New System

I've come up with a revised system. Will know in a month or so if it works. It relies on two programs: Memoleaf and PSLink. I could do it with the built in memo app but Memoleaf has so many great features. It makes it a lot quicker to create these memos. And I don't have to link but I am trying to encourage myself to review. Here's how it goes:

I have a memo called Inbox. On it, I have links to my context memos and my week memos. The context memos have things only for that context. If it is a dated item, I start out with the date and then the item. Week memos have whatever needs to be done within a certain week. I copy items into the week memos, so they sometimes exist in both a context and week memo. Same thing with project memos. These are where I do the real planning. If I am actually going to work on something during a particular week, I copy it to a week memo.

When Memoleaf comes up, it opens the Inbox memo. I can temporarily add new items here, to be moved to the correct location later. I plan to have links to two week memos going forward and links to the two previous week memos. I can quickly tap on these memos, check the items, and click on a link to go back to the Inbox memo. Links are easily created using the Key Bank. I'm pretty pleased with this idea. If it seems to work out, I will post some screenshots of these memos to clarify this post.

Finally back up

It's been a long time between posts. I've had problems with other blogging software preventing this blog from being displayed. But I think it's been sorted out at long last.

As for my system, well things are back to the basics. I use KSDatebook for my calendar. I'm using Memoleaf with some templates and the Key bank for most things. I sometimes put things in the Todo database but always forget to check that. I do use an Inbox memo and put a few reminders in there. For the most part, there's not a lot to track. I did have a few moments of weakness and tried both Life Balance and Note Studio. I still like both applications. I just don't have a lot of things to keep track of right now.

GTD update

Well, after a long time between posts, I may have an update of sorts. First is that I've decided that I truly like working in Ubuntu. I've been using my Win XP laptop and trying to learn XP a bit better. I do support it after all. I'm honestly not a fan. It's a decent Windows version and seems pretty stable. I just prefer *nix systems in the long run. I updated the laptop to Dapper Dan but there were some things that didn't seem right. Found a post on how to update to Edgy and I'm running that now. Been very pleased with it. Somehow, I always seem to feel geekier running linux.

The big plus is that I have Jpilot again. If I could only run one piece of software, it would be that one. I can do exactly what I need to do plus I can view my memo32 database. I still want to learn emacs but I don't really want to do my GTD stuff there. I do have an interesting link here. I like that sort of stuff but it never seems to work for me.

Next on the list was a personal finance program. I hadn't had any luck with that. I don't care for Grisbi or GnuCash. Nothing else seemed to work until I found this. Again, it's simple and gets the job done. I think I've found a macro for Open Office that will convert to .qif.

I am really not tracking a lot of projects and I could stand a good weekly review. I try to keep my work stuff totally separate from my home stuff. I am trying for now to limit the tools I use and try to use them more effectively. I've found that Memoleaf on the Palm is really a great tool. Still trying to set up my system with that. Mostly, I need to spend some time figuring out the new projects on my plate.

Working the system

I've been a GTD dropout for a few months. To be honest, most of the stuff that needs to be done at home is not the sort of thing that needs to go on a list. It's probably at a higher level than day to day work. I've continued to keep my work stuff separate. Since we have Outlook, I'm learning to use the Tasks section for things that I need to do there. After listening to the great 43folders talks with David, it dawned on me that I've never set up anything to really handle my email. They go into my Inbox and I delete them the next day. Some are filed for reference, but I'm wasting too much time looking for these things. So I've set up some folders and rules. Will likely need a few more tweaks to be really useful.

As far as Palm systems go, I'm a Memoleaf user. I spent a little time looking at both LB and Notestudio again. I really do like both programs but they are overkill for me now. I can do anything that needs to be done with Memoleaf and a few simple memos. I do like the new alarm options as well.

I've also been using Notepad++ at work as well. I don't have rights to install anything on the PC but managed to get that to install somehow. I like being able to open up tabs for different text files. I really should start doing a daily journal of what I work on each day. Would be an interesting experience. I've done some modem and router configurations today. That's the sort of thing that might be useful when your boss wants to talk to you.

The More Things Stay the Same

I find that every time I make some pronouncement about my latest system, I immediately change it. So NoteStudio has gone away again. I spent way too much time tweaking it. I've dropped back to A5. I think that part of the problem is that I don't have all that much to track and it looks like I'm busier if I go with a more complicated system.

I've found it useful to keep a systems journal, a small notebook where I keep track of my thoughts about what works and what doesn't. It's a record of all the various twists and turns on my GTD journey. And it shows a lot of fussing and fidgeting around with different software. It can be a useful experience in that I always learn a bit more about how I like to work and what sorts of reminders work for me. It's bad in that I spend way too much time setting up systems that I later blow away. I have the time to try these things because I don't have that many things to track. Someone with a busy schedule would be destroyed by the time wasted with this.

I posted a file for a GTD_Palm member, a white paper he wrote called "Lifescripting". I noticed that he uses a certain amount of symbols in his implementation. This must be pretty common, using things like # for a next action or ~ for deferred. It's like a secret code. I know that it makes sense and if you use it for awhile, it becomes second nature. I've never managed to really use symbols like this for any length of time. I tend to forget what they are supposed to represent and they seem to complicate things for me. Guess that's why I went back to simple for a bit.

The More Things Stay the Same

I find that every time I make some pronouncement about my latest system, I immediately change it. So NoteStudio has gone away again. I spent way too much time tweaking it. I've dropped back to A5. I think that part of the problem is that I don't have all that much to track and it looks like I'm busier if I go with a more complicated system.

I've found it useful to keep a systems journal, a small notebook where I keep track of my thoughts about what works and what doesn't. It's a record of all the various twists and turns on my GTD journey. And it shows a lot of fussing and fidgeting around with different software. It can be a useful experience in that I always learn a bit more about how I like to work and what sorts of reminders work for me. It's bad in that I spend way too much time setting up systems that I later blow away. I have the time to try these things because I don't have that many things to track. Someone with a busy schedule would be destroyed by the time wasted with this.

I posted a file for a GTD_Palm member, a white paper he wrote called "Lifescripting". I noticed that he uses a certain amount of symbols in his implementation. This must be pretty common, using things like # for a next action or ~ for deferred. It's like a secret code. I know that it makes sense and if you use it for awhile, it becomes second nature. I've never managed to really use symbols like this for any length of time. I tend to forget what they are supposed to represent and they seem to complicate things for me. Guess that's why I went back to simple for a bit.

System book

I've got an Apica notebook that I've been using to track thoughts on my GTD process. It's been in use for a couple of years. Mostly it's a list of going from program A to B to C and back again, followed with a post or two about how I should just DO stuff instead. The problem is that if I don't read it, I don't do it. And the other problem is that over time, I stop looking at any program on my Palm. And I think that it doesn't matter for awhile because I really don't have anything that I need to track or do. I'll finally sit down and draw up a list of projects. Then I'll start trying to work on those actions.

The truth is that there isn't anything wrong with my system and that any of them would work. The reason for switching to a new system is to trigger that work on new projects. Somehow, that doesn't happen when I try to stick to a single system. For example, I've been using Note Studio for awhile. I like the program. I can sync it with my laptop and it's great for reference work. I've got a nice basic system set up and entered a few things. I deleted off some of the completed projects and some that went bye-bye with the house. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to upgrade Pocket Quicken and go with that for awhile. I think my biggest issue GTD-wise is that I've got good organizational skills that never get a workout. If I had a ton of stuff to work on and track, I'd just do it. But the switching back and forth makes it feel like there's more that I really need to do.

For now, I'm going to try and use Note Studio. And I think I'll put that extra time into doing a little writing.

GTD craziness

I took a look at Thinking Rock software. It's interesting stuff. I like the way that it forces you to follow the correct GTD flow. It's not for me as I'll never get used to a computer only tool. I do think that you can learn something from looking at tools like this. I just don't necessarily think you should always try to use them!

The odd thing for me is that I'm using NoteStudio again. I don't have a lot of things to track on a daily basis but I really need to organize a bunch of reference stuff. 4k memos just don't cut it. And I do enjoy being able to at least use an italic font. I'm still trying to decide if I need to make any changes to Volker's templates. But I think I will keep this system and stop dinking around with using memo based systems. I'd like to do go that route but it just doesn't seem to work for me. And I just don't have a lot of time to spending tweaking things. Life is just too busy.