Photo of a GTDer’s Evolution: Kevin Brune Shares His
January 14th, 2009 Oliver Starr - former Editor of GTD TimesCategories | Gear | Getting Things Done | Implementation | Inspiration
I just got a note and an image from Kevin Brune. Check out the image below and the description that Kevin sent to go with it. This is pretty cool. Anyone else have a GTD evolution they’d care to share?
I have now completed my PDA/cell phone transition from using separate phones for work/personal (circa 1993) to using just a simple cell phone and a paper system of GTD lists (printed from outlook) along with my capturing inputs with my GTD note taker wallet (2009 and beyond).
My final stage of evolution started with combining both work/personal into a Blackberry smartphone (used over the last 2 years). However, I have noticed that I get more satisfaction with paper lists and enjoy the physical “crossing out” or throwing away tasks that are completed (rather than deleting tasks from my PDA).
The final push was instigated by a cost savings push to eliminate the PDA and wireless email support that moved me to paper GTD lists exclusively. Here is a photo of my legacy phones (two I no longer have, so I substituted photos) and how they evolved to a hybrid system and finally to a full GTD paper based system. So far, I am enjoying the freedom of having fewer electronic devices to maintain.
This is beautiful! The irony is in how many GTD newbies will scoff at this picture, convinced that some techno-tool will make things easier for them and 3 years later will be posting the same picture of their own. Those who have already been through the gadget-craze know the difficulty that comes with low battery, a bad data sync, limited viewing area, ten taps before you can write something down, etc. A voice-recorder may be the closest thing to collecting on paper, but other than that, paper is the fastest and most secure way to collect thoughts and ideas. Thanks for sharing this picture.
Wow! what a cool collection. I love it. It’s amazing how technology advances and how the gadgets change. An underlying system is the key!
Nice post. Thanks…
@troymalone
Anyone chooses to embark on the GTD journey should start with a pen and a notebook instead of a stylus and a PDA. Spending time with a paper system, you‚Äôll realize quickly what your specific needs are. The more gadgets, websites and applications you depend on to really get going with GTD, the worse off you‚Äôll be. Portability is key, and you can’t get better than a pen and paper.
For example, check out this guy:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davegray/145761460/
And the way he uses his notebook to set up his daily tasks. He uses a master list, in the back of his notebook and includes personal and work related tasks on the same page, as well as a timeline when things break down.
I’d call your current system a hybrid, considering that you’re still using Outlook.
Hi all.
Great picture and post!
However, I will have to disagree with the idea that PDA’s in any shape or form aren’t for GTD beginners. Granted, I am no GTD black belt yet, but one important thing to also remember is that you have to enjoy writing down your tasks. I remember hearing David Allen saying something along the lines of “Go out and buy the nicest pen you can find”. That’s a great idea… if pen and paper is your preferred method of noting things down. Naturally, some people (such as yours truly) actually find it a lot more “exciting” to quickly write down a task in the (horrible) task list on my Windows Mobile device, rather than carrying around pen and paper. It’s the curse of being a geek
Thanks and best regards,
Lars
I couldn’t agree with you more, Lars. I too get way more enjoyment recording and keeping track of my GTD-style to-dos with my high-tech device, in my case that being a BlackBerry.
Pen and paper works great for some people, but for tech geeks like me a BlackBerry or a PDA is the way to go.
Great picture though, I like how the work line looks almost like a BlackBerry evolution path…
Speaking of geeks, after looking at the picture above I caught myself being able to name all pictured BlackBerry models
[...] to good old pen and paper to get organized. As if to emphasize the point Kevin Brune shared his GTD evolution from cellphones and Blackberries to a totally paper based setup. Of particular note is how he says [...]
I’ve happily used a Palm for over 10 years now and have loved its compactness, portability, flexibility, and capacity. My Zire 31 continues to serve me pretty well. I’m nowhere near ready to go back to a paper- based system (my last one was Franklin-Covey), but I wish there were an easy unified way to push my Palm (or some app like it) into the clouds without an IPhone (I’ll NEVER be an ATT customer again). I am also leery of being completely dependent on connectivity — I want to be able to access my hardware store shopping list while standing in the hardware store, without worrying about whether my web-enabled phone is in a dead spot. Does anybody know of some integrated hybrid online/offline Palm-like or Outlook-like system that could be accessible from any computer and synchable to a web-enabled (but not “smart”) phone? I’ve been reading the Toolbox here and am intrigued by Evernotes, Toodledo, Dropbox, and all the rest, but it doesn’t make sense to me to cobble together a bunch of unrelated apps that will have me hanging on the learning curve forever. There must be some other Palm refugees out there who have figured this out . . . ?