Not a fan of Getting Things Done (GTD)? It might be hard to imagine for some, but it’s not everyone’s favorite productivity methodology. “The Pomodoro Technique” by Francesco Cirillo is another option might be a better fit for your needs. This technique works well for folks who feel anxiety when thinking about the “ticking clock” and deadlines.
The Solution to Anxiety-ridden “Becoming”
The Pomodoro Technique aims to erase the uneasiness that come with “Becoming.” The “Becoming”concept is a tough one to explain. Yet, when you put it to practice, it instantly makes sense. At first, I couldn’t make heads or tails of it, but when I tried out the process, it clicked it. (More on that in a moment.) Read the rest of this entry »
SimplyGTD is a new, extremely simple to-do list/task management web app. I’ve been playing with it today, and thought I would record a quick screencast showing how it works, and in particular how it compares with Google Tasks, my favorite simple task management app:
In summary, if you’re looking for a very basic, free to-do list app — especially if you’d like to print your to-do lists — then SimplyGTD might be worth checking out, but I think for most people the extra functionality, integration with other apps, and flexibility offered by Google Tasks (which can even be tweaked into a reasonable Getting Things Done app) or Remember the Milk would make them better options.
SimplyGTD’s main selling point is that it is very simple — but is it too simple?
Like many web workers, one of my challenges is keeping my data in sync between the various devices and apps that I use. I stopped using my Palm handheld over a year ago, but I’ve continued to use the Palm Desktop application, because it’s one of the easiest-to-use and most mobile-friendly applications ever, even though I now have a BlackBerry. Finding a solution that can keep my data in sync between Palm Desktop, my BlackBerry and the other apps that I use has been difficult.
For a while, I’d sync Outlook and Palm Desktop, and then Outlook would update the BlackBerry (I didn’t actually use Outlook at all, it just acted as the middleman). It worked great. But then my dependence on Google Calendar grew, because I could access it from any computer as well as my BlackBerry, and it wouldn’t work with my sync setup. Read the rest of this entry »
I really like Google Tasks. It’s free, easy to use, and well integrated with Gmail and Google Calendar, yet it’s flexible enough that it can be adapted for use as part of a Getting Things Done (GTD) system. Unlike many web apps, it has some very handy keyboard shortcuts built in, which can make it much faster to use and give you a real productivity boost. It’s well worth learning these shortcuts, particularly if you use Tasks a lot: Read the rest of this entry »
There are a huge number of task management and reminder apps available, each with a different range of features and complexity. Some applications seem to have too many features for me, while others don’t have enough. Superminder seems to get it just right. It falls into the useful yet easy to use category.
The web app has two key features: adding new to-do items and setting reminders. It also lets you set up email or SMS reminders. Read the rest of this entry »
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my quest to organize my workflow, it is that everyone’s brain works differently. There are almost as many answers to the question “what task management tool do you like” as there are people, and we’ve reviewed a host of those solutions here at WebWorkerDaily.
I’ve struggled for years to try to find the right solution for me. I’ve used a Franklin Planner, a Palm T/X, Microsoft Outlook (s msft), Remember The Milk, and a few other options. Nothing ever seemed quite right for me, though, and at times I found myself scribbling on paper pads still.
That was the case until I bought my first Mac and started looking for a task list for OS X. One of my friends recommended Things from Cultured Code. I almost didn’t try it because of the price ($49.95 desktop, $9.95 iPhone app). Thankfully, there is a free trial of the desktop application, so I was able to check it out without committing to the hefty price tag. It’s good that there’s a free trial, because I would otherwise have passed it by.
Put simply, Things has been the solution I’ve been searching for. It has revolutionized my productivity. It works with my natural flow, instead of against it. Read the rest of this entry »
Whenever I feel like I’m battling to get writing done, and losing, I can hear my mom saying, “You’re human, not a machine.” She’s right. We’re all going to have days when we hit the wall and can’t muster up energy to do our main jobs. And that’s OK!
Instead of feeling guilty, I do other tasks that matter to my business but aren’t my main job, tasks that don’t require the same energy or “mood” as writing does. Whenever the writing muse decides to take a break without my permission, I can work on editing or reviewing tasks instead.
But even if I don’t have any reviewing or editing lined up, there are some tasks that almost everyone can do, guilt-free, regardless of your career. Try one of these next time you hit the wall. Read the rest of this entry »
Google Tasks, the simple to-do system built into Gmail (previously covered on WebWorkerDaily), has just been integrated into Google Calendar. Tasks with due dates will now show up in the Calendar, and it’s possible to enter tasks directly into it as well.
Go into your Calendar, and you should see a “Tasks” link on the left-hand side of the window. Click it, and you’ll see a new Tasks sidebar spring up on the right, with all your tasks synced from Gmail, and a new “Tasks” calendar will be added to your list of calendars.
This means that tasks with a set due date will now show up in your Calendar in the “All Day” section at the top of the window (as tasks can only have a due date, not a a time).
You can enter tasks with a due date directly into your Calendar by clicking in the “All Day” boxes at the top of the window in “Day” or “Week” views (or on the day in “Month” view) and hitting the “Task” link in the pop-up window. Read the rest of this entry »
Not a fan of Getting Things Done (GTD)? It might be hard to imagine for some, but it’s not everyone’s favorite productivity methodology. “The Pomodoro Technique” by Francesco Cirillo is another option might be a better fit for your needs. This technique works well for folks who feel anxiety when thinking about the “ticking clock” and deadlines.
There are a huge number of 
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my quest to organize my workflow, it is that everyone’s brain works differently. There are almost as many answers to the question “what task management tool do you like” as there are people, and 
Whenever I feel like I’m battling to get writing done, and losing, I can hear my mom saying, “You’re human, not a machine.” She’s right. We’re all going to have days when we hit the wall and can’t muster up energy to do our main jobs. And that’s OK!
Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
