Using Google Inbox

I have recently altered my working arrangements. It meant that my GTD based to do system was a little bit of overkill for my new working arragements. I thought that I would take the opportunity to try out Google Inbox. I have been using it for about 3 months now and it is doing the trick.

I have all of the various email addresses I use funneling into the one Gmail account. It is that account that I use Inbox with.

I appreciate the ability to quickly swipe tasks and assigning a future date for them to reappear, so that I can focus on what needs to be done today. This is perhaps the one thing I would love to have on an Android based GTD system. The ability to quickly (one swipe with Inbox) remove the task from todays view and organise it to reappear at one of several pre set dates.

Inbox uses Gmail's tags but what I have been unable to ascertain is how to get Inbox to work with an email with more than one tag. For example, scheduling phone calls for a future date but also tagging it with @Calls so that the date deadline can press me but at the same time, if I find I have time to make calls before the hard date is something that I have not been able to fathom. (Of course, if any of you know how to do this, I would value your comments and instruction!).

My working arrangements are about to change once again, so something that combines the tagging of tasks with contexts, the ability to very quickly set and change dates to a number of presents and something that allows me to work directly from my Gmail inbox would be the holy grail of productivity.

Back to Nirvana

I've gone back to Nirvana! HQ that is. After waiting (and still am) for Zendone to move into their beta testing phase, Nirvana HQ beat them to the punch by releasing their update to the Android app.

I think the Nirvana HQ crew did the right thing by bringing the development of their apps in house. The outsourced apps were barely adequate in my humble opinion.

It misses some of the features of Zendone's system but as far as my set-up is concerned, they are bells and whistles as opposed to core functionality that I require.

What I have also noticed is that the Evernote integration was actually slowing down my workflow so I am running on Nirvana HQ at the moment.

When things settle down at work for me (probably February next year) I might check in on Zendone and compare the two offerings. Until then, don't look for me, I have found Nirvana.

Obligatory Google Inbox Update

Yes I was one of the lucky ducks who got an invitation to Google Inbox. Coming from a GTD background, I was generally distressed that the only context you get to choose from is a physical location. This is pretty handy. The only other way to sort tasks is via date. So the vast majority of my tasks which have to do with contexts rather than places or dates are not processable using Inbox's current setup.

I have left a suggestion that you should be able to label you email and reminder tasks with more than one label. This will give me the ability to check out all my tasks tagged "@Calls" for example and then differentiate between @Personal @Calls and @Work @Calls.

If this is available in an update, I reckon I will give it another bash. Otherwise I will keep using Zendone.

GTD Contexts

Thinking through how I set up my GTD contexts. I have a whole bunch of Agenda's that are for both meetings and individual people I meet with formally and informally. I then have the following. I am wondering if it is working for me. I had a chat with a bit of a GTD guru friend of mine who sticks to 8 contexts only. Errands, Home, Office, People, Computer, Phone, Waiting and Agenda.

I know most of you will probably say something like "there's no right or wrong" or "whatever works for you" but I would be interested in how others structure their contexts and how it works for them.

The Android GTD Dream

Those of you following this blog will know that I have been holding out for what I believe to be the best GTD solution on Android to date, which is Nirvana HQ. If you are observant, you will have realised that it is almost close to a year now that Nirvana's Android client has been in beta. This is a long time in internet terms.

Whilst waiting, I have been looking around for alternatives. It is hard to get a GTD client that is faithful to the GTD methodology and with the additional tweaks that work for me.

I manage a couple of teams, supervise/mentor several people, manage a significant amount of public communication for two organisations not to mention try to be a good husband and dad. It's hard to sit on my hands waiting for my system to catch up.

I have been keeping an eye on Zendone and for my purposes, Nirvana and Zendone are now neck and neck in the Android GTD Derby!

I have been waiting for the Nirvana Android client for the better part of a year and I have also been informed by the very communicative team at Zendone, that the update to their Android client is imminently upon us.

If their Android client:

1. Allows me to filter by context,
2. Allows me to process my inbox,
3. Allows me to manage my current to do list via auto next action on projects...

I think we will have a winner!

The massive bonus with Zendone is that it is wed very closely to Evernote which I have been using for years now. It creates actions out of your Evernote Inbox (or whatever folder you nominate as your "default" folder), and you can capture all the various bits of media and attach them to tasks/projects.

This is one of the more longer waits I have had to endure on the technology front. (Don't get me started on the HP 11 Chromebook!)

Zendone: You really need to check this out!

Once again, whilst waiting for the development of the beta client for my web based GTD system, I discovered Zendone. I have to say I am sorely tempted!

Zendone's web based interface has quite a beautiful aesthetic. I downloaded the Android client from the Google Play store and it is still quite crude in terms of functionality. You are unable to sort tasks by context, nor does it neatly replicate the web based views that you may have set up. If they can nail these things down quickly (which I believe they are as I consulted their published roadmap) it will be very difficult for me to justify staying with Nirvana.

The reason being is that Zendone integrates incredibly well with both Evernote and Google Calendars. I will keep an eye on the development of the Android app and keep you posted. Exciting times for Android GTD'ers...

While I'm waiting for my GTD app...

While I'm waiting for NirvanaHQ to get their beta to a relatively stable place, I have been exploring other GTDbaseed solutions. Since I've started down this track, things like being able to tag a task with multiple contexts and sync across multiple devices have become mandatory necessities for me.

With that in mind, I found todo.txt. This text based GTD app is brilliant. It uses Dropbox to sync a simple text file that you can edit directly using a simple syntax on a desktop/laptop computer. It is small, simple and fast. I seriously contemplated covering over to todo.tx. The only thing that held me back was the lack of a decent desktop based rapid entry facility.

I still however highly recommend you check it out if you are looking for a small simple GTD based system for Android.

Another GTD Contender - Openloopz

There was a slight setback in my GTD life this week. NirvanaHQ have decided to pull the pin on their current Android app direction. They will be looking at developing a new Android app from scratch and it may be a couple of months before we see anything. That means I am left with a second version of the beta. It is functional but as you would expect, buggy.

That means that the 2nd place prize winner is back in my focus once again. I haven't written about Openloopz but I have to say, this little app is quite the cracker!

OpenLoopz, IMHO tick's just about all of the boxes, and the ones it doesn't are being developed.

1. Firstly, it is a very pure implementation of GTD, complete with what I consider to be the Holy Grail on an Android platform, auto next action.
2. Secondly, it is a smooth, bug free, fast light app. It is a pleasure to use. Seriously, you should check it out. If only the majority of Android apps were both as smooth and aesthetically pleasing.
3. OpenLoopz also has a handy little geo location dimension to it. If you tag geographical contexts (like @Home and @Work as opposed to @Computer etc) your list of active tasks will be based upon your location. Very very handy, certainly for someone like me.

The reason why it doesn't have a five star rating from me (and indeed the reason I am still hobbling along with Nirvana HQ instead of OpenLoopz) is that:

1. The big drawback is that it is a hack to make work across multiple devices. There is a backup function, but there is no simple cloud sync option just yet. The developer is working on this as we speak and I look forward to seeing what it will look like.
2. Another smaller pet peeve of mine is the ability to look at a list of tasks by context. I have not been able to figure out how to do this just yet. What I mean is the ability to flick to @Agenda-Team Meeting and get a list of all the tasks I have added to that context quickly. (This was the reason why MLO is in third place, see my previous posts for more info on that handy little app.)

So in my mind, it is a race. NirvanaHQ are working on their Android app to supplement their first class web based GTD system, whilst OpenLoopz has a brilliant Android app but are now working on the back end. A race to the middle. Good luck to the both of them.

Watch this space.

Music to help you concentrate

I have a long train trip to and from work. Just under an hour each way. Each morning I get my inbox to zero and then make a significant start on my to do list.

On the way home, I move all my notes into respective emails or tasks to get stuff done.

One of the biggest hindrances in being productive on the train is intrusive noise. I have found that listening to music that has no lyrics (or lyrics in a language other than English) with a slightly mellow feel with a small degree of tension helps me concentrate well and get stuff done.

I have been slowly compiling this playlist on Spotify and I share it with you here for your listening (and productive) pleasure! Playlist - Train Trance

My GTD App of choice - Nirvana HQ

When it comes to GTD, after a year and a half of finding the ultimate solution on Android/Windows, I have settled for Nirvana HQ. Nirvana meets the following criteria which in my mind, are critical in order for a solution to qualify as a GTD solution.

• Firstly, it achieves that Holy Grail facility of “auto next action”. When you create multiple projects (I believe you need to be a subscribing customer in order to be able to create more than five projects) the various “next” views that you utilise (by context, area etc) will only be populated by the top tasks in your various projects. When you mark a tasks completed in that view, Nirvana will then automatically refresh your current “next” task list by selecting the next sequential task from the project in question.
• Nirvana HQ is platform agnostic. The main interface is web based. The features are amazing in such a cheap solution. (Free or $39US per year). They have a mobile site for use on tablets and mobile phones.
• There is offline access too. Currently there is an iPhone app (which you can also use on the iPad) and the Android client is in beta. I have been part of the alpha and now beta program.
• They allow tagging tasks with multiple contexts. Some GTD solutions only allow you to tag a task with one context. This is a good discipline but sometimes it can be a little inflexible.

In addition, the developers and community are incredibly helpful and active.

If you are looking for the ultimate solution, check them out. Seriously, after one and a half years, I don’t think it gets any better than this.

If you reckon there is something better, I’d love to hear from you!

How MLO *almost* worked for me as a GTD solution on Android.

When I hit the limitation of Due Today, I did some research and found what I thought was going to be the Holy Grail of GTD goodness on the Android (and Windows) platform.

My Life Organized (In Australia, we spell organised with an “s” instead of a “z”. Still a bit strange to type it with a Z.) is a brilliant solution.

The Android app is small, reasonably simple to install (you have to purchase a code and then insert it into the app. I believe it is a little more seamless through the app store these days) and after an hour or two, reasonably easy to use.

There are two main reasons that I used it extensively for almost a year. Firstly, the Windows app. The Windows app, whilst looking decidedly 1990’s, is pretty powerful. In terms of functionality, it seems to be the equivalent of Omnifocus on the Mac. Ugly as a mangy dog, BUT powerful.

I would do the bulk of my work on the Windows app and use the Android app during the day on the road.

This leads me to the second reason I used MLO for a while. Cloudsync. They use their own servers and you need to pay a subscription fee per year. It felt a little cheeky to pay for the Android app, the Windows app and then subscription for a cloud based service, but it is a pretty powerful solution.

The last time I used MLO (about 3 months ago now) you had to manually get the Android app (and the Windows app now that I think about it) to sync, but I never had a problem with syncing.

Once again, you can smell the big hairy but can’t you?

I was beginning a meeting with a colleague of mine. I got my Android phone out, selected all tasks assigned to the context @Agenda-Chris and only one was listed. I was pretty sure there were at least 4 things in my system to talk to Chris about but for the life of me I couldn’t find them. I fiddled around, whilst apologising profusely to Chris whilst we tried to manage the agenda for the meeting and finally found a “tasks by context” view on the Android app.

The tree view showed that I indeed had 4 items assigned to this context. I hit the line item on the tree view and no cigar. It told me how may I had but would only allow me to view the “Next” task. This is great GTD methodology but the system totally failed me when it came to giving me all tasks by context.

The frustration was quite profound! That particular approach is is totally doable on the Windows client. The only way that I could get a list is to either use my laptop computer in meetings (which often happen in cafe’s) or to print a list in advance from my Windows machine and take it with me to a meeting (or take a quick screen shot with my phone).

I asked the guys at MLO (who are incredibly friendly and responsive by the way!) if it was possible and if I was just missing something but they said that this was in fact how they had designed the Android app. This is an abject fail as far as I am concerned as the majority of my work is meeting with people and discussing lists of issues. Over half my contexts are either individual people or meetings that I attend.

I continued to try and make it work but in the end I had to admit that the mucking around to make it work was taking me longer than actually getting things done.

At that point, I had to reluctantly say goodbye to MLO, as much as I really enjoyed using it, and began my search for the solution that I am using now. More on that in my next post.

I would be interested to hear if anyone hit the same limitation with MLO, if they have discovered a work around, or indeed if it is now possible to get a view of tasks by context?

A question from Klintron

You wrote: "There is only 1 app (currently, there is one more in the works due at the end of October) in the Google Play store that actually does this." Are you referring to MyLifeOrganized? It does this and it's what I use but I'd be interested in hearing about another solution if one exists. What's coming at the end of October? I know Nirvana does auto next and has an Android app in beta...

Hey Klintron, thanks for the question. Whilst MLO does auto next action, its fundamental inability to allow you to view all tasks tagged with a specific context powerfully shoots itself in the foot. (In case you don’t know what I am talking about, on the Android app you can’t pull out all tasks assigned to say “@Agenda-Meeting”, you can only see the next action tagged with the context. Useless for setting meeting agendas unless you pull out your laptop and fire up the Windows client.)

So when I refer to the one client, I am talking about Shuffle. The last time I used Shuffle, the online sync function was problematic at best.

And yes, the “end of October” app is Nirvana.

Does that answer all your questions?

Due Today - Another almost GTD solution for Android

The next GTD solution I tried for my combined Android tablet, phone and Windows PC solution was Due Today.

Due Today is a nice piece of software. It synch’s with Toodledo, it is smooth, clean, beautiful and the developer is incredibly friendly and responsive to questions, comments and requests.

I purchased the app and used the Windows desktop client as well for about a year.

(You can hear the “but” coming can’t you!)

However, eventually I abandoned Due Today for the simple reason that it doesn’t do the one critical thing that I need in a GTD system, essentially that is Auto Next Action.

I spend a few times a week reviewing my projects and tasks, placing then in order and then when I am out and about, I want to view my next actions and then bang through them without having to think and prioritise on the go. With Due Today, as you complete your current actions, you list of things to do slowly disappears until you have nothing left. What you then need to do is go back into review mode and manually promote the next actions from each of your projects (actually setting the status of each task as “Next”) in order for you populate your Next Actions list.

I asked the developer if he was intending on implementing this feature. He did say that this would make the app so much more powerful however it was not a priority in the foreseeable future.

This is tragic for 2 reasons:

1. Auto Next Action in an app is classic GTD and what an app that is seeking to really help the user to be productive rather than having to enter into review mode at various times during the week and…
2. There is only 1 app (currently, there is one more in the works due at the end of October) in the Google Play store that actually does this.

The first person to develop a GTD app that does this is pretty much going to rule the roost, once people cotton on to the power of Auto Next Action.

GTD Apps

So, probably the first app I ever tried to manage tasks on Android was GTasks by Dato. It synched with Google Tasks and worked a treat. Problem was, Google Tasks requires some work if you want to use it as a GTD system.

I found that whilst the app was a great slick simple to do system, I spent way too much time shuffling tasks from one folder to another and/or from project folder to project folder.

The lack of Auto Next action has been the bane of my Android GTD quest and ultimately this is what broke the bank for me.

If someone comes up with an app that synch’s with Google Tasks AND allows you to tag your tasks (with more,than one tag at a time) that would be a significant move towards GTD.

Anyone successfully using Google Tasks as a basis for your GTD system?

Next: Due Today

What is GTD?

What's a GTD?

GTD is an acronym for “Get things done”. The way I often describe it to others is a “to do” system for people with short attention spans who are easily distracted. Like me.

I was introduced to GTD by friends of mine, Tim Jeffries and Phil McCredden. Both of them love me, and wanted to help me get more productive.

Enter GTD.

It’s basically a method or procedure developed by a fellow called David Allen and described in his book “Getting things done”.

Basically, GTD helps you get everything out of your head into various lists. You then “action” your lists based on a handy little concept called “the context”.

A context is a tool, person or thing that you need in order to complete the task or action.

So if I have a task “email Tim”, I need to be at either my phone, my tablet or my computer in order to complete the action.

So there I am, sitting on a chair with my tablet. I go to my list find the items tagged with the context @Tablet. Bingo bango shmango. A list of things I can do with my tablet in hand.

I will go into more detail about GTD in future posts, however I wanted to flag GTD with you so that when I start to describe Android GTD apps, you know what it is that I am talking about.

#GTD #Android #Productivity #Tim Allen