Basecamp now integrates with three new web apps: Blinksale, Harvest and Phonefied. Huzzah! I’ve just started using Blinksale, so this could be pretty helpful.
For other applications mashing with the killer collaboration software, check out this list from the guys at Basecamp.

1. Freshbooks Integrates With Basecamp
2. How I Mix Basecamp and GTD
3. Basecamp + GTD = Instant Inspiration (Confessions of a Web Developer)

I have to confess something. If I could romantically become involved with a web app, Basecamp (aff) would be getting some flowers and chocolates from yours truly. I know, I know… I’ve been yapping a lot about the project management software lately, but the more I play with it the more I can see benefits for using it other than project management.

Here’s an example: I’ve been working on a web app for quite some time now, and I’ve kind of hit the point where I need to buckle down and git ‘er done. However, there’s a snag: I hate working on it. I’ve been looking at the thing for the past couple of months without blinking. The project had become stale for me, and something had to be done before I became completely depressed and started downing gallons of ice cream while watching Seinfeld reruns. Naturally, I turned to the David for help.

I decided the best course of action was to take some of my own medicine and start using GTD principles to sort my enormous mound of to-do lists in Basecamp. I’ve been using Basecamp for over a year, and the layout of my to-do lists were still set up in the initial crappy, helter-skelter system. The tasks were organized basically into five lists: Pre-launch, Launch, Later, Someday, and Bugs. For those who are developing a web app, let me be the first to tell you that this is possibly the WORST way to set up to-do lists. If you hate yourself, you’ll set it up this way. Ugh. Anyway, I started breaking each action down into it’s own list, and putting the next actions below it. What I found next was incredible.

“I’m bringing sexy progress back…”

Just by rolling up my sleeves and gettin’ dirty with the actions, I was freeing a lot of the stress associated with them. Now each action was meticulously laid out with all of the next actions below it. I could now mindlessly navigate through each list and knock them off, instead of having to think about what to do next. Not only that, but I can give a better time estimate of how long each action is going to take by seeing how many “next actions” are below it. It’s an all-together good feeling when you regain more control of your project via smart organization.
Mind Games

Aside from re-gaining control, spicing your project up with GTD can trick your mind into thinking it’s doing more. Take my example. Once I broke every action down into a list, it made for a much larger page. I now had a bunch of smaller lists instead of a few long lists. So whenever I finish an action and delete an entire list, I clear up a couple inches of literal screen space. With the older method, only a fraction of an inch is cleared by ticking off an item.

When there’s more action involved managing the project (ie crossing items off, deleting whole lists at a time), your brain visually sees the progress, which explains why this method is crazy-good for your productivity. There is much more of a relieving sensation linked to slaying an entire list in 10 minutes than taking the same amount of time and only ticking one measly item off.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Needless to say, once I completely inspected, changed, and broke down my lists, I instantly saw that the project was a lot closer to launch than I had previously thought. With the end in sight, it’s been much easier to work on it steadily, and it has given me the much-needed kick in the pants to finish the dadgum thing. So if you’re ever needing motivation for finishing a project that’s been hanging around for two long, re-evaluate your project management setup. It’s more important than you think.

1. How I Mix Basecamp and GTD
2. Freshbooks Integrates With Basecamp
3. More Basecamp Integration

I can’t get enough of 37Signals‘ products. These guys have made some of the most elegant, robust, yet at the same time dead-simple products I’ve seen around. I primarily use Basecamp (aff) and Backpack (aff), but their Campfire and Ta-Da list are great products too.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much written about how to fuse Basecamp with GTD principles. The only article I could really find devoted to it stated that “Basecamp is not set up for GTD-style organization”. I beg to differ. Because Basecamp is so flexible, you can make it do just about whatever you want. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that Basecamp is almost ideal for GTD setups. You just have to use a little creativity.

A Little Intro

Basecamp is really designed for people trying to organize projects. You can create wiki pages and messages for your thoughts, to-do lists, and milestones. You can assign to-do lists to milestones as well. And for the cherry on top: you can chat with other members of your project (and log them), all within Basecamp. (I’m only touching on a few of the features available. If you want to read up on all of them, check out their tour). It should also be noted that I only use the free version of Basecamp, as I only manage one project (right now).

To-Do Lists, Your New Best Friend

The real beauty of Basecamp lies within their to-do lists. You can create as many as you want, and map them all on the project page. You can then re-arrange the lists in any order. This is key.

Here’s what I do. I keep all of my tasks in these lists. But here’s the difference than your traditional usage of to-do lists. For every single task, I create a new to-do list. This way, I can map out all the next actions, or all of the physical steps needed to complete the task. Then I drag-n-drop the lists in the order I want to complete them. And if they’re time sensitive, I make a milestone and attach the list to the milestone. However, you should only make milestones for things that have to be done on a certain date. If too many lists are assigned to dates, then your system loses it’s flexibility. (You can read more about this concept in David Allen’s book.)

What About the Contexts?

As of right now, we haven’t touched on action contexts. Action contexts are basically ways to classify how or where you’re going to be doing the task. For example, I’d seperate all of my lists into a “Phone” category for people I needed to call. It’s not so much about how you’re going to do them, but where.

Because I only use Basecamp for my web development projects, the context is always the same. But if you’re going to use it for organizing the rest of your life’s contexts, I have 3 solutions.

1. Just add the context in front of the list name. It’s so simple. For people you need to call, add “Phone:” and then your list name (or for proper GTD syntax, “@PHone:”). Then list the calls you need to make.

2. Upgrade your account. With the free account, you only get one project to work with. So if you bumped up to the Basic account, you could have each one of your contexts as a project.

3. Use BackPack. Backpack (aff) is a great alternative if you don’t want all the bells and whistles of project management, and are looking for something for personal use. You can create up to 5 pages in the free version, each of which you could use for contexts.

Tickled Pink

One thing that you can’t do in Basecamp is set up tickler files, or reminders for those things you do often but don’t want cluttering up your calendar. For example, “set trash to the curb”. It would be great to set these up in Basecamp, but unfortunately it doesn’t allow for that functionality. But you can bet your sweet potatoes that Backpack does. Set as many reminders that you want to by email or text message for free. You can have these sent just once or at designated intervals. Problem solved.

A Winning Combination

So as you can see, you can combine Basecamp with GTD. You may need a little help from it’s more generic friend Backpack, but it can be done. (This will be even easier in the future, as the 37Signals guys are planning on allowing basecamp and backpack integration.) My system is by no means the holy grail of Basecamp and GTD, and you can easily expand upon it. Just use a little creativity, and you can go far with 37Signals products.

1. Basecamp + GTD = Instant Inspiration (Confessions of a Web Developer)
2. More Basecamp Integration
3. Freshbooks Integrates With Basecamp