I’d like to take this opportunity to ask you guys what your organizational setup is. How do you get stuff done? Are you into paper or digital tools, or both? A disciple of GTD? Or do you have your own home-brewed setup? Basically, just describe your organizational flow in the comments below. I’m curious to see what everyone’s productivity system looks like, and I think we can all learn a bit from each other. Sound good? Comment away!
:)

1. Organizational Oxymorons
2. Open Sourcing Your Creativity
3. Subtle Format Changes

Photo by dead_squid

GTD is pretty much the de facto organization system of the web. (If you don’t know anything about the little system that David Allen made famous, then check out the GTD Cheatsheet, a mini-series to whet the palate of those not privy to GTD.) The Getting Things Done system has taken the internet by storm in the last few years, with many different variations on the program springing up all over.

I believe GTD to be an incredible starting point for anyone wanting to get a better hold on their personal organization. In fact, I think there are some pretty convincing reasons for any doubters out there who might have overlooked the powerful system.

1. Completely Customizable. The main tenant of the system (though GTD zealots might overlook it) is that the system can completely be customized to fit your needs. Pick and choose which features of the system fit into your life and your needs. It’s a fluid system.
   Here’s an example. I don’t find myself delegating too many things throughout the day, since I’m a freelancing web worker. So I have tailored my GTD system to completely overlook the “delegate” processing step. (At least until I have some minions under me.)
2. It really IS fun. Let’s be honest… let the dork inside of you out. There is a certain feeling of satisfaction that comes with checking a task off a list, not to mention the freedom that comes from knowing you’re in total control of everything that needs to be done.
3. You’ll never lose a thought. If you’re a creative type and find yourself putting ideas a little bit of everywhere, GTD will ensure that you’ll a) always capture it, b)always process it, and c) always complete it in a timely manner. At least in theory anyway. (More on idea capture here.)
4. It’s really not that bad. While the book may be a little heady, and actually getting the system in place requires a shift in thinking, the GTD system really is a simple concept. Once you start getting the hang of it you’ll never look back.
5. GTD helps gain perspective on your day. With GTD you can quickly look at your day and know exactly what to work on first, what to spend time on, and what to leave for later. Automagically. With the help of contexts, you’ll know what needs to be done at any scenario (ie. in the car, at home, at the office). You’ll find that getting all the things on your todo list done is much easier when they’re broken down in to contexts.
6. There are plenty of tools to help. There are endless possibilities and scenarios for making a GTD system work for you. Paper based, computer based (Mac and Windows), free, paid… literally there are GTD tools for any setup. Finding a tool for your specific setup is incredibly important to your productivity. With the “perfect” GTD tool, you’ll be more inclined tostick with the system. It’ll become as vital to you as one of your limbs.
7. There is plenty of help to get started. There are tons of great blogs and sites that are focused around organization and GTD for the beginner and expert alike. Oh, and there’s a handy book too.
8. Recurring tasks are never forgotten. Things that are easily forgotten (like paying bills) are never left behind. With the help of a tickler file (I still giggle every time I type that!), things that happen at recurring intervals show up every week/month/year they’re needed.
9. It works in ALL aspects of your life. There is no specific venue for applying GTD principles. Whether it’s business, pleasure, even planning events like weddings, all can benefit from a little GTD sauce. You don’t need to remember confusing formulas or methods to make the GTD system work in nearly any situation. GTD is a comprehensive way to get your life organized.

1. 6 Reasons For Asking Why
2. Four Reasons Why Fear is a Creative’s Friend
3. Open Thread: What’s Your Organizational Setup?

Instead of giving you the usual, in-depth review, I thought I’d make a haiku of the beta-released Things project management software instead.

Things

Smart, pretty and fun
Without GTD jargon
Just needs Quicksilver

1. Time Management, Simplified: How to Be Productive With No Worries
2. Mind mapping program review: desktop or online?
3. Goplan: A Comprehensive Project Management Tool

It’s vital to any project that it be broken down into action steps along the way. However, you can get a little too trigger happy when breaking these down.  Some people like to put every little minute detail into an action step.

1. Take out index cards
2. Open pen cap
3. Write next action

While others prefer the vague approach, perilously getting close to summing up a project with a single “action step”.

1. Make scrapbook
2. Show family

What other steps go into making the scrapbook? I personally wouldn’t know, as I’m not much of a scrapbooker, but others will tell you that you have to buy a myriad of things from the craft store, carefully plan your layouts, get your pictures in order, and assemble the book. Phew!  This approach may benefit from a little more detail in their lists.

Steve Pavlina has a wonderful post analyzing these two approaches, and then showing a happy medium between the two.  This is straight outta the GTD methodology, known as Next Actions.   Next actions are simple the  “next action” needed to complete a project.

As to how vague or descriptive your action steps should be, it all depends on one thing: You. If you’re comfortable with really vague lists, use ‘em.  If that anal retentive side of you really needs that much detail, then break that project down into tiny slivers of actions.  The important thing is making GTD (or microtasking) work best for you.

1. Simple GTD Next Action Lists with Nozbe
2. 11 Steps to Fight the ‘God Complex’
3. Project And Action Verbs List To Speed Up GTD

Now here’s something a little different than what you might normally hear concerning productivity and task lists. The David constantly states that during the GTD sweep, it’s imperative that we throw away our crusty old tasks, projects, and even contexts once they’re spent. The guys at Behance have a different idea.

Instead of tossing away your task lists that you’ve put blood, sweat and tears into, why not put them on display to motivate yourself into action on future projects?

Why not decorate your work space with completed action steps? While we tend to surround ourselves with art and imagery that serves to inspire us in our work, is it more inspiration that we need? Most creative professionals report that they are not short of ideas, but rather the discipline and organization to make them happen. For this reason, consider surrounding yourself with testaments to taking action.

Although I was a bit hesitant when I first read the article, the idea has grown on me somewhat. It does kind of seem like a shame that I can’t proudly display what I’ve been working on as a badge of honor. I can just see myself hanging my best “dones” on the wall, and giving tours with an Australian accent.

“And this little project I bagged on the 14th hour of a Monday in mid-March. What a beaut!”

Or maybe not. But it is fun to think about. How about you guys? How would you display your completed tasks?

Just a heads up that Nude Recreation Week is coming up this July 9-15, and according to the American Association for Nude Recreation and The Naturist Society, there is an upswing of people working at home in the buff.

I wonder how this affects productivity…

Hat tip: WebWorkerDaily

This guest post was written by Leo Babauta of the Zen Habits blog.

I’m a big fan of Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen, and adopted the system wholeheartedly a year and a half ago. This year, I’ve written a number of posts on GTD, but one of my habits is to take whatever I do and try to simplify it.

Slowly, I’ve been reducing my time management system (based on GTD) to its barest minimum.

And you know what? It’s not only simpler, I’ve found that it’s so much more productive, less hassle, and more stress-free than the official GTD system, or even other time-management systems I’ve tried.

Before I get into simplification, let’s look at the main elements of GTD:

• Capture - write everything down as you think of it.
• Process - process your notes and inboxes, putting everything in its appropriate place.
• Contexts - break your to-do list into several lists based on the context you’re in and what you can actually do right now.
• Projects – Anything that takes more than one physical action is a project.
• Workflow – This is really fluid in GTD … you can do whatever tasks right now that your context, time or energy allow. Basically, you decide what to do from moment to moment.
• Weekly Review – This is the key to GTD — making sure you have everything in your system, and that it’s in the right place. By reviewing it weekly, you can ensure that you are in working order.
• Tickler - A way to remind yourself about things coming up. Allen suggests using a system of folders, 12 for the months and 31 for the days of the month (43 total).
• Filing - He recommends a simple alphabetical system, easy to use so that you actually file right away.
• Someday/maybe & waiting on – Two additional lists that are very useful for parking projects you don’t plan to do now and for following up on stuff you’re waiting for from other people.
• Goals – Not very emphasized in GTD — it does talk about higher altitudes, where you look at things like goals, and those should be done during the Weekly Review, but it doesn’t seem very important to the main thrust of GTD, which is more focused on daily actions.

Those are the basics — there are other stuff, but I think I’ve outlined the system fairly well. And let me say — it works very well, and if you adopt this system you will most likely become more productive (unless you focus (obsess) too much on the tools and keep revising your system instead of getting things done).

Simplifying the System
As you can see, GTD is a lot of things to implement and keep track of, which is why the Weekly Review is so necessary. But it can be made simpler, and by doing so, you will reduce what you need to do and the time you spend maintaining the system. Here’s how:

1. Reduce your tasks. My philosophy with everything is this: before you organize, reduce. If you only have three things to organize, instead of 20, you actually don’t need to organize. How can you apply that to time management? Reduce what you need to do. You can eliminate tasks, delegate them, postpone them, get out of commitments. For more on this topic read posts I’ve written elsewhere: on Zen Habits, FreelanceSwitch, and Lifehack.
2. Capture. I think this is one of the most valuable tools of GTD. Write down ideas as they come to you, tasks that you need to do, before you forget about them. Get it out of your head. I carry around a small Moleskine pocket notebook and write things down in that.
3. MITs. Of all the stuff you need to do, which are the three Most Important Tasks (MITs) you need to do today? Write those on the top of your little notebook (or on your computer) and only those. Those are the three tasks you are going to focus on. Single-task and don’t get distracted from them. If you get only these three things done today, you’ve been very productive.
4. Batch process. Besides your MITs, there are a lot of little tasks you need to do throughout the day. Don’t let them interrupt the more important stuff. To be more productive, batch them up and do them all at once, preferably towards the end of the day. Batch like things together — do all your email once a day, at 4 p.m., instead of throughout the day. Do all your paperwork at once. Process your physical inbox to empty. Don’t do them throughout the day. I keep a little list of batch process tasks at the bottom of my notebook page (MITs are at the top).
5. Goals. I think goals are very important. But having too many can cause you to lose focus, and you’ll end up not doing any of them. Instead, use a simple goal system: choose one goal to focus on this year, and a smaller sub-goal of your one-year goal to accomplish in 6 months. Then choose a smaller sub-goal to accomplish within the next week or two, and each day, work towards that short-term goal. Your MITs for today should include at least one task to move you forward towards your short-term goal. Focus on one goal, not many, and you will make it happen.

That’s it. That’s about as simplified as you can get while still getting stuff off your mind. This system allows you to focus on what’s important, to limit your workload to something a bit more sane, and to increase your effectiveness by focusing less on the busy work and more on the high-powered tasks.

Some notes on my simple system:

• Tools. I recommend a simple pocket notebook, and that’s it. You can use this notebook to capture everything as you think of it, to write down your MITs and batch process tasks for today, and to write down your one goal. If you only have one tool, you don’t need to worry about it too much.
• Weekly Review. It’s not really necessary if you don’t have a lot of tasks to process. However, if you want to do a short 10-minute review of your tasks for this coming week, and to be sure that you are re-focused on your One Goal, that would probably be a good use of your time.
• Someday/maybe, Projects, Waiting for. If you want to add these lists to my simple system, they could be helpful. I don’t use them at the current time, as I’ve simplified my tasks and projects and system and daily life so that they’re not absolutely necessary, but I don’t see anything wrong with them.
• Filing. I don’t really file anymore. I try to keep everything online, using Google Docs and Gmail and Picasa, and with all of those tools I just archive and search if I need to find anything. For paper documents at work, I still have my simple filing system, but I rarely use it.
• Tickler. I don’t think a system of 43 folders is necessary if you don’t have much to remember. Simplify your commitments, and you don’t need a tickler system. I use Gcal for hard landscape tasks, but I try to schedule as little as possible. Basically I use it for my kids’ activities and dental and doctor appointments.

Conclusion
The fewer tasks you have, the less you have to do to organize them. Focus only on those tasks that give you the absolute most return on your time investment, and you will become more productive and have less to do. You will need only the simplest tools and system, and you will be much less stressed. I think that’s a winning combination.

Focus always on simplifying, reducing, eliminating. And keep your focus on what’s important. Everything else is easy.

Zen Habits has an incredible and insightful post that outlines a new beefed-up GTD system. It just plain rocks, I tell you.

First off, I should note that Zen Habits is one of my favorite blogs as of late. Plenty of nuggets creating life habits in the archives over there. The writing is simple, yet the concepts are fresh and unique. Alright, enough of the mushy stuff. Let’s get to the goods ;)

The GTD system is a very flexible processing tool that gives structure to wrangling your life’s inputs. However, there are a few shortcomings to the system. First and foremost, it doesn’t really pay attention to your life’s goals. GTD is more what needs to be done right now, with not much love given on how to process your life’s goals. Thanks to Leo, we now have a way to process those as well, wrapped around the GTD system.

If you’ve been having trouble with GTD, as great as it is, ZTD might be just for you. It focuses on the habit changes necessary for GTD, in a more practical way, and it focuses on doing, on simplifying, and on adding a simple structure.

Admittedly, GTD is not the easiest thing in the world to learn. It takes a few times of falling off the wagon before really getting the hang of it. The ZTD system tries to make it an easier system by simplifying more. Almost too simple.

In fact, Leo believes that not trying new task and project tools is key to keeping it simple. A straight pen and paper works best for the ZTD system. While this is mostly true, it’s a little over-simplified. In some cases it just doesn’t make sense to use a paper-based system (like web development). However, he’s spot on: the tool isn’t going to make you any more organized.

It’s all about the system, baby.

1. Time Management, Simplified: How to Be Productive With No Worries
2. Productivity News: Creating Todo lists with Gmail and Jott, Consequences of Internet at 30,000 feet, and 30 Boxes creator on email GTD
3. GTD Cheatsheet: Processing Your Stuff

Note: Behance is a sponsor of LifeDev. But rest assured we wouldn’t have written this if we didn’t mean every word. Every word.

Behance is a productivity outfitter of sorts. As per their slogan “making ideas happen”, they’ve interestingly focused their products for creative types. This is a smart move. Creativity is a very important thing to foster, especially in a business setting.

If you happen to be (or know) a very creative person, you probably know firsthand how good at coming up with interesting ideas or solutions they (we) tend to be. And you probably also know how terrible they are at implementing them. Enter Behance. They’ve created productivity tools that are creativity friendly.

I’ve been checkin’ out the Behance Action Series as of late, and I love it. But maybe I’m biased. I loved it as soon as I saw the packaging. The good people at Behance have really taken the time in every aspect of their products. Even their packaging has little mathematical formulas for creativity wrapped along the bottom.

Productive Creativity = Creativity + Organization + Perspiration + Collaboration + ….(tons more variables all the way around the packaging) = Make Ideas Happen

The Action Pad

The grandaddy of the Action Series, Behance Action Pads are like structured playgrounds for the mind. Instead of just the daunting solid white of a plain ‘ol notebook page, the Behance team has managed to create a delicate balance between structure and freedom. That’s a hard thing to do.

On the right sidebar, they’ve created space for action steps (like Next Actions in GTD). On the bottom of that sidebar there is a space for your “Backburner” items, or things to worry about later. On the top left side of the page, there’s plenty of room to describe what the page is about and other reference notes, along with a “Prep/Focus” box for refreshing your mind as to what the page means when you’re looking at it later.

(I really like the Prep/focus area of the page, mainly because it’s sometimes hard to remember what scribbles on a page mean without any context stuck to it. Kudos for creating a solution for that need! )

And wrapping out the Action Pad feature set is roughly 2/3 of nearly-white space on each page. Instead of having lines for this area for order (who needs that anyway?), the Action Series uses a dot grid to allow for more freedom than strict ‘ol lines. And they’ve dedicated the entire back side of the page to the dot grid, for maximum brainstormage. Another smart move.

The Action Pad Mini and Action Cards

If you don’t need a whole sheet of creativity, but rather just something to write down what to do next, check out the Action Pad Mini.

The Action Pad Mini has everything that the larger Action Pad has, just less of it.

If you’re looking for an even smaller place to fit just next actions and a place to write/draw, the Action Cards may be a better fit. Very hipster PDA-ish.

One thing I like about both of these smaller products is that the back is totally dedicated to sketches, text, or whatever else you can think of.

Overall Conclusions

I like how all of the Action Series has enough color to be distinctive and noticeable, but not so much that it bogs down the creative juices with distractions. Also, the paper is of pretty high quality, and each order comes with a kickin’ sticker. How cool is that?

If there was anything I’d change, it would be area allotted to each Action Step. It’s a tad too much for me, but I tend to write small. I’m sure that size is perfect (and even too small) for others. Also, it would be nice to see a binder of sorts to house everything in. Just a thought ;)

Behance has done a great job of utilizing the space for their products. Nothing is wasted, so you can squeeze every last bit of creative goodness on to the paper. The product itself is truly productive, even before we get our hands on it.

While the Action Series isn’t cheap, it’s worth every penny. Part of the battle of staying organized and focused in our crazy, always-connected-world is having tools that are comfortable, grab your attention, and gently prod you into getting things done and stop being a slacker. Anything that can invoke change like that is worth every cent.

1. Behance: Productive Creativity Tools
2. 10% Off Behance Products for LifeDev Readers!
3. Behance Adds New Moleskine Notebooks

Creating My ToDo List Through Jott And Gmail

“1. If you don’t have an account with Gmail, you must set one up by going here.
2. Once you have logged into your Gmail account, go to the “Labels” box on the sidebar and click on “Edit labels”.
3. In the entry box marked “Create a new label”, type in the name of your label that you will store all of your to do’s and hit enter. (Mine is called “*TODO” – the asterisk keeps the label at the top of the list of labels in the sidebar).”
(read the rest …)

37 Signals Take on why internet is bad in airplanes [caution: stong language]

“Ironically, SAS killed the internet access on their transatlantic flights this January because nobody was using it. (Well, except for me saying “look, I’m online at 30,000 feet!!” in a chat room). And I think that’s a good indicator for offline web applications. The idea is cool, but the reality is that it just doesn’t matter. You don’t need access to all your stuff all the time. We’re already overloaded with connectivity. Cherish the few remaining strongholds for offlineliness!”

Clearing Your Inbox with Minimal Pain 

“My complete system involves a physical inbox and simple file structure, 30 Boxes for my calendar and contextually tagged to do lists, and trusty Apple Mail. Of course, any combination of web or desktop apps will suffice.” g

1. Jumbled To-Do Lists: Productivity’s Dirty Little Secret?
2. Productivity Software News: Stikkit updates, Firefox tabs hack and The Procrastinator’s Clock
3. Using Gmail To Organize… Well… EVERYTHING