TODOIST SETUP 2018 HOW TO
TODOIST SETUP 2018 SOFTWARE
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The point here is that while simplicity is paramount, it's also a moving target based on your needs and experiences. It's more complicated than a hammer, but it's still pretty simple to use. For example, my power drill does stuff that a hammer doesn't. While a creative person might find multiple uses for a hammer, at some point the job might be complex enough that they need to move up to a more complex tool. However, the flip side of this analogy also holds: Hammers don't really do much besides pound things.

TODOIST SETUP 2018 HOW TO

Everybody knows how to use one intuitively. For example, a hammer is the epitome of a simple tool. Simple: The act of using the tool should be a nearly frictionless experience, and it shouldn't take a long time to learn how to use the tool.Whatever form your tools take, they must be

TODOIST SETUP 2018 SOFTWARE

However, in my view, using computer software is the way to go, because the computer tools tick off all the boxes above, and also because the idea of having all my tasks and projects in a single notebook that could be easily lost or destroyed totally freaks me out. You can use plain paper calendars, spiral notebooks, and filing cabinets and have a highly functioning GTD system as long as the basic four habits are in place. Notice that none of these elements strictly requires the use of a computer. Non-actionable stuff that isn't to be deleted needs a home too, a place where you'll always look and where you can search it up easily when needed. Remember that in processing, we separate the actionable stuff from the non-actionable stuff.

A place to store non-actionable but useful information.

Not a single, monolithic to-do list (which is not a good system) but lists, plural, that contain action items, 'Someday/Maybe' lists, 'Waiting For' lists, and other lists for the stuff that you process. Those items should go on the calendar, along with the times that you set up in the Planning stage every week to work on your Big Rocks and MIT's. As you collect and process your stuff, a lot of it will have a time and/or date constraint. What a good system looks likeĪt the absolute minimum, a GTD implementation should include: The rule is that the best GTD tools are the ones you actually use.

Use only the simplest possible tools needed to implement the basic habits, and use only tools that reduce the amount of time and energy you spend on those habits rather than the ones that add to that expenditure. Having a good 'tool stack' for using GTD is important for making the practices of collecting, processing, planning, and doing more fluid and frictionless, more a part of the way you think.Īnd by 'good', we mean simple and trusted.

TODOIST SETUP 2018 SERIES

This post in the series is going to focus on the fifth habit in GTD and ZTD, the habit of using a simple trusted system for housing and managing information about tasks and projects. That said - if you are making an effort to practice the basic habits, there's a lot to be said about having good tools. But if you try to practice it without the habits in place, it's not likely to stick. You can buy an expensive treadmills, but without the behavioral change and the consistent practice of basic habits, that treadmill will just collect dust and good health will seem elusive and complicated. This is like saying that getting healthy is about having good exercise equipment. One mistake a lot of new GTDers make is in thinking that GTD is not about these habits or about behavioral change, but about tools - apps, fancy notebooks, and so on. Although it can be hard work to build those habits, it's not rocket science, and anybody - even college professors - can do it. These habits, when done consistently, add up to a dramatic improvement in productivity and peace of mind. These four habits form the core of what Leo Babauta calls 'Mimimal ZTD' in his Zen To Done system. It is predicated on some basic habits: Collecting, Processing, Planning, and Doing. So far in this series, I have stressed that Getting Things Done, GTD, is a system for making intelligent choices about what you should be doing and what you should not be doing at any given point in time. You can find the first seven posts here: Setting the Stage, Engaging the System, Acquiring the Habits, Collect, Process, Planning, and Doing. This is part 8 of an ongoing Tuesday Sanity Check series on Getting Things Done (GTD) for Academics.

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