Getting Things Done GTD with Personal Development and Motivation for Success

I guess the prominence of my blog is growing as I have just been tagged in a meme game by Dragos from eDragonu.

Seems like a good idea to let all my blog readers know more about me as well as to get 7 more blogger’s involved so here goes.

First, here are the rules.

• Link to the original tagger(s), and list these rules on my blog.
• Share 7 facts about myself in the post – some random, some weird.
• Tag 7 people at the end of my post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

7 Things About Me

Well, as the name suggest I have to tell you all 7 things about me that you may not already know. So here goes..

1. I am 35 years old and my Birthday is in March
2. I am married to Helen and have four children, Rosie (Age 9), Jack (Age 7), Tom and Poppy (Twins aged 2)
3. I am the co-founder and Director of RandomStorm a Vulnerability Management and PCI DSS ASV.
4. I am a published author with McGraw Hill and Cisco Press. I have written 7 books and 2 eBooks on Cisco Network Security. I am just working on another ebook for Cisco Press covering Router and Switch Security.
5. My Hobbies include Mountain Biking, Running, Golf, and Wing Chun Kung Fu. When I make time to relax I like to grab a good movie or take my aggression out on the PS3.
6. My favorite places in the UK are Northumberland and the Lake District. I try to visit both of these at least a week each year. Both have beautiful unspoiled countryside.
7. When I was 11 I was on the national news and front page of all major UK newspapers for bringing a live hand grenade home from the World War One trenches in Ypres, Belgium. I had it at the side of my bed for 6 months before we found out that it was “potentially lethal”.

Now I have to pass this on to the following bloggers:

• Jamie Harrop, follow him on Twitter
• Edith Robertson, follow her on Twitter
• James Mallinson, follow him on Twitter
• Kieron Donoghue, follow him on Twitter
• Simon Barker, follow him on Twitter
• Oliver Haslam, follow him on Twitter
• Dom Hodgson, follow him on Twitter

I hope you have enjoyed this post. Be sure to check out the blogs I have just mentioned as they are all on my blog reading list.

I have just read this neat little story and video that I thought I would share with you all. Now, I am one of those very lucky people with a very good photographic memory.

I am able to tune into the memory of sight to help me remember items. I have managed to utilize Mind Mapping techniques to really harness this power that I have and this has helped me pass numerous exams as well as impress people with my memory.

I was just reading about how Evernote have teamed up with Eye-Fi to bring you a digital electronic memory.

I have covered Evernote in great depth in this blog and my regular users will know that I love Evernote and use it daily to collect and share notes between my numerous computers and also the Web.

Eye-Fi manufacture WiFi enabled SD Memory Cards. These are the same cards that go into your digital camera for photo storage.

So, what has happened now in the collaboration between Evernote and Eye-Fi is that you can take a picture with your digital camera and with some simple setup it will be automatically sent to your Evernote account.

Obviously you need a WiFi connection to make this happen but you can take the pictures and then they will be uploaded when you are in range of a trusted WiFi Access Point.

Think of the uses for this!, here are some from the Evernote Blog

* Got back from a conference with a stack of business cards? Snap a photo of them.
* Just finished a big whiteboard session? Don’t copy it into your notebook, snap a photo.
* Just had dinner? Snap a photo of the receipt for your records.
* Doing some comparison shopping? Go to a store and snap a photo of the sales tags.
* Got a billion dollar idea sketched on a napkin? Snap a photo so you’ll never forget it.

How cool is that!

Just added one of these to my want list as I have to try this out, although I mainly use Evernote on my iPhone for image collection so I do have a feature like this already.

Evernote as a photo storage and automatic backup service, now there is an idea…

Hope you have all had a great week.

I have just been to my childrens Christmas nativity and right after this I am heading to my fathers Christmas party at the Hilton in Leeds for yet more festive fun.

Productivity is more important than ever right now as we just have more things to do, and there is a prominent deadline that we have to meet. More about that, as I feel a post coming on later in the week about festive productivity.

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Just a quick post to test out the posting functionality of WordPress 2.7 which I upgraded this blog to earlier today.

All seems in order, had a sight issue with some of the plugins not getting re activated after my upgrade.

I am very impressed with the new WordPress interface. I think this is probably the biggest cosmetic update that I have ever seen to WordPress and I am going to enjoy learning all the cool ways of using it in the most productive way.

For those of you who are interested, I performed the upgrade from 2.6.3 to 2.7 using the WordPress Automatic Upgrade Plugin. All went really smooth and worked fine.

If you find anything that is broken or does not work as expected, please let me know.

I do not know how well known Peter Jones is in the US but here in the UK Peter Jones is an Entrepreneur who is part of the Dragons Den TV series. Dragons Den is an investment business show shown on the BBC.

I love Dragons Den, although I must admit that the last series has been turning more into a media circus with more “just for TV” business ideas being aired.

I read and reviewed “Anyone Can Do It“, the book from fellow Dragon, Duncan Bannatyne back in the early days of this blog.

I have had Tycoon, the book by Peter Jones for quite a while and eventually got around to reading it.

For some reason, I never really took to Peter Jones when watching him on Dragons Den. He reminds me of somebody that I do not like so maybe this is the reason. I also sometimes disagree with his actions and opinions on Dragons Den but one thing you cannot argue with is the fact that he has amassed a great wealth on his own from his Mobile Phone companies.

Peter Jones has also endured the hard times when his first company went under. This makes me realize that Peter Jones has really earned the wealth that he now enjoys.

So, what about his book. Well, to be honest I was pleasantly surprised with the book and actually enjoyed it. It was one of those books which I thought I would not like so had pre-conceived ideas about it even before I had started it.

I do have a problem with the word “Tycoon“. It does not really strike me as a positive word when referring to wealth. The word drums up images of an overpaid sleazy businessman and the use of the word Tycoon in the book is in my opinion over the top. Each time I read about the “Tycoon Mindset” I cringed.

The book is split into eight chapters:

1. The Ten Golden Rules
2. Put Your Imagination to Work
3. What’s the Big Idea?
4. Planning and Pitching
5. Ignition, Making it Happen
6. Building Your Future
7. My Time on TV
8. Final Word

Now, being an entrepreneur myself, involved in a 2 year old start up business a lot of what this book promoted was what I was going through and it did offer some good advice.

The book started off quite weak and then greatly improved to the point where I really was getting benefit from the book. It is a book which I would recommend to anybody looking at starting a business.

I think this book will really only appeal to you if you are looking to make the jump into your own business or if you are already running your own small business and toying with the idea of looking for investment.

I would not rank this book in the same inspirational league as How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis but it is worth the read if you fall into the categories that I just mentioned.

Keeping on the theme of Dragons Den I am currently reading the book from James Caan. Review will follow and I am enjoying the book so far.

have you read this or other books from any of the Dragons Den investors? Would love to hear if you have.

WritingPad is one of the many iPhone productivity applications designed to encourage users to keep notes through easy, convenient and even fun access to their program.

Using ShapeWriter technology, WritingPad is able to provide iPhone owners with a great method of organization and outlet for every idea or idea in need of remembrance.

The application allows for a sort of short-hand version of typical note-taking which makes it into an invaluable tool for meetings, lectures or any other situation where a memo is in order but time and concentration are scarce.

WritingPad’s ShapeWriter system works incredibly well and allows users to transcribe their thoughts much faster than that which is possible via traditional means. The software recognizes a user’s writing of letter or number shapes and interprets them into clean, easily read computer text.

In addition to this, WritingPad also uses an ‘Add Word’ feature which functions in a similar fashion as the T9 anticipation of cell phones, recording and suggesting typically used words and phrases to further increase the speed of typing.

It can be extremely handy for iPhone users to be able to take notes without having to rely on a virtual keyboard to get things inputted to the device. The fact that WritingPad is free to download makes it at least worth a shot for anybody who finds themselves taking frequent notes and would rather speed up the process through their iPhone.

Do you have any experience in using WritingPad? If so, I would love to hear from you.

I have just ordered myself two books to read over the holiday season. Now, these are not your traditional festive tales of snowmen and Santa Claus, but what would you expect from a productivity blogger?

The first book I ordered is The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp. I first heard about this book via 43Folders and as I normally like the book recommendations from Merlin Mann I thought I would order it on Amazon and read it for myself.

What makes someone creative? How does someone face the empty page, the empty stage and making something where nothing existed before? Not just a dilemma for the artist, it is something everyone faces everyday.

What will I cook that isn’t boring? How can I make that memo persuasive? What sales pitch will increase the order, get me the job, lock in that bonus? These too, are creative acts, and they all share a common need: proper preparation.

For Twyla Tharp, creativity is no mystery; it’s the product of hard work and preparation, of knowing one’s aims and one’s subject, of learning from approaches taken in the past. It’s a process undertaken every day. It’s a habit.

The Creative Habit is not merely a look inside the mind of a remarkable woman with remarkable skills, but a programmatic, inspiring, encouraging guide to help each of us achieve our fullest creative potential.

The second book is Making it all Work by David Allen. This is a book I am really looking forward to reading and it is supposed to start where Getting Things Done left. This is a productivity book that we are all looking forward to it and I must admit that this will be my first read as I want to get the book digested and provide the review as fast as I can.

David Allen’s Getting Things Done hit a nerve and ignited a movement with businesses, students, soccer moms, and techies all the way from Silicon Valley to Europe and Asia.

Now, David Allen leads the world on a new path to achieve focus, control, and perspective. Throw out everything you know about productivity- Making It All Work will make life and work a game you can win.

For those who have already experienced the clarity of mind from reading Getting Things Done, Making It All Work will take the process to the next level. David Allen shows us how to excel in dealing with our daily commitments, the unexpected, and the information overload that threatens to drown us.

Making It All Work provides an instantly usable, success-building tool kit for staying ahead of the game. Making It All Work addresses: how to figure out where you are in life and what you need; how to be your own consultant and a CEO of your life; moving from hope to trust in decision-making; when not to set goals; harnessing intuition, spontaneity, and serendipity; and why life is like business and business is like life.

I am looking forward to my Christmas reading. Do you have anything planned to read over the festive period? If so, I would love to hear about it.

I eventually took the plunge this week and ordered a MacBook Air. I have been wanting one since they came out but it was only due to some unexpected cash coming my way that I thought what the hell and went ahead to buy one.

My main machine is a 17″ MacBook Pro hooked up to a 30″ display. A great setup but I do miss the portability that you do sacrifice with the 17″ MacBook Pro. It is an amazing machine for moving between my works office and my home office but that is about it.

So, I am sat now on my sofa writing this blog on my MacBook Air. So far I am loving the Air, it just fits the bill for exactly what I need it for. It will never be my main laptop but it is still a very powerful machine for the size.

Here are my collection of links for this week.

• My first link for this week is a link to a great little summation of the whole GTD Methodology. I will not spoil it by telling you what it is so follow the link above to check it out.
• My second link is a great 30 minute HD screencast showing the features of OmniFocus. These screencasts are great and although I do not pay to subscribe to the free ones are still very good.
• My third link is a link to 10 productivity tips for 2009 from the Real Estate Blog. A couple of these are linked to Real Estate but the others are good and I found this blog via Google Alerts.
• My fourth link is a link to the Top Ten Must Followers via TwitTip.com. There is a category for Productivity and GTD Twitter Users and I am happy to say that I have been included in this list. If you do not follow me already on Twiiter, feel free to follow me at Twitter as @masontech.
• My fifth and last link for this week is a link to the Winter MacUpdate Promo. Some great Mac Apps for $49.99. You get in total $447.69 worth of Apps for $49.99 so be sure to take advantage of this before the offer ends in just over a week.

Hope you have all had a good week and I have some more posts lined up already for the coming week.

Christmas is approaching at an alarming pace, soon time for a few days rest!

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about a new productivity application called Springpad.

Springpad is one of the more interesting attempts at organization currently available from designers who wish to provide a fresh take on productivity software.

Although it is probably best taken as a single part of a total organizational plan the system is nonetheless a very impressive program which can go a long way toward providing users with a forum for keeping their thoughts and lists in one attractive and detailed place.

The software is exceptional and provides easy access coupled with pleasant visuals. Springpad’s designers have obviously spent a significant amount of time ensuring that their organizational method is both functional and graphically impressive.

Navigation of various Springpads and their editing or maintenance features is very well established and easy to pick up and get used to using while the aesthetics are all extremely clean and colorful, proving conducive to the experience rather than acting as an unnecessary level of eye-candy.

Design elements such as lots of open space and simple icons work together to create a beautiful home for daily list creation and editing.

Due attention should be paid to the unique Springpad system that has been developed here. The programmers have created their very own nomenclature and sorting method through their ‘springpads’— essentially any number of organizational pages and sections for users to customize. The developers have created a substantial number of Springpads with templates for popular organization projects (holiday shopping, grocery lists, weekly chores, medical check-ups and prescriptions, etc.) so users can easily pick a well-established outline for common work.

Aside from this, it is quite easy to learn how to make your own, specially tailored and completely personalized Springpads from the tools provided.

As mentioned before, Springpad is probably best taken as one aspect of a larger GTD (or other) productivity plan. Even from within this light the program still offers a fantastic option for any individual’s organizational system.

GTD devotees will most likely get the best mileage out of using Springpad as a temporary holding place for their short-term actions.

Springpads are great places to keep next actions or tasks which may have many different facets but still require completion within a small time-frame.

They can also be shared among other users or re-used when the situation calls for repeat access (like in daily or weekly actions such as meal preparation or regular work tasks).

Lastly it should be noted that each Springpad can have online features added in to enhance their usefulness. Through the addition of maps, location-based favorites (such as restaurants, hotels and more) or e-events, users can easily improve the functionality of every one of their lists and pages.

Springpad does a good job of keeping its users up to date on all company news, job listings and community information through their homepage.

Tutorials and in-depth guides to the system abound which help to ensure that even novices will have a painless process getting used to creating and editing their own Springpads. The hosted blog also helps in keeping all application updates and information in one place as well.

Users who try out Springpad are sure to be happy with at least some aspect of the program given the detail present in each organizational option intended by the developers.

Although it may ultimately prove to be a bit shallow on the whole for those who want a single resource for all of their productivity tasks, Springpad should still be commended for its inventive take on GTD software and organizational software in general.

Do you use Springpad?, If so, I would love to hear your thoughts on the application.

In order to make things easier for my readers, and shorten what is quite a long domain name for this blog I have registered the domain name digtd.com and pointed it to the existing domain name.

Therefore, from now you can use either the existing domain name or www.digtd.com to get to this blog. I will still be using both domain names but will be promoting the shorter name in some upcoming merchandise that I am going to create as giveaways.

There are various methods of achieving what I have done and I did some research before I made the change to ensure that what I was doing would not give me any Search Engine penalties that would damage the good work I have done in building a brand and loyal readership of this blog.

The easiest and most common way to achieve this is to just park one domain on the top of another. From what I have read though Google and other search engines can have an issue with this method as they can see the site as a separate entity, and therefore duplicate content. Domain parking is the most common method that companies employ in order to point multiple domains, or domain extensions to the same website. For example when you purchase the .com and .net domain name and point them both at the .com.

It appears that the best way to achieve this is with a 301 Redirect. With a 301 Redirect you are telling the search engines that your content has permanently moved, so they know that the site is not a duplicate.

The problem is that in order to do this, you need a hosting account linked to each domain name that you want to redirect and then you can either do the redirect in the index.php or in my case I used a redirect in the .htaccess file.

I have a few other sites that are using domain parking. Looks like I have some more tasks to add to OmniFocus in order to get these changed over to 301 Redirects.

You can read more on 301 Redirect at the Wikipedia page.

As always, would love to hear any thoughts or tips any of you have regarding what I have said in the post.