Category Archives: iPhone Productivity

Productivity, Motivation, and Personal Development Links – 19th December 2010

This is the last weekly post before Christmas! Cannot believe it has come around so quick.

Nearly got all my shopping done. Just a few last minute gifts to get tomorrow from the shops so lets see what happens!

Here are my collection of links for this week.

  • My first link for this week is to a great post from Dan Gold about how he uses Springpad and Evernote to Get Things Done. I love Evernote and I have SpringPad but must admit I need to use it more and I just might after seeing this post!
  • My second link is to a great post from the Evernote Blog about Making the transition from Delicious to Evernote. Yahoo announced they may be closing the door on Delicious so now is the time to start migrating your bookmarks away. This post shows you how you can achieve this with Evernote.
  • My third link is to a post about how to turn email into OmniFocus actions. This is from the official OmniFocus forums and covers a recent release of OmniFocus.
  • My fourth link is a link to a great collection of the Top 5 OmniFocus Applescripts. If you use OmniFocus as I do, then these are a must so check the post out.
  • My fifth and last link is to a nice little post about Blending Pomodoro and GTD. Nice little post that looks at how you can take the best parts of each methodology to blend them together into something cool.

Hope you all have a great week ahead!

Productivity, Motivation, and Personal Development Links – 18th April 2010

Well, I am glad that I didn’t take a trip to Europe this Easter as the flight situation is chaos with a lot of people including my sister and a few friends all stuck in various locations unable to fly back to the UK.

Amazing now to see the airlines trying to apply pressure to lift the ban. Always good to focus on earnings rather than safety!

Here are my collection of links for this week.

  • My first link for this week is to some valuable advice from Brad Lomenick titled Write it Down, always. I could not agree more with this. If I could provide one piece of productivity advice, this is it!
  • My second link is a link to an intriguing iPhone Application that I am just downloading called Egretlist. Egretlist is an Apple iPhone ToDo list application that uses your Evernote notebooks as your data store. This looks awesome and something I would love to see in the Evernote iPhone application.
  • My third link is to a post about Getting Things Done on the Apple iPad from GTDTimes.com. I really do think the iPad will mature into an amazingly utilized piece of hardware that could remove the need for some users to have a Laptop. Cannot wait to get my hands on one!
  • My fourth link is a link to a great titled blog post, Arbitrary Taxonomies and The Illusion of Precision. This is listed as Part 1 and is based on the view of a reader who has just finished the Getting Things Done book by David Allen. Some good points in this post and I am sure the other parts of this will be equally interesting.
  • My fifth and last link is a link to a link to the Evernote Blog and the latest features within the Premium account. Evernote have provided some more great functionality to Premium accounts that make it even more compelling to upgrade from a Free to Premium account. I have been premium for months and would not be without it!

Hope you all have a great week ahead!

Productivity, Motivation, and Personal Development Links – 4th April 2010

Happy Easter to all my readers!

I guess the news of the day is the fact that the Apple iPad was released yesterday.

I am very excited about the productivity aspects of the iPad and will be writing a few iPad Productivity posts this week. Being based in the UK I do not have my hands on an iPad yet and I am still awaiting the UK release date.

Here are my collection of links for this week.

  • My first link for this week is a link to a great post titled 13 small things to simplify your workday from ZenHabits. ZenHabits do a great job at producing excellent blog posts and this one is no exception.
  • My second link is a link to a post titled Procrastination: Feeling overwhelmed, helpless and ready to run away. Procrastination is something that affects us all and this post makes good reading for all.
  • My third link is to the a post from thecynh.com titled 17 Ways for Lone Entrepreneurs to Stay Motivated. This is a very interesting post about a real problem that a lot of self made entrepreneurs suffer from at some time in the lives. More and more people are setting up on their own but they lack the interaction of being in a busy environment and this can bring with it issues relating to motivation. This post tries to look at some ways to avoid this issue.
  • My fourth link is a link to the news that Evernote for the iPad has arrived!. I love and use Evernote daily and this just looks like an awesome app on the iPad. Boy I cannot wait to see this one!
  • My fifth and last link is a link to Things, the GTD Application, for the Apple iPad. I have covered and reviewed Things on this blog in depth and this is the first GTD app to market for the new iPad. Looking forward to seeing how it performs.

Hope you all have a great week ahead!

Productivity on the Apple iPad Links – 31st January 2010

The biggest news of the week has to be the Apple Media event that took place on Wednesday announcing the Apple iPad.

I will be writing my own initial thoughts on the Apple iPad hopefully this week before I go on my trip to Washington DC.

So, I thought I would share a great collection of iPad and Productivity links with you this week.

Here are my collection of links for this week.

  • My first link for this week is to a great post from John Kendrick on his blog titled iPad – the Perfect GTD Solution?. Great preview of the forthcoming iPad and a great look into how this can be integrated into your GTD system.
  • My second link is a link to iPad or Bust, the iPad blog post from the OmniGroup. OmniGroup are the company behind OmniFocus, my GTD app of choice and the one I use daily on my iPhone and Mac. Obviously myself and a lot of other folk are interested in hearing about the development plans for the Apple iPad and I am not disappointed so far in what I am hearing.
  • My third link is to the Evernote Blog post that announces their intention to provide support for the Apple iPad. Great news and I cannot wait to see what Evernote have in store for the Apple iPad.
  • My fourth link is a link to the iPad review from The Productive Organizer. As well as a review of the product this post goes and looks into some possible applications for productivity and how they will be enhanced on the Apple iPad.
  • My fifth and last link is a link to the official Apple Website for the iPad. There is a really awesome video on the Apple site that really shows off the iPad in all its glory.

Hope you all have a great week ahead!

OmniFocus, GTD, and You – Free Whitepaper

This white paper has been out a few days and I was meaning to blog about it sooner but only just got the chance due to my every increasing workload.

So, here is the news regarding OmniFocus and GTD.

OmniGroup, the team behind the Mac and iPhone Getting Things Done app, OmniFocus have released an awesome and free white paper titled OmniFocus, GTD, and You.

This is a 20 page white paper that looks at GTD and the way that you can implement it in a software application such as OmniFocus. Obviously this is very biased towards OmniFocus but the white paper is also of use and contains great information for those of you who do not use OmniFocus.

The white paper starts with a statement from David Allen, the creator of the Getting Things Done Methodology.

“OmniFocus is a stellar tool for keeping track of outcomes and actions in the Mac environment. It supports simple but important practices for keeping your head clear, staying focused, and managing your commitments.”, David Allen.

Great for OmniFocus to get this endorsement from David Allen, and an endorsement that is well deserved. DavidCo, the company of David Allen are now promoting OmniFocus as their Mac GTD app of choice in their online store.

I am not affiliated with OmniGroup or OmniFocus in any way so I have nothing to gain. I have used OmniFocus since the first beta versions and I have recommended it to many people.

Be sure to check out this white paper and if you do use a Mac, give OmniFocus a try!

PDF Productivity with iPhone and Dropbox

iphone dropbox pdf productivityThis is the first guest post that I have had on DidIGetThingsDone.com and it is written by Chris Garrett, co-author of the ProBlogger Book, speaker at many blogging and new media conferences and a genuine good guy.

In this post, Chris is going to provide an overview of PDF Productivity with the Apple iPhone and Dropbox.

Since I bought my iPod touch, and more recently upgraded to an iPhone 3GS, I have been making better use of my time by reading PDF documents while out and about. You can see more about my iPhone software productivity obsession here.

It is amazing how much spare time you actually have in a day. Think of all the times you are just waiting.

  • Daily commute
  • Waiting in line
  • Sat at a restaurant table
  • Outside changing rooms while friend or family member tries on their 20th item
  • Before meetings
  • After calling a taxi
  • Airport lounges
  • Security lines

Rather than sit and stare into space or doodle on a napkin, I have been reading ebooks, memorizing from mindmaps, and generally trying to fill the time while filling my head.

Up to now I have been getting these documents onto my iPhone using various methods such as emailing them to myself, or using an app called Files that allows you to configure your iPhone as a mini file server. Now I have a better choice, which makes moving files to your iPhone AND enabling offline storage much easier.

Dropbox now has an iPhone application!

If you do not know Dropbox, you are in for a treat. It is a free online storage space (up to 2gb, then you start paying) that allows you to sync files between computers and your online storage. It’s like a hard disk that follows you around. Now with the iPhone app you can sync to your iPhone too. And when you make the file a favorite you have instant access to the file even without an internet connection.

Go to https://www.getdropbox.com and check it out and create an account, then install the appropriate desktop application for your computer type (windows, mac and linux). When you have done that, grab the iPhone app and get logged in. Now any files you drag on to your Dropbox will appear on your iPhone – easy!

Of course my wife is not happy that I have my head down tinkering with my iPhone all the time … as yet I haven’t found an app that can help with that particular speed bump …

Do you see the iPhone as a productivity boon or a productivity pain? Please let me know in the comments …

MindJet MindManager iPhone Application

At long last, my prayers are answered and MindJet have today launched their Mind Mapping application for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.

I am a devout MindManager user and have been for years. Over the past few months I have been using MindMeister more and more, mainly because of the rather cool ability to syn between their awesome web app and the iPhone Application.

MindJet MindManager iPhone

I have just purchased and downloaded the MindJet Mind Manager application.

My initial thoughts are mixed. The layout and look of the application is great. I must admit that I am not so sure on the way you enter topics. You jump from the main window to a separate entry window where the details are entered for each topic. Do I prefer the much simpler on screen method as used by MindMeister and iBlueSky?

There are a lot more bells and whistles in this app over the competition. But, I normally use the iPhone as a capturing device where my Mind Maps are very basic, just capturing the key concepts. I normally refine the Mind Map at a later date on my Mac.

The transfer/sync ability is definitely not up to the same standard as MindMeister. It would be great to see the ability to sync my Mind Maps with the desktop version of Mind Manager but I am sure this will be out in a later release.

Here is a little video published by MindJet.

Mindjet for iPhone from Mindjet on Vimeo.

I know this is the first release of the software and I hope it will improve because I really do want to be able to use this and get the most out of this application.

I will be putting this through its paces over the next few days and I will return back with a more in depth review.

Looking forward to hearing any comments that you may have.

Productivity, Motivation, and Personal Development Links – 23rd August 2009

First week back and my feet have hardly touched the ground!

Spent a few days trawling through my emails and allocating these to where they should be. I collected over 100 tasks whilst away on OmniFocus for iPhone so these all needed sorting. In fact, Tuesday/Wednesday of this week turned into a great two day review of my current tasks and projects. A mammoth weekly review!

Looking forward to another great week. I am away Thursday to Tuesday in Reeth, Swaledale for another break, looking forward to it already!

Here are my collection of links for this week.

  • My first link for this week is a great post from Web Worker Daily titled Postponed: Procrastination. Procrastination is productivity’s biggest enemy! and one which we all face. It is so easy to put things off and drift in the ether rather than focus and do. Great tips from a great blog.
  • My second link is a link to txtGTD, a text based GTD system. This is a cool little script written in AutoHotKey for Windows or Perl for WIndows, Linux, and Mac. I have just found this myself and I am looking at the Perl version as it looks quirky and cool. Check it out and let me know your thoughts on it.
  • My third link is a link to a post titled How To Get More Done As A Freelance Web Designer. Although this is aimed at Web Designers, there are some great generic tips from Lee Munroe, the author of this blog.
  • My fourth link is another Gmail GTD tip titled GTD Action Lists and Gmail Labels from the pennies in a jar blog. Again, I do not use Gmail but I know a lot of people do so be sure to check out this cool little post about GTD using Gmail.
  • My fifth and last link is a link to a review of the Things GTD iPhone application. Nice little review of a great app that I am sure I would use if I was not hooked on OmniFocus!

Wishing you all a very productive week ahead!

Productivity, Motivation, and Personal Development Links – 5th July 2009

I am now back from what has been a totally fantastic holiday with my family in Northumberland.

I was virtually disconnected for the whole week with only 2G on my iPhone and an unusable 20Kbps through my 3G modem on my MacBook Air. It was actually quite refreshing, especially for somebody like me is spends most of their time awake online in some form or another.

I will stop my thoughts here about my holiday as I really want to try to get these down in a blog post tomorrow if time permits.

I am writing this on my kitchen table as I still have to get my new home office sorted. I aim to get to Ikea at the start of this week to get my desk and chair sorted then I am hunting for a good filing cabinet.

Here are my collection of links for this week.

  • My first link for this week is a great blog post about GTD Hacks from Annie Anderson. In this post Annie presents a few hacks that she implements as part of her own system for getting things done. Great reading and I am happy these hacks are working for Annie and making her more productive.
  • My second link is a link to a post about coping with information overload from Mark Wilson. This is an adapted list from the 2005 issue of Management Today that Mark found after returning from a family holiday. A nice little list of pointers for getting through a work overload.
  • My third link is a link to a blog post titled Rely on Your Inner Strength from Raymond Blanc. This is more of a psychology link than a motivational link but it is a post that I enjoyed so I thought I would share it.
  • My fourth link is a link to a part one of a great series of tips about the Mac GTD Application, OmniFocus. These tips are aimed at the advanced user of OmniFocus and I have liked reading all of these as I would not class myself as a novice user. I will present links to the other parts in this series in future weeks or you can just work them out from the initial post.
  • My fifth and last link is a link to a blog authors top ten iPhone apps. I have not done one of these for a while and with the launch of the iPhone 3G S I thought I would as most of these apps are productivity related. I had never seen SugarSync and I am just checking that out now.

Wishing you all a very productive week ahead. I am looking forward to getting my head stuck back into work as I am working on some rather cool projects right now!

iPhone 3.0 Update Improves GTD Productivity Applications

The much publicized Apple iPhone 3.0 update was released around 1000 PDT yesterday.

I started my update as soon as I could and installed the latest version of the iPhone OS eagerly waiting to test out some of the new features. All very well and good.

Today, my two killer iPhone Apps, OmniFocus and Evernote both got upgraded to take advantage of the iPhone 3.0 features.

OmniFocus

OmniFocus version 1.5 for the iPhone has been released.

The main feature in this upgrade include integration of cut, copy, and paste features as well as utilizing the integrated maps.

OmniFocus iPhone

The full blog post for this latest version can be found at the OmniGroup Blog. The OmniFocus for iPhone product page is also worth checking out.

Evernote

Evernote version 3.0 for the iPhone brings some great new features all that are outlined at this Evernote Blog Post.

These improvements include better synchronization, no “Pending” Tab, Instant Groups, Advanced Searching, Way Better Audio, Landscape View and many bug fixes.

The great guys over at Evernote have made a nice little video of the latest features of 3.0.

This is a great time to own an iPhone if you are into productivity!

Thoughts, as usual are welcomed..