7Breaths

Been thinking a lot recently about my personal productivity workflows. I've got all my inputs covered, nothing is missed, all my project lists are up to date, all my next action context lists are full. The problem - there is too much to do. If all my inputs stopped today I would still have weeks of work to do to clear all my projects. I've realised that collecting / processing / organising in itself is not enough. Too many things to do, too many opportunities to seize, (Don't even mention my someday/maybe list - it's just getting bigger and bigger too). Just working with my GTD lists is no longer enough. I need to incorporate the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day along with the admission that I can't do everything I want to in this time, no matter how many productivity hacks I employ. GTD is a great tool, but is not a solution in itself.
I've branched out from pure GTD and looked at other systems and have come up with a workflow that I am finding more manageable for now. I'll be posting some notes on my current thinking over the next few weeks. One thing I have taken to using is leveraging the Outlook 2007 integration with OneNote and I'll be addressing how this has changed my previous OneNote / GTD set up.
For other thoughts on "GTD 2.0" check out these ideas from Eric, Michael, Pascal and Stephen.

I've been using Outlook 2007 and intergrating it into my GTD / OneNote set up over the last few months. I'm still using OneNote to manage my inputs and projects, but am tending to keep my next actions in Outlook. I'm also using Outlook to manage my "Tickler" file - making use of the ability to set start dates for tasks.
The problem I have had with this is keeping Outlook synchronised between all my devices. I've looked at various synching solutions but have not found one that worked for me.
So a couple of days ago I took the plunge and signed up for a hosted microsoft exchange account - inspired by this article, from Kevin C. Tofel at jkOnTheRun. It was all fairly easy to get set up and working. The big benefit for me is I am able to synchronise Outlook using this method and OneNote by using the shared notebooks feature over my home network. When I am now out and about I have all my stuff with me. The Cached Exchange Mode in Outlook is excellent when I have no access to the web. The set up also means I can now sync my windows mobile phone either by GPRS or wi-fi and have all my emails and diary etc up to date whenever I need it.

When I'm without any of my devices I can still log into exchange via Outlook Web Access - a web based interface which gives all of the Outlook functionality you need. Means I am no longer forwarding all my mail to Gmail just so I can access it on the web.

All in all it's working for me - keeping my trust in my system, allowing me to concentrate on Getting Things Done.

I've been tagged by Stephen over at HD BizBlog with the latest GTD meme - What's Your Killer GTD set up- which has been started by the Getting Things Done blog.

Man, have I tried to nail down the killer GTD setup. For ages I checked out each and every new GTD app out there. Eventually I came to realise that you will never find the perfect GTD application - what you need is a perfect GTD mindset . Once you are truly "doing GTD" anything you choose will become a killer app. So I have stopped searching, got on with my system and began getting things done. With this in mind here is what I currently do.


Tools:

Microsoft OneNote
SPV m600 Phone running Microsoft Windows Mobile 5
Microsoft Outlook


System:

OneNote setup is the cornerstone of my home GTD system, tracking my projects, next actions and keeping a tab on all my reference material. It also acts as my daily journal. I've blogged in detail about my OneNote System here.

If I'm working at home OneNote is always open so things go in there straight away.
I find these days that I always have my mobile phone with me - this acts as the perfect capture tool when I am out and about. I can either use it to write quick notes, make voice notes or take a photograph of something. All of this information can then be quickly transferred into my OneNote system when I return home. I use Outlook for contacts and calendar information and using the phone allows me to have all this to hand where ever I am negating the need for web based services. I have just got hold of a copy of Outlook 2007 and am exploiting its very tight integration with OneNote to further manage my to do items and reminders.

Any paper based items are scanned in, transferred to OneNote and processed like any other item, with the original document being filed away. I don't use a tickler file as I tend not to have any physical objects to put in it - any reminders I need are place in Outlook.

Application:


Each morning I rise with enough time to review my days commitments, plan what projects I want to move forward and then select my 3 Most Important Tasks.
During the day I collect anything that comes to my attention and then process it at the end of the day. I set aside a little time to review my day and preview the coming days plan of action.
I use the weekly review to maintain the system and also look at higher levels of focus, checking I am still moving towards my goals. It is so true - "if you are not doing the weekly review you are not doing GTD".

This will be my final post on GTD with OneNote.

For the full series follow the links

1. GTD with OneNote: Set up
2. GTD with OneNote: Collection
3. GTD with OneNote: Processing
4. GTD with OneNote: Organise
5. GTD with OneNote: Screen shots
6. GTD with OneNote: Deferred Items
7. GTD with OneNote: Email and Outlook

So far I have described by GTD with OneNote set up on my main computer. In this post I will explain what I do when away from home to keep on top of GTD.

I have various tools I use when away from base. These are:

1. Ultra Portable laptop
2. Windows Mobile 5 Phone
3. A paper notebook
4. A hipster PDA



What I take with me and what I use all depend on where I am going and what I am planning to do. In this post I'll just describe my electronic set up.

Ultra portable:

For any real work I take the ultra portable laptop - I keep copies of all my OneNote notebooks on this and sync over wireless with my main computer before leaving home. I then have access to the full range of my GTD set up and any other OneNote notes I may need.

Windows Mobile Phone:

I always have my phone with me. If I'm popping out to run errands or just socialise I will quickly create a summary page of my @Out contexts and drag this to sync with my OneNote Mobile on my phone (a more lo-fi way of doing this would be just to print out the summary page and take it with you).
I keep my schedule in outlook and this too is synced with my mobile.
I can take notes into OneNote Mobile - this also allows me to take photographs and make voice recordings so I always have a collection device with me.

[Edit 21/6/07 - I have upgraded to Outlook 2007, I'm currently intergrating this into my system so stay tuned for developments]

In my previous post I touched on how I use Outlook to complement my OneNote GTD setup. In this short post I will explain how I deal with emails that generate a next action.
When I get an email that requires an action I flag it for follow up in Outlook. I use the ability to set up virtual search folders in Outlook 2003 to keep my flagged emails grouped by client or porject. I then use the send to OneNote function to send a copy of the email to OneNote. I have set the default target location for these emails to my Today section rather than my unfiled notes section. This will then open up a copy of the email in OneNote - from where i can tag it to be processed. I can the process this as I would any other item I collected that day - usually tagging it as a project and adding any next actions to the OneNote item.
Once any actions are completed and the project finished I can switch back to Outlook and find the item quickly, flag it as done and file it away.

Sometimes when processing you come across something that needs to be deferred until a later date as it is not currently actionable. When this happens I use the ability of OneNote 2007 to integrate with Outlook. By flagging the item with CTRL+SHIFT+K I can create an Outlook to do item. I then set the date of this to do to the date it becomes actionable, in effect I use the Outlook to do list as a "tickler" file rather than a to do list - as all my next actions are contained in OneNote. When a item becomes active in Outlook I can then click on the link to be taken to the original in OneNote which I can then process and act on as previously described.

I will be writing more about the integration of OneNote and Outlook in the coming days.