1st March 2007 – All Systems GO!
Today, the 1st of March 2007 is a pretty big day for me. Yesterday, was the last day that I was employed by the business that I co-founded and have helped run for the last five and a half years. Today, is the start of the next chapter in my life and one that I am really looking forward to.
For the first time in my life I have the one element that most do not, and that is time. I am going to be really cranking up this blog, and a few others, such as MindCert.com, as well as working on a few more web based ideas.
Online Collaborative Mind Mapping – MindMeister
Just stumbled across Mind Meister at www.mindmeister.com. Well, how fantastic is this!
I am such a fan of Mind Mapping, of which I probably map at least one item a day, and this will be a topic of conversation of many coming blog posts on this site. Well, Web 2.0 meets Mind Mapping in the form of Mind Meister. This is an online Mind Mapping tool that seems to work brilliantly. You can even share maps with other users. Sure, it is not as featured as MindJet Mind Manager but, this is free!
This is currently in private beta, however, I have a few invitations left (around 20) so be sure to post a comment to this post and include your email address and I will invite you to try the beta.
The Planning Models – Natural Planning with GTD
In a previous blog entry, I introduced Chapter 3 of the Getting Things Done book by David Allen. We looked at Horizontal and Vertical focus with respect to our projects and I explained the difference between these two methods of project planning and review.
We are now going to look at the three planning models that are covered in Chapter 3 of the GTD book. These planning models are:
Lets start by looking at the Natural Planning Model. The Natural Planning Model really is nothing new. It is not some fantastic new model devised by David Allen to help us plan and manage our projects. it is however, the planning model that is recommended by David in his Getting Things Done book. The Natural Planning Model is based upon the planning that we do on a daily basis, using just our brains. For example, think of how many tasks we plan on a day by day basis that we do not even bother to write down as these are normally classed as mundane tasks. For example, getting dressed, or driving to work. All of these can be thought of tasks but we just go ahead and plan them without any thought whatsoever. We utilize the planning aspects of our brain that are conditioned for this natural type of planning.
The War of Art – Win Your Creative Battles
Well, I have just finished reading the War of Art, by Steven Pressfield and I thought I would write a few words about my experiences with the book. I first heard about the book via a post at 43Folders.com and I added it to my book reading list. A few months later, and a bit of spare time found me with the book in hand.
Being an avid martial artist, I had read the Art of War by Sun Tzu on numerous occasions, so I was intrigued by the title "The War of Art".
Getting Things Done (GTD) Search Engine – www.gtdsearch.com
I have been working on a customized Google Search Engine that only indexes sites related to Getting Things Done and also other sites that add value in the personal development and motivation areas.
Please check this out and let me know what you think. It is work in progress so please be nice :-). I am adding sites to the index right now and I will be opening a public submission page for you to submit your GTD or productivity site and I will strictly police this to ensure that we can all use it as a tool to make it easier to find some GTD information when we need it.
Free Hipster PDA (hPDA) Templates
Good post at 43Folders.com showing some free hPDA templates.
Simply drag and drop them to your desktop, or right-click and “save as.†Templates are formatted as .png graphics and can be printed as-is or inserted into a formatted document. They can be resized to fit everything from a 3×5 card to a daily organizer to an 8.5×11 sheet.
Kvet.ch features an excellent article on how to print D*I*Y Planner HPDA cards (see the end of this page) directly to 3×5 cards for Mac users. The technique should also work nicely with the templates offered here.
Getting Things Done (GTD) With Email
Just read a good article over at The Getting Things Done Blog that covers a GTD Email setup. Now this is something that I am not up to yet with my own GTD journey as I have not finished the book but I will one day blog about the way I currently do my email, as I think it is pretty cool. However, my cool email system is currently on Windows with Outlook. I am a total Mac user and I am not going to need my Outlook account within a matter of weeks so I will be totally using my Mac for email.
The Travelers Gift – Book Review
I have been away for the last week in The English Lake District, hence why there have been no updates to the site. Whilst I was away, as well as getting in a good few chapters of the Getting Things Done book, I also took the time to read a book that has been on my bookshelf for quite some time.
The book I read was The Travelers Gift, Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success, by Andy Andrews. The book is in the same vein as titles by the great Og Mandino, and if you like Mandino books you will love the Travelers Gift. These books tell a story, and the story has meaning. I personally find these a great read. Don't get me wrong, I love the generic motivational books from authors such as Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, and Brian Tracy, but I also feel that books such as this help to capture your imagination by guiding you through a story with meaning. The lessons to be learned from the book are intricately woven into the story line, providing substance and example behind their interpretations. I guess you can tell that I liked the book.
Chapter 3 – Getting Projects Creatively Under Way
I am now through with chapter 3 of the Getting Things Done book from David Allen. Chapter 3 is titled Getting Projects Creatively Under Way: The Five Phases of Project Planning. This chapter is the longest so far in the book and looks at the way we should, and probably already do identify and manage projects. This is the last chapter in part one of the book, The Art of Getting Things Done and acts as the supporting act to part two of the book which looks to be where the fun really starts.
Chapter 3 starts by explaining what David refers to as Horizontal and Vertical focus. The theory behind these is quite easy. We all have things to do in our lives. These can all be classed as projects. Some projects are small, such as remembering to buy a card for your wifes birthday or remembering to pay the milk bill, whilst others can be significant. Significant projects can include tasks such as planning a holiday, wedding, or other engagement through to launching a new product at your workplace.
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Want to get more done? Start earlier in the day
Just read a great post over at Lifehacker. This is a link through to the Open Loops website and an article about getting more done in a working day, and going home on time. For me, I like to start early, plan, and get home on time to spend the quality time with my wife and four children. I know this is not the same for everybody so give the article a read and see what you think.
His premise is this: we can get into the habit of staying later at work...when we don't really need to be there. Studies have shown that the more work you get out of the way in the early hours of the day, the more thoughtful and efficient you actually can be.
