Back to the Productivity Search

As my loyal readers know, I'm not only about the absurdities. I've been doing my own search through the various apps for my own productivity package (here and here, if you're interested). I read all the various GTD blogs out there, because they're interesting, and full of ideas.

And all of this was fine and good when I kept my office online as an independent project person. Now I'm working for the government, and can't add anything to my computer, can't get to many of my fave Web2.0 sites, and I've only got Outlook now. What's a girl to do?

I need to start search for Outlook GTD tips, and think text & paper. So I'm always checking the GTD feeds.

And here's yet another great productivity blog that I've only just discovered -- Productivity 501 (doesn't hurt that he's also running a contest!). The name of the blog appeals to the intellectual in me, who would always like to think that I'm functioning beyond the first year, undergrad level. The author, Mark, is a business consultant, with a tech background.

My first browse this morning has netted me a very useful article -- on creating passwords. I've never taken passwords too terribly seriously over the years, but now, working for the government, I must. So here are some great tips! With this advice coming from a techie, I'll be applying some of these principles, as I change my multiple work passwords on a regular basis.

In another article, he's got a great argument for credit cards -- they protect you more against fraud:

"With checks and debit cards, you have to get your money back if it was taken by fraud. With a credit card, the credit card company acts as a buffer. The money doesn’t come out of your account until you pay the bill."

Overall, Productivity 501 has some very good ideas on the subject of productivity... plus a few more topics that strike the writer's fancy -- like his updates on Free Academic Podcasts. The entries on productivity are not, for the most part, which software to use, or tips on using Outlook/Gmail/fill-in-the-blank-program, there are blogs enough on those more technological tips. These are more personal, more personnel, and more about your whole life than just about what you do on the computer, which is a pleasant addition to the whole GTD roster.

All that said, I do have a problem with the site's accessibility. He does have a search box, and the bottom of each entry does have links to 'possibly related' entries, but browsing around I really felt the lack of tags, or some other kind of sidebar thematic linking. I found myself wanting to tag lots of the entries "tools" -- because he seems to share a bit of an obssession with me, finding the right tool for the job (that's my one beef with Metro in the kitchen, he's always using the wrong utensils!).

I continue the search for my own system!

Lori

Still trying to find a system

As you all know, if you've been reading my blog, I have 3 fixations: the absurd, cats, and gadgets. The latest gadget-focus is on a system to be productive.

How difficult can that be? Well, if you type "GTD" [Getting Things Done] into a search engine, you'll be innundated with options, ideas, and lifehacks. For a start, try the Ultimate GTD Index.

Tips and tricks abound, and there are loads of web applications all vying for your attention, trying to be your solution.

Well, I'm narrowing down my solution. Wanna hear about it?

First
I use Gmail. If you haven't found it yet, go get thee an account. Huge memory, archiving, Google searching of emails, conversation management, great labeling system.

I've added the GTD Extension to my Firefox, which is really just a ramped-up system of labeling your emails. A couple of added shortcuts that I've come to like, but they're only available if you're on a Firefox that's got the extension.

Second
My start page is Netvibes. Sign in from any computer, and all your settings are there -- your email accounts, bookmarks, to do lists, feeds. I'm turning it into my office.

Third
The viable To Do lists. This is a hard one. I'm still toying with just using Netvibes' to do list capabilities, but now I can put a Remember the Milk module on my Netvibes page -- and there's just so much more you can do with its functions. And I've added IMified to my gmail contact list, which enables me to send my To-Dos directly to Remember the Milk. Very simple and elegant!

Fourth
Dealing with documents. This is a tricky one. Do you need a place to just store docs online to access them yourself, or do you need to share them? Or is it bigger than that? Perhaps you need to create an Excel spreadsheet or a PowerPoint presentation, but you don't have these programs on your computer. Two options: Get the OpenOffice suite on your computer -- free and easy to use. Or, get an account with ThinkFree, where you can make these docs online. (I've had some problems with ThinkFree, some recent changes have made it less intuitive, and I couldn't access a spreadsheet. In all fairness, the support people got right back to me, but I've been too busy to follow up on the problem. My bad.)

I would really hesitate to use Google Documents and Spreadsheets (accessed through your gmail/google account) -- it looks really sweet...open docs right from your Gmail account, but then once you change them, you have to download them to the computer you're on, then email them. You'd think, being so closely tied to your email account, that you'd be able to email the docs directly (What if you're on a computer where you don't want/can't download?) -- but no, they want you to invite your people to sign up to a Google account to be able to share the documents.

At the moment, I'm partially using Zoho Projects for one of my jobs. I say 'partially' because I'm working with people who don't function like I do, all online, so they're not using it with me (and I can't make 'em. Boo hoo!). But it has a nice feature where I can upload files with no fuss.

Fifth
The Internet is always there, but the providers fail. I'm not always in front of a computer, so yes, there is one dimension still needed: the paper standby. I still use my daybook, the Polestar Business Calendar, to keep track of appointments and on-the-go notes...with help from the ubiquitous post-its.

Does all this obsess you as well? What are your solutions? I wanna know.

Lori