blog
Considering giving up on writing about GTD + Evernote
Admittedly, I’m sad. I’ve been experimenting and sharing for months now, happy to have a medium for my GTD related ideas, despite the fact this website was intended to be my design portfolio. I’ve written faithfully about ways to use Evernote for GTD, even though I feel I’m not much of an expert at either.
But now I’m considering giving up on talking about them.
Why? Because people are selling what I’ve been giving away and I no longer see the point.
When Daniel Gold began posting via different channels about his ebook on Evernote/GTD, it took the wind out of my sails. Holy crap. What I’d been doing for fun someone else was now selling and apparently selling well. Good enough in fact that he’s able to post on GTD forums on LinkedIn about it with permission from the GTD folks. He’s got it figured out and has the support of the two products/systems I’ve been raving about like an zombie fanboy. What the hell am I doing?
(to be fair, I’ve not read his ebook. It may be totally awesome, enlightening. I wouldn’t know).
I like GTD because it’s proven and it works. I like Evernote because it’s simple, flexible, and available on iPhone, Android, Mac, and Windows – all environments that my life and job keep me in. But I’m not saying that Evernote is the best tool and definitely not the only tool and in fact for GTD there’s no one solution and we all know it.
But why am I writing? Where is this all going? What better things could I have been doing with all that time? Maybe writing an ebook like I’d considered a year ago but decided against because it seemed wrong to sell a book on something you could use for free. Maybe I’m a fool.
Let me pause to take a breath.
Selling isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you’ve got something great and you can make a few bucks, I’m all for it. Why not get something back for all your effort? It’s not as if DavidCo and Evernote are giving it all away (well, Evernote kind of is) – they are at the end of the day businesses and need to pay their bills like the rest of us. Nothing wrong with that at all. Nothing wrong either with being a fan, but I’ve begun to feel I’m in a one-way relationship and pouring out my heart for no reason.
I’m a musician and designer with dreams that Evernote and GTD might help support, but aren’t emotionally attached to. These things are tools, strategies – not destinations. They may help, but they aren’t finish lines. And they aren’t bringing me happiness.
So now I’m considering closing shop on GTD and Evernote, working outside of those borders on what’s ultimately more important: my life.
We’ll see.
Related Posts:
18GTD Context List Ideas for November 2011
It’s probably sad that I enjoy creating and managing context lists, reveals some weakness underlying my rock and roll foundation. Still things need to get done and I don’t see any harm in having a bit of fun.
Maybe you find context lists fun, too?
As you probably already know, I keep my context lists in Evernote and here are those I’m using or experimenting with in November 2011:
- @agendas
- @brainstorm - things I need to contemplate, mind map
- @calls
- @car
- @computer - my busiest list. I’ve spun off a few subcategories to their own lists for fun and ease.
- @computer-facebook
- @computer-itunes
- @computer-search
- @computer-shopping
- @computer-twitter
- @decide - decisions I need to make
- @eat the frog – projects I need to chip away at (thanks GTD Group on LinkedIn!) [experimental]
- @errands
- @home
- @library
- @low-energy [experimental]
- @mining [experimental]
- @quit - usually bad habits to work on [experimental]
- @read
- @start - good habits I want to adopt [experimental]
- @waiting for…
- @when – ashen mix is finished - tasks that can’t be done till my new CD is ready
- @when – have new iPhone - apps and settings for when I switch back to iOS from Android
- @when – have new home – things that can’t be done until we’ve got a new place to live
- @when in (new city) - things I can’t do till I’m where I’m moving to
- @when in – orlando - things to do when I’m in my hometown
The “when” lists have proven to be the most useful addition to my arsenal in a long time. Granted these lists often contain tasks that may be moved to other lists later (errands, calls, etc), but till then they keep things nice and separate.
What context lists can you not live without?
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4few searches
[Updated] Evernote GTD Setups and Related Posts on Hanami Design
I’ve almost made a hobby out of writing about different ways to configure Evernote for David Allen’s Getting Things Done, enough so that I’ve begun to forget all the ways I’ve explored. Thought it might be time for a recap.
New! Fourth system
Third system
- How I’m Pushing Beyond Unimaginative Evernote GTD Setups with HD System 3
- Problems with HD System 3 and Two Alternative Evernote/GTD Setups
Second system
- New, Simpler Evernote GTD System, Part 1: Structure & Agendas
- New, Simpler Evernote GTD System, Part 2: Revised Structure and “Next” Notebook
- New, Simpler Evernote GTD System, Part 3: Removing the Waste (Muri, Muda, Mura)
- New, Simpler Evernote GTD System, Part 4: Context Lists
- New, Simpler Evernote GTD System, Part 5: Workflows
First system
GTD related
- My Complete GTD System for March 2011: Things, Evernote, BusyCal, iPhone, and More!
- Electronic GTD Tickler File System with Google Calendar and Evernote
- Four Ways to Sync Gmail with Evernote
- Using Tags for GTD Areas of Focus in Evernote
- Simple Evernote GTD Projects with Next Action Preview
- Results: Experiments with Using an Evernote Stack for Projects and Areas of Focus
- Shared Evernote Project Form for GTD
Miscellaneous
- How I Use Evernote for Songwriting
- Finally! Linking Things or Anything to Evernote
- Evernote as a Copy-and-Paste Power Tool
- Evernote Resource Roundup: GTD, gMail/gCal, Time Management, Projects, and More!
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6to do lists?
How To Do a To Do List (Fueled by GTD)
What is a to do list?
For those of us who’ve been using a task management system (such as David Allen’s Getting Things Done) for a while, this question might seem silly. “Grab a pencil and paper, write down your tasks, and check off things you finish” – that’s an easy answer, but I believe the average to do list can be more efficient than that.
Here’s my no frills recommendation for how to do a to do list:
What you need
Two sheets of paper and a pen.
What to do
- Collect. The first sheet of paper is for getting the stuff out of your head – without prioritizing. Just write down what you need to do and make sure to leave some space on the right side of the page (we’ll need that later).
- Break things down. Now scan your list. Can these tasks be broken down into smaller pieces? If yes, scratch off those items and at the end of your list, write out the smaller pieces. Having smaller tasks makes it easier to overcome procrastination.
- Identify contexts. Scan your list one more time and in the space you left on the right side, write one word that describes where the task should be done. If it’s an errand, write “errand”. If it’s at home, write “home”.
- Choose your battles wisely. Now on your second sheet of paper, write down a few tasks, grouped by context, that you can truly do today. Try to avoid “organizer’s optimism” and keep your today list short.
- Choose your battle ground. With your tasks grouped by context, you’re prepared to batch process. Get yourself to that context (if they are errands, let’s say, hop in the car) or choose one that matches where you are currently.
- Do something. Start completing tasks until you’re ready for the next context. Cross out those you’ve done. Move on to other contexts and keep whittling away until you’ve completed everything on your list.
Now do even more
The above is a hit-the-ground-running approach for creating and doing to do lists, but you can benefit even more by adopting some task management principles and learning about a few systems. There are also plenty of to do software offerings, if that appeals to you, for desktops and mobile phones.
I’d love to hear your questions and feedback so don’t be shy about commenting!
Related Posts:
6UI Pattern: Network Menu
Though this UI pattern has a singular purpose – to promote and provide links to websites within a business network – it can take various forms.
On NetTuts, the menu was a drop-down featured prominently in the top right, more recently replaced by a promotion for Theme Forest:
Network menu on NetTuts
On sites under the Wall Street Journal umbrella, the menu runs almost the entire width of the site:
Wall Street Journal network menu
MTV uses a simple drop-down, placed near the top along with other meta content:
MTV
Gizmodo, Gawker, and their sister sites display names, photos, and even sublinks in a block at the bottom of their pages:
Gizmodo, Gawker, and sister sites (full)
Though sometimes they use a smaller version:
Gizmodo, Gawker, and sister sites (small)
I’m certain there are thousands of variations out there so don’t be shy about sharing what you find!
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2Adobe Offers a Little Hope for Joe Hewitt?
As mentioned on ReadWriteWeb and elsewhere recently, Joe Hewitt (co-creator of Firefox, creator of the Facebook app) has posted his concerns about the future of the web in “Web Technologies Need an Owner.” Personally I believe his concerns are legitimate. What future could their really be for web development if everybody’s viewing their content through native mobile apps?
So Joe calls for stronger leadership, offering no solutions of his own. And we finish reading the post a little sad.
But recent news from Adobe has got me thinking there might be a little hope, yet.
As a designer who has dealt with the limitations of web layouts for a long time, the prospect of CSS Regions and Exclusions is very exciting. Finally we could bring some of the benefits and power of desktop publishing applications to online, dynamic environments. This, in my opinion, would be huge.
This leads me to believe that at least in part this battle of web vs. native apps is one of convenience: the convenience of a native app for the user versus the convenience of the web for the content provider. If web development is more convenient, potent, and affordable, it will be more preferable. The more power one has in developing with web technologies, the more web development, and everybody wins. Perhaps this is a naive simplification and not a reasonable or comprehensive offering of comfort, but I find this inspiring and a sign of life.
So I offer Adobe’s CSS contributions to WebKit as a glimmer of hope for Joe Hewitt. And we continue to wait for standards bodies to finish something. Anything.
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0series for
visualizing
Learning Foreign Languages (or Anything Else) with Storyboards
Even in the early stages of a design, I like to create storyboards to help me see the flow of things. Recently, though, I’ve found that storyboards make a fantastic learning tool for foreign languages and just about anything else I need to get my head around.
In the case of foreign languages, I use storyboards to give a path to my word associations. The paths of these stories I can retrace later in my mind and the more outrageous the story, the more memorable.
Examples
The above is a short storyboard I drew for the Hungarian word kissazony (waitress). The setting is a bar and when the waitress approaches, she identifies herself with two different licenses. One license says “Ke$ha” (like the singer) while the other says “Red Sonya” (like the movie) and together they basically spell out the word phonetically (kisha-sonya).
So you know, there’s a syllable missing (should be ki-sha-sho-sonya) in this storyboard, but knowing there’s a mistake has helped me remember the word even better.
In this storyboard, the setting is a concert stage with Dolores O’Riordon of the Cranberries singing some song about Kosovo that I sort of remember. The phrase is köszönöm szépen (thank you very much). While she’s singing something about Kosovo and it’s earnest gnomes, she continuously (and annoyingly) interjects “thank you”. “Earnest” is a reminder of the “urn” sound needed for all the umlauts. The rest of “thank you” is a combination of Kosovo and gnome (kursurnurm).
The story for “very much” is equally silly.
Bonus: Concept Illustration
A related approach I’ve found useful for learning foreign languages and other subjects is concept illustration. Basically, I attempt to draw whatever I read.
This example illustrates the three data types (“boxes”) of JavaScript: Boolean (the T/F box), Numbers (1, 2, 3, 4), and Strings (A, B, C, D). The labels on the boxes are the naming rules for variables, showing that they can be begin with an underscore, are case sensative, and can use numbers – but not to start.
Summary
Memories are built on memories, so to make something familiar, you need to build associations. Storyboards let you drive these associations by placing new knowledge into a framework that you control. All you need is a pen, paper, and the freedom to get as silly as you like and you’ll be owning tough subjects in no time.
Related Posts:
3exercise to improve
UI/UX skills.
Bug Spotting: Market Watch
This might seem kind of weird, but to improve my design skills, I’m redesigning some more or less well-known sites. Basically I’m putting my opinions to the test; if I think a layout is overrated, can I really do better?
One of these is Market Watch and after a little inspection, I’ve found a whole slew of existing design problems.
Some images in the slideshow were out of place. Haven’t determined how.
On some pages where there is a search for symbols or keywords, the text is a bit cut off. One example is the Dow Jones page.
I could be wrong, but I think these lines are meant to align. Not vital.
Bonus
Not pointing out errors, just how curious some of the names are for various DIVs. “blanket” and “hat_div” are among my favorites. Weird choices, IMHO, for “topchrome” and “chrome”.
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0productivity method.
Electronic GTD Tickler File System with Google Calendar and Evernote
If you have ever reached the “obsession phase” of GTD adoption as I have, you probably found yourself searching at least once for an electronic method for tickler files. I’m happy to say you don’t really need anything that complicated.
My way is fairly simple: creating “all day” events in Google Calendar and/or (yes, there’s an ‘or’) putting items on my Tickler file in Evernote.
For those who may not be familiar with a tickler system, here’s what the 43FoldersWiki has to say:
In the parlance of Getting Things Done, a Tickler File consists of a series of 43 file folders: 12 monthly and 31 daily folders. Items are filed in a folder corresponding to when the item will need to be handled, thus reminding or “tickling” the user about it. These items might be action reminders, bills, receipts, reports, letters, or any number of other things.
I’ve tried recreating the 43 folders approach digitally (several times), but that’s ultimately unnecessary. The purpose of a tickler system is to make sure you have what you need for a particular action on a particular day and you act on it. Since we aren’t likely to moving digital project files around very much (and we can often simply link to them), what we really need is a dependable reminder system.
Google Calendar all day events
All-day events are an easy way to create ticklers that are day – but not necessarily time – specific. You can do this with most any calendar app, but since I’m married to Gmail, Gcal is an obvious choice. Using a calendar app that can send you reminders (pop ups, email, etc) is required.
As you see above, I’ve got two things to do this Saturday: buy crickets for Rupert (my fire belly toad) and clean the garage.
Ticklers by Email
In Calendar Settings > Calendars > Notifications (of a specific calendar), there is an option for Daily Agendas.
I turn this on for all my calendars so I receive ticklers by email every morning. This ensures I don’t forget my ticklers even when I forget to check my calendar.
(in case you’re wondering, “clean garage” didn’t get added until after the email was sent)
Evernote: ticklers without dates and other miscellanea
Not all ticker items have dates. Sometimes, too, you just don’t want to forget about something. These kinds of items often find their way onto my Tickler file in Evernote.
I use a single file for my Evernote ticklers and as you see above, I keep Ticklers next to my Today list so I conveniently review both. Because I frequently check my Today list and Ticklers is always with it, I rarely miss checking my ticklers. This strategic placement, in it’s own way, is a reminder.
When there are items I no longer feel I can do today, I will add it to my Evernote tickler marked by the day I feel best to do them. Quite often, my Ticklers file in Evernote will hold reminders of fun things to do like “Stimulus Tuesdays” at the local movie theatre or “fish and chips”.
A bit of overlap
I suppose some tickler items could be added to Google Calendar instead of Evernote or vice versa, removing the need for both. This is the ‘or’ I referred to earlier. Frankly I’m not concerned if the functions of Gcal and my Evernote tickler file overlap; the goal is to get things done and as long as I’m productive and not being redundant, I’d say I’m doing things right enough.
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8generate new ideas
Ideas as a Job Requirement
You can’t say “let’s be Apple” and suddenly be Apple. Nor can you hire a bunch of highly talented people and expect them to self-assemble into an innovation machine. You must create an environment where new ideas are routine.
Most companies aren’t innovative because innovation is not built in. They’re meeting deadlines, hopefully stumbling, with little time to be “creative”.
But creativity is a habit – not an attribute – and if you want to be competitive, you may need to make some fundamental, cultural changes.
Schedule
Make brainstorming sessions a part of the regular schedule and encourage far-range thinking. Though you might have to reel back expectations from time to time, the depth and volume of your team’s ideas will likely only increase over time and you’ll have the comfort of knowing your company is always working on something new.
Allow experimentation
Untested ideas are useless, even burdensome. Let your team try out their ideas and learn from their mistakes. Better to learn from private mistakes than public ones.
Instill a sense of urgency
You need your best ideas in the marketplace as quickly as possible and wasted time is wasted money. Ideas need to come fast and furiously (though sometimes they simply won’t).
Make sharing ideas easy
Bulletin boards, wiki pages, post-it notes – all good ways to collect and distribute ideas. See what works best for your people.
Get everyone involved
The classic round design of the iPod’s interface was suggested by a person in marketing so include team members from various disciplines. You never know where good ideas will come from.
Be observant
There is nothing wrong with standing on the shoulder’s of giants – build on the ideas of your competition and avoid their mistakes. But if you’re always playing catch-up, you’ve got bigger problems.
Don’t wait for comfort
Don’t put off making changes till a “better” time – it won’t happen. Do you really think all those young start-ups are waiting on comfort?
Think small
Innovation doesn’t need to be a massive change. If your team can consistently generate small but effective, easy to implement ideas, you’ll always stay one step ahead of the other guys.
Think big
Sometimes making a radical change is exactly what you need to do. Knowing when you should take the big steps, well, that’s probably another topic.
Lead with creativity
Don’t wait for the “artsy types” to give you something “cool”, come prepared with things from your own head. If you can do it, maybe others can, too.
Resell
Try and inspire your clients by suggesting new spins on their features. Mine rejections for useful feedback. Create internal products, then sell them back to these or other clients later when they’re more fully realized.
Get fearless
Be willing to take the plunge into the unfamiliar, the uncomfortable. Your decisions can be calculated, but as the saying goes: no risk, no reward.
Related Posts:
0Simpler Evernote GTD
New, Simpler Evernote GTD System, Part 5: Workflows
So far in this series, we’ve examined the structure and principles of my Evernote based GTD system. Now we’ll explore a bit of the workflow.
My tasks and projects come in from one of four inboxes: Evernote on my computer, Evernote on my phone, Gmail, and my notebook(s). If I can do something quickly, I try to do it immediately; otherwise, I have to make some decisions. As always, if something doesn’t fit in my Horizons, I throw it out.
Collection of GTD flow charts
For easy reference, here are few flow charts that help illustrate how I’m getting things done. Includes daily review, weekly review, and processing.
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4text fade?
UI Pattern: Long-Text Fade
In some software situations, online or off, text can’t be wrapped and it can’t be allowed to be fully visible. While some UI engineers choose to completely hide the text and give users an arrow to reveal everything beyond the limits (like in IE8 below), I prefer a pattern I call the “Long-Text Fade”.
The idea is simple: limit the number of characters and fade the last few into the background.
Google Chrome uses this pattern on their tab and bookmark bars.
I use this for the post tags here on Hanami Design:
Creating this UI pattern with CSS is fairly easy.
In the parent div, limit the width, hide the overflow, and prevent wrapping:
1 2 3 | overflow: hidden; white-space: nowrap; width: 200px |
Next create a PNG-24 the width of the fade you would like. Make sure it is a gradient fade from alpha 0 to 100, the 100 being the background color. Make this the background of a div or span you will absolutely position to the right. Make sure it matches the height of the parent.
Here’s what I did for the fade on the post tags of this site:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | .tag-fade { background: url(images/bg-tag-fade.png) 100% 0 repeat-y; height: 24px; position: absolute; right: -5px; top: 0; width: 70px; } |
As a bonus, here is what IE8 does when options are too many for the view:
Since Google Calendar uses something like the Internet Explorer approach for limiting how many calendar items show at once, I might explore this variation a little in the future.
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0productivity advice
have you gotten
from your mom?
wrap-up
The Trip Isn’t Finished Until the Bags are Unpacked
Though I wouldn’t say my mom is a super organized person, she does have some solid productivity habits. She can’t go to bed if there are dishes to be washed, she puts things back when she’s finished using them, and, to my surprise, she unpacks her luggage as soon as she gets back from a trip.
I don’t think I’ve ever done this once.
Apparently she doesn’t feel the trip is over until the bags are unpacked and everything is back where it should be. Meanwhile I’m on the couch, “recovering”, luggage sitting by the door with clothes poking out.
Her habit makes an awful lot of sense, even outside of travel.
How often do we leave a few loose ends? How complete are our projects? Are we getting “close enough” and stopping? Would a little more thoroughness make life easier?
I will be thinking about this for a while.
Related Posts:
0Simpler Evernote GTD
New, Simpler Evernote GTD System, Part 4: Context Lists
In the course of this series, I’ve gone wavered on having a separate notebook for my context lists or combining it with my Next notebook. This week context lists have their own.
Here are my current context lists:
- @agendas – People with whom I need to speak. Each line begins with their name followed by a dash and the subject, such as “Mary – package arrived”.
- @computer – Only items that can be done on the computer. Since most of my work is here, this list can be long, but I usually only put items in this list that are not project specific. Those tasks go in the next actions section of my project notes.
- @decide – Things I need to make my mind up about.
- @email – Well… email.
- @errands - Groceries, appointments, etc.
- @home - Items that are specific to where I live and not online or on the phone.
- @office - Things I can only do at work.
- @phone - Calls I need to make.
- @planning - Things I’ll most likely be brainstorming, mind mapping about. Problems and obstacles, mostly, and attack plans for various things. Also includes things I need to read and review.
- @recording - Tasks for when I’m working on my new CD. Requires being in the home studio, working on songs.
- @waiting for - Things I’m waiting to hear back on from other people. Written just like @agendas items (and usually copied and pasted that way).
- @writing - Might be at the computer, might be long hand, but I’ll be writing, just the same.
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4GTD system.
Four Ways to Sync Gmail with Evernote
If Evernote is your note management tool and Gmail is what you use for email, inevitably you will need to get information from one place to another. For me, that means sycning Gmail with Evernote (more or less) and I do that three ways:
Forward emails to your Evernote inbox
When you create an Evernote account, you’re given an email address which you can send things to. If I need to keep an entire email, I’ll forward it to this address.
Paste Gmail web addresses to Evernote
If you want quick access to an email, you can link to it by viewing the open email and copy and pasting the web address from Gmail into Evernote. If you’re using the new split screen lab option, however, this won’t be possible.
Clip to Evernote tool
Evernote has a collection of add-ons and installs that put clipping tools into all the major browsers. I typically use Chrome, so I’m using the Chrome extension. With this I can select some email text I wish to keep (or the full web page) and press the clip button. The clip will then appear in my Evernote inbox.
Third party tools
A quick search revealed that there are some third party syncing tools floating around, but I’ve been reluctant to try them. Have experience and thoughts on any of these? Tell us in the comments!
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0the UX process?
User Experience (UX) Design Process Storyboard
I was asked recently about my perspective on user experience (UX) processes so I’ve created a storyboard to help explain. The story takes us from concept to release and tries to communicate what happens along the way.
View UX Process Storyboard (pdf)
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0exercise to improve
UI/UX skills.
[Updated] Bug Spotting: Mint.com
Update: As of this morning, August 23rd, the home page has been revised as have a few other top level pages. However the login and sign up buttons are still wonky.
Seems like somebody wasn’t at their post today on Mint.com:
The landing page is a little off and my guess is that the content div was supposed to float left. Add this plus float:right and a little margin magic to the featured image and things start looking a bit better.
The login and sign up options are inconsistent. First of all the order changes between Home and Find Savings.
Sometimes they are divided by a grey line, sometimes not.
Also they change y position.
Bug Spotting disclaimer: For the record, I don’t have anything personal against these sites and apps. Bug Spotting helps sharpen my critical eye (especially for my own work).
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0exercise to improve
UI/UX skills.
Bug Spotting: Bed, Bath, and Beyond Fly-Out Menu
All kinds of interesting things going on here.
First of all, the height of the menu items does not expand when the text wraps. Likely a fixed height. Secondly, the hover stops at the edge of the text so if your mouse is anywhere past the text, the menu closes.
Here we see a whole slew of inline CSS and JavaScript. For those who don’t know, this is bad, amateurish. This kind of code should be in external files.
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0exercise to improve
UI/UX skills.
Bug Spotting: Google Images Shading Effect
Spotted this earlier in the week: a mistake in a new shading touch Google seems to be playing with on Google Images. The shading was incomplete on the edges.
It’s easy to overlook, so here’s a close-up.
Since then Google seems to have removed the effect.
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0say it right.
Have the Patience to Make a Point
I’m slowing down my writing. I’ve become addicted to cranking out posts too quickly to speak clearly. I’ve lost the patience to make a clear point.
Lately I’ve been writing a lot about my newly revised Evernote GTD system. All began solidly. But somewhere between parts 1 and 2 things got fuzzy. My system began changing, evolving, simplifying, but I didn’t stop to let it. Instead I modified the focus of the series so I could keep on writing. Now I’m not sure what I’m writing about.
What was my point?
Was I writing just to write? Do I like talking to myself? Was I trying to share something useful, something worth discussing? I think the latter, but maybe I’ve been spending too much time at sea.
So now I’m sitting in the harbor, learning to enjoy the view. I can pull into port whenever I’m ready; which is to say, I won’t publish anything until it feels truly finished and makes clear points. I’ll bide my time and learn how to breathe.
This is an oath, but I might just be talking to myself again.