If you happen to be a road weary traveler who works in or even with any significant amount of technology, I am certain you would agree that accessing your data on the road is one of the banes of your existence. Between lugging your “desktop replacement” aka your carry-on boat anchor (so that you have all your critical data with you - just don’t forget your Chiropractor’s phone number) and attempting to remember which files you’re going to need and then synchronizing them to your small and light “travel computer” aka your anemic, expensive, carpal tunnel causing DVD player.
On the one hand you end up dragging around this behemoth computer that does everything you need (so long as you are within cord’s reach of a power outlet) while on the other, you have ample run time however your productivity is limited by how well you planned ahead as to which data you needed to synchronize as well as how quickly you succumb to the hand numbing discomfort courtesy of attempting to work on a cramped keyboard.
Personally, I have found a third solution that allows me to use any computer while on the road and so long as the computer I’m at has a reasonable Internet connection it is pretty much just like I’m sitting at my own desk, working on my own computer. LogMeIn isn’t really one program - rather it’s a company that provides an entire array of services that for the most part revolve around providing remote access and administration for one or more computers.
Their basic program, LogMeIn Free is free just like the name says. Unlike most free products, however, this is not a frustratingly crippled version of some functional program that is purely intended to force you to upgrade if you really want the promised utility. This is not the “walled garden demo-version”. In fact, LogMeIn Free is not only the version that I, myself, am currently using, it is so robust and provides so many sophisticated capabilities that there are literally certain things that this program allows you to do to a machine remotely that are all but impossible to do while physically sitting in front of the machine that you are accessing via the LogMeIn Free interface.
Thanks to the DidIGetThingsDone Blog I just discovered FreeLine Reports and their most recent video which does an amazing job of describing several helpful and free GTD applications. You may have heard of some of these, you may have even used them, but the refresher is quick and I can almost guarantee that at least one of the applications they mention is new to almost everyone. Check it out. Hat-tip to DigIGetThingsDone for the discovery…
Tracks is a bit more involved to set up than most GTD software since it requires that you set up several packages of software including a version of Ruby on Rails, a SQL database and a web server - or you can get an account for free on a hosted server if you don’t feel your nerdly super-powers kicking in.
Here’s how the original author of the software describes Tracks:
“Tracks is a web-based application to help you implement David Allen’sGetting Things Done™ methodology. It was built using Ruby on Rails, and comes with a built-in webserver (WEBrick), so that you can run it on your own computer if you like. It can be run on any platform on which Ruby can be installed, including Mac OS X, Windows XP and Linux. Tracks is Open Source, free and licensed under the GNU GPL.”
I just took a quick look at it and it looks pretty darn cool. I’ve been using Things for the past couple of months and life it pretty well (I can’t wait for them to release the iPhone update) but I’m considering trying out the hosted version of Tracks to see how I like it. If I do and can easily integrate it into my workflow I might try installing the full self-hosted version on one of my servers just to see how much pain the process really entails (or doesn’t depending upon luck, skill, and the blue gnomes that live in my Linux box).
Has anyone else tried Tracks? If so, how about giving the rest of the GTDtimes community a sneak peak? We’d love to hear from you!
I just discovered another new GTD application for the iPhone, 43 Actions. For a web based application designed for a mobile device upon which nothing is supposed to be installed, this is a pretty robust little application. [Read more →]
Tim Kwiatkowski of the Stuff for Getting Things Done blog has compiled a fairly exhaustive list of the locations where you can find wallpaper that relates in one way or another pretty directly to GTD. There are definitely some worthwhile finds so click on over and check it out. It’s also worth a click to check out Tim’s stylesheet for his blog, which, in my opinion is really cool.
No, the headline is not a typo. It is possible to read a thousand or more different web sites each day. If you know the secret,you know I’m telling the truth; if you don’t I’m sure you find this hard to believe or even impossible to imagine. Well, for those of you that know what I’m about to divulge, move along, nothing to see here - for everyone else, please suspend your disbelief for the next five minutes and you will be generously rewarded for your mental flexibility.
The Secret to Reading 10,000 Blogs
What I’m about to share with you is a technology so incredible that once you take advantage of it, your entire online experience will be transformed and made more powerful, more productive and more efficient by an order of magnitude or more. In fact, it is possible to become so efficient at scanning the web for the information you crave that you could become as efficient as one individual I know who routinely scans more than 10,000 different sites a couple of times a week. I swear I am not making this up.
Three Little Letters: R-S-S
The technology that makes this feat possible and which will turn you into the speed browser you never dreamed you could be is known as RSS. This is an acronym for “Really Simple Syndication” and it is a protocol that enables publishers to quickly and efficiently post content in chronological order and to notify something called a pingserver every time they’ve updated their sites.
For the other side of the equation, the reader (that would be you) accesses this content using something called a “feed reader”. There are dozens of different feed readers available - the differences between them are subtle and personal preference more than functional attributes will ultimately determine which one you use - incidentally, nearly all of them are free so you can try a bunch until you find one you like.
The most popular readers include “Google Reader“, “Bloglines“, “MyYahoo” and “NetNewsWire” which is a down-loadable, Mac-specific product from a company called “Newsgator ” that itself also offers an online reader. As you might have surmised, there are web-based and installable readers and there are even add-ins for other software making it possible to add feed-reading capability to familair software like Outlook.
Everybody, Syndicates!
In each case, what these readers do is allow you to “subscribe” to the content that is being published or syndicated by the content producers. These producers may be bloggers, photojournalists, podcasters, vloggers, or even news sites like the BBC or Reuters - all of them - I should really say all of “Us” since the GTD Times is also a feed use the same basic set up tools to publish our material and to keep it organized and accessible after publication.
Okay, so now I’m sure you are scratching your head and wondering what the big deal is and you’re maybe even thinking that I suffered too much oxygen deprivation during my cycling career and all the neurons aren’t firing at full potential. Bear with me, you’re about to get the payoff…
When you’re browsing the web there are two things that take up an incredible amount of time - even if you have a super fast connection; going from one site to the next waiting for each to load, and visiting a site only to see that the information hasn’t been updated making the visit and the time it took to make it a waste. The problem of course is that you have to “go” to each site - at least metaphorically within your browser. You also have to do this in real time. The site loads after you click a link to go there and it isn’t until you’ve taken these steps that you learn that the second installment to that juicy gossip still hasn’t been posted. Grrr….
And Now, the Web Comes to You!
Here’s why feed readers will rock your world. Instead of you having to go “visit” the sites you find interesting, by using a feed reader those sites actually come to you. What’s more, once you’ve “subscribed” to a site you can tell at a glance if there’s new content up there or not and - get this - that information will have populated your reader before you even seek the information and in fact, within mere moments of the time when the publisher put it up live on his site.
Your reader can aggregate the RSS feed from as many sites as you want to keep track of; you’ll be able to see in an instant which sites have something new to check out, what the headlines of that new material is, a couple of sentences of each post can be displayed either at the same time or by clicking a link that will expand the text or open up the full post - again, all within your feed reader meaning it will open instantly, and backtracking is just as quick.
(clicking the image brings will bring up a full sized version so you can see the elements clearly.)
As you can see, there is a ton of information contained in a fairly condensed space. This is the Google reader. Note that the sites that have new content are bold so they stand out clearly. In many ways, this is organized like email with the message in one area and a preview pane in another, however, unlike email, you aren’t risking getting a virus using a feed reader to view these sites. That isn’t to say that all sites you could come across using a reader are benign, but compared to reading your mail using the preview pane in Outlook, for instance you are far, far safer.
Subscribe to the Whole Internet if you Want to
Adding feeds to your reader is a simple affair. I’m, sure you’ve seen the little badges like the MyYahoo or Google Reader or any one of the several dozen you can see displayed at the top of this post. All you have to do is click the badge that corresponds to the reader that you’re subscribed to and the software will do the rest. Then, all you have to do is navigate to your reader if it’s web based, or instantiate the program if its installed on your computer.
I’m sure you’ll see by the end of your first session that a whole new world awaits you now that the web is coming to you - having been largely tamed, courtesy of RSS feeds and your trust reader. All that’s left for you to do now is grab another cup of coffee, turn off the phone and get cozy with the several thousand sites you’ve always wanted to check out but never had the time. Now you do - all the time in the world.
That is, until you decide this feed stuff seems pretty simple and maybe instead of reading them all the time you’ll start writing one too…
For those of you that are visually inclined, this delightful YouTube Video by Commoncraft gives you the lowdown on RSS too:
In the prior installment of this series I wrote about HiRise which is a remarkably complete - if somewhat expensive - task management utility. In this installment we’ll take a look at Things by CulturedCode.
Things is currently my application of choice for task management. It has, at least for my current approach, the right mix of simplicity and comprehensiveness that makes it feel capable without having an overwhelming number of features or functions which either will never be used, or which requires that I take a course in how to use the application in order to actually be able to put it to productive use.
Things looks and feels lightweight - it has a clean, Aqua interface and even though you can see a lot of information at a glance the display still manages to look uncluttered and clean. The application supports tags (and also allows you to enter the same tag again with a minimum of keystrokes) and it has the ability to manage nested tasks by allowing you to create projects and then assign multiple individual tasks to each one.
Because things is so closely patterned around GTD, it has a familiar and useful layout that includes an “Inbox” (for everything you typically collect), a “Someday” box (you know what this is for), a “Scheduled” for calendered items, repeating “to dos” and scheduled projects. Projects can have hierarchical tasks and can also be maintained in another box called “Areas” which is earmarked as the place where you store projects and where you can also show areas of responsiblity and indicate whether they are active or inactive at the present time.
Things has a “quick add” feature that makes it fast and simple to add new items to the application and other common tasks can be easily accessed by clicking an icon at the bottom right of the display or by using the menu/navigation bar on top. You can also add teammates to Things - although this did bring up one thing that is either an oversight or a bug. You can’t add a team member that isn’t already in your address book. Not a show stopper to be sure, but it would be convenient to be able to add someone ad-hoc if necessary and even better if adding someone directly into Things also gave you the option of adding that same person to your address book as well. The application is still in beta so I imagine it is always possible that this feature could be added in down the road.
Also still to be added in is “drag and drop” functionality from the sidebar to the main display area and also within the side bar (to rearrange tasks, for example). It is, however, possible to “drag and drop” within the main display to move tasks from one project to another, etc.
Completed tasks are placed in a section called “Logbook”, while the “Next” section allows you to see what’s coming up on your calendar or due dates of tasks and/or projects that are more than a day or two out in front of you. I especially liked the “Heads Up Display (HUD)” for quickly entering data and the tag menu can be visible or only made visible on demand as you prefer.
Still lacking from Things was a dedicated synching utility, although the data is all formatted as XML so someone with some skill could solve that issue pretty easily. Not so easily fixed is the fact that Things has been developed for Leopard. This makes it tough to use for PC operators, though the company says that a fully formatted version of Things will be available via the web making the application essentially universal.
CulturedCode also is advertising that there will be an iPhone version of things available in June of this year; as they put it:
“And we are not just talking about a simple to-do list. We’ll put the whole application in your pocket.”
About now you’re probably wondering what this whole thing is going to run you. The answer is it depends. That’s because right now, while things is in beta, you can download a preview version free of charge. Once the application goes gold you’ll have to pay and then it still depends. If you are a subscriber to their newsletter you get $10 bucks off which makes the app $39 and IMO a very nice value. Those that don’t subscribe to their newsletter can pay the full price of $49 which is still a deal as far as I’m concerned.
Personally though, I’d hustle over and download the preview version now, if nothing else then to give it a test run and see how you like it. So far it works for me, it might just work for you, too.
Sorry for the rhyming singlet above, I usually can refrain but couldn’t help myself for this little tidbit of good news. Windows users in the know have long benefit from the kind folks at Giveaway of the Day or GOTD as they call it. However up until February Mac users had been left out in the cold. Well, no longer, these cool people received a deluge of mail from Mac-addicts begging for a little love of their own, and like any company that has the sense to “have a clue” they listened to what people wanted and stepped up to deliver.
Now, I realize that this is hardly breaking news since it was announced on the 8th of February - but I wasn’t aware of this until this morning and so I imagine that at least a few people out there probably missed the news as well. In any case, for those that are wondering if all they give away is stuff you’d never want anyway, if you’d found them yesterday you woud have been able to download your own copy of the Evernote Beta for the Mac, totally free, a $49.95 value..
Sadly, it’s too late to get a copy of Evernote, but there are sure to be other cool programs available tomorrow and the next day and the day after that and…
Editor’s Note: This is the first intallment in a quick 3-part series on web-based task management applications. Today we take a look at Highrise from 37 Signals
As I continue to learn about the practical application of GTD in my everyday work and personal life I have realized that task management is going to be critical in many respects. Because GTD is so task oriented and because so many things in today’s work environment are collaborative in nature it is essential that you have the ability to track not only your own tasks and deliverables but those of the people to whom you’ve Delegated something as well as those someone else may have delegated to you.
So far I haven’t found the perfect task management solution for me but I have come across a couple of strong candidates. Today I’ll give you a quick rundown on three and see if perhaps someone can help me see which one would be best for GTD use.
Highrise is a strong contender for sure. It is a lot more than just a task management utility and in reality should probably be classified almost as a lightweight CRM tool since it has a substantial number of features oriented towards contact management in addition to handling tasks. The thing is, these features make it especially good for managing the deliverables of delegated tasks. I also like the task dashboard that makes it possible to see your whole list of tasks broken down by when they’re due as well as their other associations. Is the task an email, does it relate to a document, or perhaps it is tied to another person? All of these scenarios are accounted for in Highrise. Another thing I liked about Highrise is the fact that you can see at a glance what needs to be done today and horror of horrors, what SHOULD have bee done yesterday (in case you’re Not Getting Things Done as quickly as you needed to).
Task entry is quick and easy which is something you should demand from any task management software - after all, if it’s any more difficult than writing the task on a piece of paper it probably isn’t going to be efficient and that should be cause to consider seriously if it will actually help you Get More Done or simply chew up valuable time while you futz around with the software.
The two issues I had with Highrise are the depth of the application (it really is more suited for teams than individuals with all these features), and the price. For the lowest cost setup that I though would be adequate for my needs they have a solo special (for Freelancers, they say) at $29.00 per month. This is almost as much as I pay for my 6 Meg pipe and it seems a little steep considering that some applications with nearly this much functionality are free.
Google has yet to come out with Task Management but they’ve so spoiled me with some of their free applications that these days I have a much harder time opening up the old wallet (and especially to the tune of almost $30 Bones a month just to manage my task list.
If you happen to be a road weary traveler who works in or even with any significant amount of technology, I am certain you would agree that accessing your data on the road is one of the banes of your existence. Between lugging your “desktop replacement” aka your carry-on boat anchor (so that you have all your critical data with you - just don’t forget your Chiropractor’s phone number) and attempting to remember which files you’re going to need and then synchronizing them to your small and light “travel computer” aka your anemic, expensive, carpal tunnel causing DVD player.
