Thursday, April 27th, 2006...10:50 am
Lo-Tech…or Hi-Tech?
One of the great things about the Getting Things Done® method is that a lot of the tools involved in executing the system are a matter of personal preference. For many, part of the fun is experimenting with different tools. As a matter of fact, buying a new gadget or tool can be a good motivator at times.
So goes the discussion…lo-tech…or hi-tech?
Before I go any further, let me clarify something. I am one of these guys that believes in knowledge management. As much as possible, the knowledge in any organization needs to be captured in some kind of shared medium. If you know something I need to know…and you are out of pocket, I am out of luck. Your knowledge does me no good walking around in your head.
I say that to say this…I am more hard line than most on the idea that paper is the greatest enemy in business today. I firmly believe that electronic solutions to data management are superior to paper. When we live in a world that is evolving more and more into a world in which ease of obtaining information turns into competitive advantage, pushing paper files and binders full of information hinders organizations from being the best that they can be.
Having said that, here is my take on the lo-tech/hi-tech discussion in regards to GTD®…
I do actually have paper files. But I do not have many. I wrote a couple of days ago about my tickler file. But as much as possible, I try to maintain my reference electronically. I do this even to the point of taking notes in meetings on Pocket Word in my Dell Axim X5, and copying the data into Evernote on my laptop upon return. Users of Evernote know that tagging is used to organize notes. Therefore, finding the info later is a breeze.
Funny thing is, the longer that I get into GTD®, the more I realize that, for me, paper and note cards seem to work better for managing workflow. The key is getting my inbox down to one spot. Keeping collection points at a minimum is the best way for me to keep on top of things. So in spite of the fact that I have Outlook on my notebook, I maintain workflow in a set of trays on my desk. Another reason I do this is because, quite frankly, Outlook is terribly inadequate as an organizational system, in my opinion. I know you can rig it and write macros to make it better. But it is still easier for me to go lo-tech on workflow.
So if I get a phone call with an action item, I take a 3 X 5 note card, jot the action down, and drop into “IN”. And yes, I also am guilty of printing out emails and putting them in “IN”.
So whether you maintain the system completely on paper, or do not handle one piece of paper, GTD® can work for you. I guess you can call my system a lo-tech/hi-tech hybrid.
What does your system look like?
Are you into hPDAs or PocketPCs (or Palm)?
Do you have ideas or tricks you have discovered or developed to make your system run smooth as silk?
Please share them with us.
- Jason
10 Comments
April 27th, 2006 at 1:43 pm
I used to think that hi-tech was the way to go on everything, but then after getting into GTD, I realized that the Lo-Fi way of 3×5 cards was unbelievably more useful for me; partially because it was easier to stick with it.
On the flip side, the paper tickler file was almost of no use to me. Same goes for the reference file. Perhaps I just haven’t gotten around to implementing those portions fully, but somehow, I’ve been able to stick with Evernote.
April 27th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
I use to think High tech was the way…
Today I use also an hybrid system.
Paper for collection and Process…
Outlook+MindManager to Organize
Palm to do
I do not enter any information in the Palm, if I need to jot I jot in paper… or in the notes section of the palm (the ink notes) and process those as paper, one idea per note…
April 28th, 2006 at 2:04 am
I’m currently using a mixture of Hifi/Lofi. I carry my Moleskine Diary around everywhere with me and stuffed into the current page is a TXT print-out from Tracks, much like the Hipskine method.
All inbox sorting is done at home, Next Actions are noted either with direct input into Tracks or jotted on my NA list in my Moleskine, to be later inputted.
I also know how David feels like, the paper tickler just didn’t do it for me. If i’ve got something i need to keep thats on paper i scan it and file it away.
April 28th, 2006 at 3:34 am
I hit the send button by accident - pls email me my comment back and I’ll finish it.
Thanks
K
April 28th, 2006 at 6:41 am
On ticker files — I never was able to get them to work for me until I installed a program on my computer called Stickies. It’s a basic post-it note program, but it lets me set up recurring reminders. I set a stickie to show up on my monitor at 8:15am every day, reminding me to check my tickler file. It’s set so that it sits in the foreground until I clear it manually. I’ve made it a habit not to clear the window until I’ve actually looked in today’s folder. This helps me make sure I check the tickler every day (that was my biggest problem).
Another key factor with the tickler is making sure it’s easily accessible. I use the daily and monthly accordion files from Globe-Weis and I’ve dropped them into the file drawer in my desk. As I process my inbox, anything that needs to go into the tickler can go in immediately. Having it right next to me helps me make sure I fill it up regularly, and makes it easy to check.
Finally, I also have a piece of paper that I drop into the last day of the month reminding me to move stuff from the next month into the daily files. (This is a relatively recent addition.)
For me, most of organization seems to be knowing what my tendencies are and putting systems in place to protect me from myself!
April 28th, 2006 at 10:27 am
I use one big Excel file to manage all of my information. The format is similar to that of Evernote, each entry is logged and timestamped in a single file. Excel is a very common program so sharing information is fairly easy and Gmail is my backup system and remote access point.
I keep all types in information in this one big file:
Journal entries, stuff that happens
Phone notes
Contact lists
Snippets from web sites, emails messages
Index to my paper files (like Paper Tiger)
Favorite quotes
GTD related items such as next action, waiting, done,
Notes to self such as “read this book”
Maintenance data like lawn mower spark plug = champion # qw240, belt = 3vx48
Hyperlinks to websites, files
Log software downloaded/ installed
Just everything.
This is very similar in spirit to Matt’s Big Arse Text File.
http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/2005/08/my-big-arse-text-file-poor-mans.html
To facilitate consistent tagging I have set up configurable macro buttons to quickly tag selected cells with keywords. Formatting can also be assigned to the tag so for example all Next Actions can be highlighted yellow and all Waiting-for purple.
Information is retrieved by using a either of a pair of Keyword search macros:
Popup window- sequentially displays each record that contains the search keyword(s) starting with the most recent and working back through time.
Ad-hoc report- This report will extract each record containing the keyword(s) and paste the record onto a new worksheet.
Keywords are both implicit (included within the body of notes) and explicit (added as tags).
So to round up all the next actions that involve John I open the search tool, and enter
“John”
and
“NextAction”
This system is working well for me and a couple of friends have adapted it for themselves.
If anyone is interested in seeing a copy of the file with the search tools, (Windows only), drop me an email (tomrokey at gmail) and I would be happy to share it.
Tom
April 28th, 2006 at 6:16 pm
I’ve been using FreeMind, EverNote, an Axim PDA, Outlook and a Levenger Circa binder with D*I*Y Planner Templates for Cornell Notes and 3×5 Grid Notes. A mixture of lofi and hifi.
Paper for taking quick scribbles and meeting notes.
Outlook for Hard Landscape and Tasks Synced to PDA.
FreeMind for Project NAs and Someday/Maybes.
I’ve started playing around with EverNote.
I find I do my best thinking on paper, or in FreeMind.
April 29th, 2006 at 9:28 am
I am using 2xhPDA (too many pages to fit with a single binder clip) so I can carry it with me wherever I go. For me the DIYPlanner templates work fine. I use the 4up version with A4 papers, then cut them manually. I will post some photos of it in my blog soon.
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:43 am
I was hi tech and now I’m back to low…it’s just so much more versatile! I just left a large post on my implementation and current system. http://jasonalanmoore.wordpress.com
May 3rd, 2006 at 3:12 pm
I’ve now reverted to paper after various hi-fi attempts (mainly Outlook, Palm, Life Balance). My Palm was running LifeBalance (and hence me) when my Palm had a small seizure. It has recovered, but I lost confidence in it. Besides, I had always found the technology interrupted my thoughts too much, though of course it had some benefits.
Preamble about me (I think you have to know something about a person’s life to understand their setup): I work for myself and run a lobby group from my office, a short distance from home. Generally there’s no computer at home – which is excellent way of curbing my work-alcoholic tendencies. I’ve just employed a 2 day/week admin assistant and I’m thinking with how best to delegate work to her.
I now use
- Filofax for diary – I rarely have more than 2 appointments per day. Blank pages for scribbling notes while out and about.
- Paper tickler file (slim version: 1 manila folder with tabs 1-31 + another manila folder with tabs Jan-Dec). Clearing it daily is usually a quick and easy way to get a tiny sense of achievement. And it’s almost magic when a needed piece of paper appears on its day.
- Box of cards (more detail below) for projects and tasks
- Email: NeoPro on top of Outlook.
- Contacts: Outlook synched to Palm – very hard to beat this one
- Filing cabinet with labelled files – top drawer: biz, bottom drawer: lobby group. Active files are in a vertical “toast rack” next to my desk.
[Missing: software for dumping miscellaneous bits. I know I could use something really dull like a Word file, but it would require too much discipline in getting keywords right. Years ago there was a Mac product called ThoughtPattern. It is no more, and anyway I now use a PC instead of a Mac.]
Box of cards
This is the main engine and still being fine-tuned. I have lots of blank ‘cards’ (in reality standard paper) aprox 4×6 – they could be smaller. They are colour coded – purple: me, blue: partner&home, green: business, red:lobby group, yellow: miscellaneous, etc).
I always struggled with GTD’s project list, as 95% of the work I do needs more than one step, so it seemed a real duplication to create a project + tasks. Perhaps I’m wrong here – and I’m posting this to hear from others.
So each card is effectively a project.
Top line: State the final outcome
Lines: date What to do next.
As each step is finished I draw a line through the step and add the completion date. I then write the next step(s).
For example:
XYZ proposal submitted
12/Mar: read requirements doc -Crossed out “Tick”15/Mar
15/Mar: draft & email to GB -Crossed out “Tick” 16 Mar
16/Mar WAITING GB’s response –Crossed out “Tick” 18/March
19/Mar: Update and send to GB again
etc
There are dividers for my contexts, and the cards sit behind them.
Home
Office
Waiting
Errands
Beyond my (small) town – incl things to do when next in the city
Agenda
Someday
So in the above example, it would have been filed in “Office” all the time except when it was waiting.
For a while I split Office into three:
Office 1 – Big, thinking tasks that need a clear head – for me that’s first thing in the day
Office 2 – Medium tasks to do in the middle of the day
Office 3 – Low brain tasks for the end of the day.
But I found that I spent too long looking for cards, so I put them all in one Office context.
My biggest problem is that I have well over 200 cards (aprox 120 in Office) and I’m going nuts. If I do read through them all at the start of the day, then I feel overwhelmed. And if I don’t read them, then I miss things which then blow-up.
I find the Weekly Review impossible to do and usually abandon it after a few hours. I’ve tried splitting the Review into three sections and doing one per day:
1. Review tasks/projects
2. Review paper – tickler, in-tray, moving files from the “toast rack” to the drawer, etc
3. Review Email – catch up on unprocessed, check through the ones flagged ‘Waiting’, etc.
I’ve had a bit more success with this, but I still look for excuses not to do it.
My box of cards isnt easily portable, which is a problem as I need to remember to take it home for the weekend, or to make a note if there are jobs to complete at home after work. Would also love to have my errands cards with me when I’m in town.
Yes, I do have too much to do (which is why I’ve now got an admin assistant).
Yes, I do tend to work on things as they occur to me without having read through the cards to decide the optimum task to work on.
Yes, I do procrastinate on some days and so don’t work on what I really ought to.
Yes, a few of my projects are a little vague – which is why the first line is often:
“define what this is really all about”.
Any suggestions /comments on how I might improve ?
My only thought is to devote two whole days to a thorough review — effectlively reset the system — and then continue.
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