For about a year now I have been on a quest to find a personal task and project management system that made sense to me and my lifestyle. Apps like Remember the Milk, Vitalist and I Want Sandy seemed promising, but with their abundance of features and over-complication of concept I ended up dreading their usage. Luckily I have found a system that I hope to stick to forever.
Getting Things Done
Upon expressing the short-comings I had found with the previously mentioned systems, I was introduced to David Allen and his Getting Things Done task and project management system. Getting Things Done, or GTD basically allows you to setup a trusted “queue” of tasks and projects, or tasks that require more than one action, to tackle almost anything life throws your way.
How I use the queue is simple. I start by listing out every project I have on my plate, then I break each project down to actions required to complete the it. After this, I consider other tasks I need to accomplish like my grocery list or things I need to fix around the house - some of these become projects, too. Eventually I have a makeshift inbox of things that need to be done and the steps I need to take to complete them.
In addition to the queue, GTD gives you another handy system on how to handle the tasks at hand. The process in brief is as follows:
- DO IT - If the action can be done in less than two minutes, take care of it now.
- DELEGATE IT - If this action needs to be done by someone else or needs someone else’s input, send it their way.
- DEFER IT - If the action can’t be done now, mark it on a calendar on when it needs to be taken care of.
The last step to completing the system is to put trust in the queue and review it regularly.
Omnifocus
Since GTD itself is only a concept, the brains at The Omni Group have developed a software-based solution to help you put it into practice called OmniFocus. Omnifocus gives you an Inbox where you can brainstorm your tasks, then file them digitally on your Mac as well as assign contexts - the physical location you will need to be to complete them.
Omnifocus integrates with iCal and lets you manage deferred actions on your calendar. You also can arrange your items and revise them as needed. If the task only takes one action, put it in the miscellaneous box. If it needs a few actions, make it a project. Projects can have sub-projects. I have a Freelance Project with sub-folders for each open project.
To get going right away, take 10 minutes of your time to watch the Omnifocus introduction video.
iPhone + GTD
With the release of both the App Store and the iPhone 3G, Omnifocus has developed an iPhone version of Omnifocus that syncs with your projects on your mac. The app itself works just like the original, but allows you to manage your tasks on the go and utilizes the built-in GPS or triangular location system if you’re still on iPhone 1.
Perhaps the most impressive feature of Omnifocus: iPhone is that depending on your action’s physical context, such as a hardware store, grocery store, mall, etc., the app will display locations nearby — I.e. “WholeFoods < 1 mile north” — in which you can take care of them.
Having such a solid system in place enables me to stop thinking about all of the things I need to do and allows me to just do them. With practice, this method can become part of your healthy lifestyle and will help your productivity and focus reach new heights - no matter where you are.
