People often talk about 'getting organised' as if it only applies to whatever it is you do for a living. But there's a bigger picture -— getting things in order is good not just for work, but for life. If this sounds like something you might think, then you're in the right place. Organised life is a place to get some fresh ideas, to read about how other people are getting stuff done, and to think about how this might all fit into your own life. Welcome.
In theory, the tickler file is a great tool — simply file things away in the folder for the correct date, and then don’t think about it again until the day rolls around.
In practice, though, I’ve often found it’s more trouble than it’s worth. But the idea itself remains an excellent one. Wouldn’t it be great if you could carry a tickler file with you all the time? Well, now you can…
In part two of my series on using a Filofax for a GTD-style personal productivity system, I go into detail about how I’ve used Filofax’s standard designs in my own system. (Includes two example pages!)
In a world of ubiquitous connectivity, of bounteous bandwidth, of cheap and fast internet access, of ever-more-powerful consumer electronics, why would anyone choose to lug around the venerable Filofax instead of something smaller, sleeker, faster, with more features?
No more! Here’s why the Filofax is, for me, the perfect tool for personal organisation — better than a PalmPilot, a PocketPC, a Treo, Basecamp, Vitalist, Backpack, the lot.
The race to produce a good GTD application continues. And, I have to say, the results so far are pretty underwhelming.
The first day of the new year is a pretty good time to talk about ‘getting back on the wagon’, I think — unless you have a job that means you have to work right through New Year’s Day, it’s likely that, like me, you’ve spent the holiday period not thinking much about work.
But also like me, you might have had some of those awful moments of waking up early on Christmas morning with deadlines, ideas, and problems running through your head. Remember, open loops = no time to enjoy the rest of your life.
One of the powerful features of the Getting Things Done system is its use of contexts. As part of my preparations for 2007, I’m revisiting the idea of contexts, along with a brief description of how I’m using them in my own system.
Taking a recent pro-clutter, pro-mess piece in The New York Times as a starting-off point, here’s why I’ve put this website together, what it’s going to feature, and why I hope you’ll find it useful and entertaining.
For the new year, I’m getting my paper-based organisation system under control. It’s based on David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology, with a few adaptations for the way I work, and where I work.