Friday, October 10, 2014
GTDNext Organizes To-Do Lists by the Getting Things Done Method
lifehacker.com: Web: GTDNext is a to-do list webapp that makes it easy to manage your tasks based on the principles of the Getting Things Done (GTD) productivity method, especially if you're new to it.
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7 comments:
As someone with a very short short-term memory, I often forget smaller tasks or other items that aren't at the front of my mind (such as comments). Making a To-Do list always helps, because it doesn't let me forget things that I need to be doing. This system seems like it would work, but what if I don't necessarily want to put that much time into creating a To-Do list? Isn't a list with little boxes enough? For me, such a complicated, multifaceted system would quickly become a method of procrastination. However, for another mind, this system is organized and efficient at keeping one on-task, and seems easy to use. I'm interested to see how this takes off, and how it functions in a mobile app, if they make one.
I think it depends on what kind of list management you do. Simple check boxes don't work for many people who have 100's of projects and many more actual to do items.
If you read the book GTD you might find that list making in the GTD way, and the way it looks like GTDNext handles things can be very productive. It looks good to me, thanks for posting!
There are many things I love in this world and two of them are to do lists and outlines, so what is better then an outline todo list. There are so many times when I put on a todo list something like PTM homework but then i have to clarify that means blog comments and straw project. And if I am working on a project i usually make an outline that would say, for example, Table top and underneath would be the steps i am planning on taking to make said table top but to be able to have that outline in todo list form would be amazing. What a great program that I hope to use.
When I'm at my best, most organized self, I'm a GTD junky. Breaking down projects into component parts is my jam, and organizing them based on how much energy I have and where I am is so intuitive that I really want to be able to commit to the "mind like water" mentality. Alas, I have hitherto lacked the discipline necessary to follow through with my GTDNinja aspirations, and have only dabbled in different ways to organize myself with GTD.
GTDNext looks like a reasonably helpful way to electronically keep your GTD system going. I think how many sub categories are available under process, and it seems to have potential. My problem is it's an entirely separate software from any of the other software I use in my life, and it's ONLY for tracking lists. I route most of my life through Evernote, where I have all of my reference materials, syllabi, class notes and homework assignments, as well as personal projects like Christmas gifts, Thanksgiving meal plans, and other stuff your Grandma probably thinks about. A couple years ago, I came across this website called "the secret weapon", which is a hybrid philosophy/system for setting up Evernote to track things using GTD. The website is http://www.thesecretweapon.org/.
It uses notebooks and, more critically, tags to group things based on next actions, locations etc. Then you filter search for those tasks and find the best tasks to do at a given time. I find it super helpful when I use it (again, not my best, most organized self), and then I have all of my reference material right there as well!
This is a very cool tool because it give you a way to break down everything you have to do for the project. In Design class we might just have a shoe project but in order for that to be completed there are many other things that have to happen as well. This gives users an easy way to get all of those things to happen. Also since it is web based you can access it where ever you happen to be and it is all backed up to the cloud. I will definitely start to use this for my class projects.
Hey Anonymous - add "Create Blogger account and log in" to your next actions list.
Ok, so I created a free account but I don't have time to beta test it before finishing this comment. So, at first glance, it looks a lot like many of the other planner type apps, like Todoist, that do much of the same organizing. The main difference is that this app uses the terminology and specific work flow from David Allen's books. While I appreciate the ideas behind GTD, and in a lot of ways practice them in my own particular idiom, I find that, for myself, there are diminishing returns to strict adherence to any one type of scheduling tool. I tend to use the most effective functions of various platforms to manage my projects. I rely on Google Calendar for quickly turning emails into scheduled meeting times with automatic reminders, but I use IOS Reminders to keep track of ongoing projects and tasks associated with them. What everything boils down to in the end, however, is the daily punch list. This is a simple list of action items in no particular order on a simple piece of paper. Tasks on the list may be in various stages of completion, and I find the piece of paper is the least time consuming way to keep track of where a task is, modify its parameters, or cross it off. I don't do one every day, but maybe two or three times a week. It keeps me up to date not only on what I'm doing but also what other people are supposed to be doing so I can check in with them. My problem is I have yet to find any technological stand in for this punch list that retains it's most essential feature: simplicity. If a system takes more than a few seconds to use it is harder for me to justify it's usefulness. Of course my list is not nearly as categorized or organized as it could be, and sometimes I forget to update things and sometimes I forget to write my comments until 4 on Sundays... But what works works, and so far, my dumb piece of paper has gotten me through pretty well. (Side note: The one major feature I've taken away from GTD, and one I'm glad is included in the app is the ability to tag action items based on where you do them, i.e. at home or at school or at the grocery store. What I would really really love is a GTD app for my phone that pushes action items to my lock screen when it senses via GPS that I'm near the Grocery Store or after I've been home for 30 minutes.)
I think this could be a very useful tool for those who enjoy organizing their tasks using the Getting Things Done method. I also think it could be a good addition to the classes in which GTD is discussed, because it introduces a more modern way of using the system than what is talked about in the book (web/computer based vs. paper based.) However, the program probably isn't for everyone. I personally cannot stand to use GTD, because by the time I actually get around to doing things, I have analyzed and broken them down so much that they lose all excitement to me. One side of GTD is that it can be a great and effective tool if you are able to buy into it, but the other side is that it can easily suck the excitement out of just about everything.
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