In search of depth

Made a visit to kung fu grippe today, one of the lesser known abodes of Merlin Mann. It's not one of my regular reads, as I prefer Merlin's voice over at 43 Folders [http://www.43folders.com/]. But today he posted an article [http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/48588149/better] titled “Better” that, in my mind, is exactly what a lot of people are struggling with today. I know I am. I've talked about this issue before [https://chrisbowler.com/journal/always-on]. Since March, I've grown more aware…

Read More

Track yourself with a custom log file

A while back, Patrick Rhone posted [http://forum.worklifecreativity.net/index.php/topic,103.0.html] on Work.Life.Creativity about the idea of keeping a text file to track miscellaneous bits of information. I was intrigued by the idea, read the linked pages he had included and got thoroughly engrossed in a web induced bunny trail. The idea is simple—keep a text file that includes any piece of information that may be useful to you in the future. Exactly what information that includes might be dif…

Read More

GTD overview part 5: information management

In this, the last segment of my GTD Overview series, the focus will be on what to do with the non-actionable 'stuff' that comes your way. The items here include information which will help you complete tasks andor projects now. Or they contain information that may be needed at some point later in the future. Items like this are filed away as reference or stored for later. This overview will be broken down into three sections: * The Principles of Reference Information * Tools Available for OS…

Read More

GTD overview part 4: task management using Things

Effective task management—, the organization of the building blocks of your 'system'—is crucial to getting things done effectively. In part 4 of this series I will be demonstrating how I manage my tasks using Things from Cultured Code [http://www.culturedcode.com/things/]. The information included will be both a review of some of the features of Things, as well as I how use the application in my workflow. But it's important to remember that the actual application is not the key, but the concept…

Read More

The Power of the weekly review

This might be odd - but the name I chose for this site is something I struggle with every week (editor's note: this post was from my first blog, titled The Weekly Review). I know how important it is to sit back and review what I have and haven't done for the past seven days. Even more, I know it is critical to look back and evaluate whether or not my goals are still the same. And to examine my actions - for they will have proven what my true goals are. I know it. And…

Read More

GTD overview part 3: simplification

Some people may read the title of this post and think, "Simplification? That isn't based on GTD." True, there is no chapter titled "Simplifying: Make Things Easy on Yourself" in David Allen's book. But examine the concepts behind his system and you will find simplicity is self evident. How it fits At its heart, GTD is about goals. How to clearly define them at all levels of your life, and then mapping out each step to achieve those goals. And to do so in a less stressful fashion. All the bits…

Read More

GTD overview part 2: my setup

Notice: Part 1 in this series can be read here [https://chrisbowler.com/journal/gtd-overview-part1]. So now that I've talked about how I understand the concepts of GTD, I'd like to share how I've implemented my system. My current setup has lasted for quite a while as I have finally settled on the tools that work for me. This is due to two things: discipline and success. Discipline to stop tinkering with my system and success at completing tasks while enjoying the tools that I use. I break my t…

Read More

GTD with Highrise

Since I have not been able to find a really good desktop task management application for Windows, I have tried quite a few web apps to fit this need. I've spent a good bit of time with a few and took a quick look at some others. I finally decided to go with Highrise [http://www.highrisehq.com/] from 37Signals [http://www.37signals.com/]. It is not a perfect tool for GTD (does that even exist?), but it fits quite easily into my workflow and how I manage my tasks. Now before I get too far, I have…

Read More

Close You've successfully subscribed to The Weekly Review.
Close Great! You've successfully signed up.
Close Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.
Close Success! Your account is fully activated, you now have access to all content.