My Morning Routine
Everyone has a morning routine of some kind - even if it’s just “get up before the kids.” But I think it should be intentional and you can find yours by experimenting and learning what others do.
Articles
GTD Contexts: Proactive vs. Reactive
I’ve always struggled with the contexts portion of GTD. I’ve tried tools, locations, energy levels, times of the day, mindsets, and on and on.
OmniFocus Hotspot
In our digital age, we tend to receive a large number of files via email. And we need to review these files or make changes to them. As an Omnifocus user, that means I need to create tasks out of these files.
Don’t Ignore Push Notifications
I was enjoying one of our first daddy-daughter dates. Of course, it was at a coffee shop. It was great! I drank my coffee and Cutie watched the constant movement of people between bites of her cookie.
Siri to Omnifocus
I don’t have a daily commute but I still find myself in the car having ideas from time to time. I don’t want to lose those ideas, but I shouldn’t be typing into my phone or writing things while I’m driving.
The Internet Separation Layer
We do it almost every day. We communicate with another person using a screen of some kind - social media, texts, emails, instant messages.
Saving Full Articles in Evernote from RSS
There is no shortage of articles on the web. Reading (or at least skimming) hundreds of articles can be done easily in less than an hour. But have you ever tried keeping a record of all those articles?
Sloppy Productivity
If you've read one article on this blog, you'll know that I'm a productivity nut. But there's a side to productivity that I haven't seen mentioned very often - life.
Recurring Checklists in Evernote
One of the first notes many Evernote users create is a checklist of some kind. It could be a grocery list, a to-do list for the day, or a morning routine.
Instant Gratification vs. Instant Perspective
I finished (second) breakfast and sat down at my computer to pull together analytics on one of my company’s websites. At that moment, a coworker texted me a question. I don’t remember what the question was about, but I do remember that it was almost an hour before I managed to get back to work.
What Every BODY Is Saying [Book Review]
Have you ever had a feeling that someone is uncomfortable in a conversation? Were you able to point out the nonverbal cues that gave you that feeling?
My Evernote Setup and Workflow
Evernote is a handy tool with a lot of ways to use it -- so many that it gets really hard to figure out how to set it up.
The Danger of Infinity Apps
An infinity app is one with a never-ending stream of some kind. It’s an app that always has new updates for you to consume.
Keeping Up With Your Goals
It's resolution time! Or not. There are a plethora of articles telling you to set goals as opposed to resolutions. The term doesn't really matter. They'll fail without a plan behind them.
What is an Inbox?
An inbox can be your mailbox, your email inbox, and even a physical tray. But those aren't the only places that stuff lands.
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Making Time for Contexts
The difficult part of Getting Things Done (GTD) for me is contexts. What lists should I be using when I'm completing tasks?
Productivity vs. Presence
We are taught to accomplish tasks. In school and work, grades and reviews measure our ability to accurately complete an assignment.
Getting Things Done: A Day in the Life
There are a lot of articles about setting up GTD. But I don't see many that show what a typical day looks like when you adopt the framework.
Getting Things Done: Engage
Deciding what to work on can be simple -- it doesn't have to be stressful. GTD can help you make the decision quickly and easily.
Getting Things Done: Reflect
The Weekly Review is the most important part of the GTD process. Without it, you'll have loose ends and you'll no longer trust your system.
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Getting Things Done: Organize
Organize. The favorite step of most GTDers. This is where you set up tools for tracking each bucket from the Clarify step.
Getting Things Done: Clarify
A lot of people write things down but fail to do anything with it afterwards. It just dies on the paper. Why write it down if you'll never look at it again?
Getting Things Done: Capture
Capture is the process of collecting ideas and actions. You’re accumulating task items, reference material, or even trash and putting them in an inbox of some kind.
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Getting Things Done: Introduction
Why do we think we can manage our lives with only our memory? It’s certainly flawed. It doesn’t even remind us of what we need when we need it. It waits until we’re in bed and can’t do anything about it.
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The “Why” of Getting Up Early
It’s 4:55 am. I roll over to check the clock and realize I’m awake before my alarm goes off. That’s always a good feeling. But why am I awake at this time of day?
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Seasons of Tasks
The mornings are getting colder and the animals are preparing for winter. Another weather change is coming. And it’s a great reminder that we, too, should be preparing for the next season.
The Power of Full Engagement [Book Review]
There’s a lot of advice on the web about managing your time. Everyone seems to have the golden ticket that will pull time out of thin air. But what if time isn’t the key to being fully engaged?
Creating Personal Project Codes
Last week I wrote about managing information for projects. In that post I revealed the project codes I use, and now we’re going to talk about how to create them.
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Managing Project Information
Using David Allen’s definition, a project is anything that requires more than one action to complete. This can range from building a new web application to replacing the refrigerator filter.
Pros and Cons of Apple Watch
Last Tuesday, Apple unveiled their new Smart Watch— the Apple Watch. It came with a lot of fanfare and definitely looks compelling. But is it really going to be worth it?
