTDInbox.

For those of you who missed the inline link, GTDInbox can be obtained by following this link.

This is the first review of many, and soon I will be accepting request to have products or services reviewed so we can build up a great list.

Thanks, Andrew..

Using MindManager as a Single Project Dashboard

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Mind Mapping
Mind Mapping is something I have blogged quite a lot about and something that I use on a daily basis. The visual representation of your thoughts and ideas really can help in the planning phase and it is a fantastic way to study or learn pretty much any topic.

Well, I had just found a great link on the MindManager website that provides a ready made Mind Map to show you how to use Mind Mapping as a project dashboard. There are some good links within the Mind Map to further enhance MindManager with third party plugins.

The Mind Map can be downloaded direct from this link or you can go to the MindJet website where I found the Mind Map by following this link.

You do need MindManager to open up the Mind Map but I do recommend Mind Mapping and MindManager to anybody.

OmniFocus, GTD for iPhone Update

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OmniFocus iPhoneI have just been reading a great post over at 43Folders about the impending release of OmniFocus for the iPhone.

It is worth a read as Merlin Mann from 43Folders.com has acted as a consultant on the OmniFocus project.

One new thing that this post brings is information about location aware contexts. So, this means that the iPhone can prompt you what needs to be done based upon where you are. Now, that sounds very cool to me and a feature that I am sure will be great to use. I eagerly await this release, hopefully on the 11th of July although I have not seen any firm dates yet.

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2 Weeks Holiday – 72 Tasks Collected and Processed

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Well, after a great two weeks in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, I am back!

Normally, as we all find, any lengthy absence from work results in a return where we dread turning on our computers to see how many emails have arrived and how many tasks we have to plan once back. In fact, it is true that most people need a good few days on their return just to catch up with processing the emails and also processing tasks that have arisen during their absence.

I am sure this has happened to you. And this, is only for the motivated and organised. The darker side to this is what happens to the not so motivated and organised people whom I seem to meet along the way. These people just leave the unread emails in their mail application. Every time the connect to the mail server, the number in bold increases letting them know how many of their emails still need to be read. Until, one day arrives where they select all of their emails with a CTRL-A or Command-A and then mark all as read, using the excuse “Well, they would have got back to me if it was important” type of attitude. I was amazed that a senior employee at my last company who was in an operational capacity had such an attitude. I once glanced at his email client and noticed that he had over 500 unread emails, and this is somebody who we were paying to run operations for a growing organisation. This made me re-evaluate my thoughts towards the employee and their effectiveness.

Mastering the art of email is a critical step in the quest for self organisation, and one which we are going to really promote here at DidIGetThingsDone.com.

So, how did I do?

Well, thanks to my EeePC and the fact that my Vodafone 3G card worked a dream in Portugal I did very well. I covered what I was going to do in a previous post which is worth a read if you are just joining me for this post.

I was able to check my email around three times a day without it affecting my family, and remaining under the radar of my wife, who understands that I lead a busy life but who cringed at the thought of my laptop invading a family holiday! Now, since I was on holiday I applied the 2 minute processing rule of the Getting Things Done methodology to my emails, that is, if I could action the email in two minutes I did, if I didn’t I processed it.

Now, I get a lot of emails, but a lot of these are junk due to the length of time that I have had my email account and some of these get through the Spam filter. So, most of the emails I deleted, some I replied to, and some I processed.

Now, since I was away with my EeePC and there is no OmniFocus for Linux so I wanted a way where I could process my emails in one shot, rather than having to do it when I arrived home.

In a previous post, I covered how to email actions directly to OmniFocus. By doing this, you can send an email that when Mail.app picks up, it automatically processes the mail based upon its content within OmniFocus.

So, I set up a mail account that OmniFocus processes but I did not collect whilst in Portugal, then, every email that needed processing got forwarded to this email address with the correct fields where appropriate.

In conjunction with this, I carried my Moleskine Cahier where practical. I collected quite a few tasks all of which I processed using the same process by emailing them to myself so that OmniFocus would process them on my return.

On my return from Portugal, I launched Mail.app and OmniFocus. After a few minutes, all of my tasks from my vacation where processed, and placed into the correct contexts. All ready for me to start actioning.

I have been home a few days now and already making great progress into these tasks.

So, overall, a great experience and nice to come home fully organised thanks to my simple Vacation Getting Things Done system.

How do you manage your tasks whilst on holiday? Would love you to comment so that we can all share this information.

Thanks, and look forward to hearing your comments…

Getting Things Done Mind Mapping Templates

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I have just come across these Mind Mapping templates that follow the Getting Things Done Methodology. They are quite simple but good to make a start with.

They are based on MindJet MindManager. Download the Mind Maps directly from here.

OmniFocus 1.0.2 is Out

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I apologise for the OmniFocus related news yet again, this blog really is becoming a blog about OmniFocus, but the guys at OmniGroup have just released OmniFocus 1.0.2.

I am downloading it as we speak, and will report on the findings.

I am going away a week today for a two week well earned vaction to the Algarve in Portugal. Looking forward to the break and I have collected a few great books to read whilst away. I will write a few posts over the next few days and try to make time to blog whilst on holiday as my trusty EeePC is going with me.

So, the release notes from OmniFocus 1.0.2 are as follows

OmniFocus 1.0.2 – May 14, 2008
This update to OmniFocus focuses on adding support for additional languages, as well as fixing some stability and interface issues and other minor bugs.

Over the last few months, most of our attention has been focused on OmniFocus 1.1, where we’ve been adding support for synchronization, and on writing OmniFocus for the iPhone. We plan to release both OmniFocus 1.1 and OmniFocus for the iPhone in late June (if they’re ready!).

Additional languages
OmniFocus is now available in Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and Simplified Chinese. Please let us know if you see any problems with any of these translations!

Stability
OmniFocus should no longer crash when dragging images from mail while editing.
Instead of crashing, just a log an exception when pasting rich text that has odd formatting properties and use defaults instead.
Fixed a hang occasionally seen when using a two-button mouse.
Worked around a Leopard bug (5728015) which would cause OmniFocus to crash after used the Help menu to search for a menu item.
Fixed a memory leak.

Interface
Improved OmniFocus’ memory of which windows were open the last time you used it. (OmniFocus used to sometimes open windows that you’d previously closed, or forget their current position or size.)
Right- or control-clicking on an item now changes the keyboard focus to that item before bringing up the contextual menu. This ensures that all the items in that contextual menu will be validated against the appropriate target item.
The reset button on the view bar should show up when making changes while a perspective is active.
Remove contextual menu items that were not applicable to sidebar items.
Updated some labels in Data Preferences.
Fixed a bug where the “Show in Context Mode” menu item would say “Show in Project Mode” until you first switched modes in a window.
When Software Update finds an update with the same major version as the currently licensed application (e.g. OmniFocus 1.x), it should now correctly indicate that the update price is free.
The license window will no longer continue to display “No license available” after a license is added.
Fixed the help link in the Mail preference pane on 10.4.
When a chosen keyboard shortcut is already in use by a menu item, we now present the full path that leads to that menu item.

Miscellaneous
The code used in OmniFocus is now signed for Leopard’s benefit. (For more information, see Leopard’s code signing release notes.)
Focusing on a project now saves any edits that are in progress.
When synchronizing with iCal, we now set an appropriate local time to incoming dates without times. This should help solve synchronization issues for people in New Zealand who are using daylight savings time (where the local date differs from London’s date when it’s noon in London). It also means that we’ll apply the default due time setting from Data Preferences to items created in iCal.
Worked around an operating system bug which could delay automatic backups after waking a computer from sleep.
License files will no longer be created with the “execute” permission enabled. (The files were never actually executable, and shouldn’t be marked that way.)
Removed a Console log message which would sometimes appear when executing AppleScript.
The online help now correctly indicates that you hold down Option to copy a file rather than linking to it when dragging.
Added logging to the Mail Rule processing script so that it’s easier to for users to determine whether or not it’s getting called by Mail.

New OmniFocus GTD Video – Perspectives

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My regular readers will know that OmniFocus is my current GTD system of choice. I am busy as hell at the moment and this is pushing my GTD and organizational skills to the limit!

One thing I love about OmniFocus is the size of it. I am always finding cool new ways to use it. Anyway, the OmniGroup have just released a new video on OmniFocus, that covers the use of Perspectives.

The video is not yet on YouTube, and only on the OmniGroup site as a Quicktime .MOV file.

The direct link to the movie is here, check it out and feel free to comment…