High Tech GTD
I’ve been busy lately, working on a number of different projects. One of my projects is finishing “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity” by David Allen. I’ve written before about my use of GTD, my search for GTD software, and my own GTD software program (still in development), but I didn’t really know much about GTD itself. I just saw an easy-to-understand way to organize my to-do lists. I thought I didn’t need to read the book and wasn’t planning to, but for a couple reasons I had to. And I did, and I’m so glad I did. Now that I understand what GTD is about, I see that by skipping major parts (setting goals, collecting, and separating the steps of GTD) I really wasn’t getting the most out of it.
I want to write a post detailing how I use GTD now and how it helps, but today I want to talk about the next great GTD tool that I’ve started using. I still believe that software is the best way for managing and viewing GTD lists and calendars, especially when it comes to switching between contexts, projects, and goals. I don’t think current software meets the needs for collecting items, though. You can’t run to your desktop everytime you think of an idea, right? Well, I found the solution.
I’ve used a couple Palm PDAs in my life, a Palm IIIx and a Sony Clie. Well, here’s a device that beats them all: the Mead Memo Pad!
Check out these specs: 15 Lines per Page, over 50 double-sided pages per pad, and compatibility with all pencils and pens. Vroom vroom! And it comes in multiple colors!
I used to be the guy who would mock the use of paper and pen when there are so many great tech tools, but when it comes to being able to quickly jot something down I still don’t know of a better way to do it. I tried going back to Palm, but even the simplest note-taking programs get in my way. When I have an idea I need to be able to collect it without having to think about using the Palm OS to open the note-taking program.
Am I a caveman? Am I like those ladies that pull out their checkbook in the checkout aisle? Maybe. Somebody, anybody, please find a tech solution for quick note-taking for me.
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Awesome. I myself use a small yellow notepad for GTD-on-the-go. What would be ideal, of course, is magic. A Pensieve, specifically, where you could dump all of your memories on an as-needed basis. Although that might be a bit cumbersome to lug around, too.
What I like about your solution is that it’s cheap!