Hanami Design

My Complete GTD System for October 2012: Things, Notebooks, iOS, etc.

Weszt — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 17:28:28 +0000

By request, I’m following up on my 2011 breakdown of my GTD system. Things are simpler now, though that didn’t come easy and is still very much in flux. I’ve also decided not to be as verbose as my original post and will spare you the lengthy second part explanation.

Things

Things for Mac/iPhone is still the reigning champ of GTD apps in my book. OmniFocus is really powerful, but the workflow is pretty rough, and more features does not equal more productivity.

I use Things for all my task, project, and someday/maybe needs. Not sure what I think about the Daily Review feature, though, and I really wish they’d beef up Teammates and maybe add a “Waiting for…” bucket.

Things is my go-to capture tool.

Notebooks, journal, and pen

I keep most of my lists, goals, periodic outcomes, etc. offline now in a special notebook which I leave at home. Work notes, mind maps, and things I need to capture go into another notebook that I carry with me and my thoughts and rantings into a journal.

Still using a Yoropen, though pretty bummed that the rubber grip always tears in time.

My notebook is “notebook + index + pages” which I found in a Japanese shop. Journal is a soft Moleskine.

iCloud

Notes, calendar, contacts – I like using iCloud for all these things and they just work (as Apple would say).

Google Mail

I use Google Mail for personal emails, but not much else. Have all my old email addresses forwarding here.

iPhone 4s

I don’t like keeping lots of things in my pocket, so I use my smartphone for many things. Things for iPhone syncs my task and projects, supplemented by Siri + Reminders for on the go capture. I use Notes for little things I need to jot down. Calendar keeps me on schedule for both personal and work needs. For a little while, I was pulling in my Facebook calendar by that put all kinds of noise on my schedule and had to turn that off.

The picture to the left is of my current home screen which is pretty minimal.

Honorable Mentions

Though the above makes up the bulk of my personal GTD system in 2012, there are other tools and processes that also play roles in getting things done:

MS Office
Macbooks
Backpack
Routines
Inbox zero
Regular exercise
7.5+ hours of sleep
Music

Hope you get something from all this and see you in 2013!

How to Quit Evernote And Simplify Your Life

Weszt — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 15:56:34 +0000

Let’s get this out of the way: I’ve been a big proponent of Evernote for the last few years now. In fact, most of the traffic on my blog is from people searching for ways to use Evernote, specifically for David Allen’s Getting Things Done system (thank you subscribers . However I’ve come to the conclusion that the behaviors that Evernote helps inspire in me are not healthy and I’ve decided to break the habit.

This path began at the end of last year when I was beaten to the punch writing a book on Evernote + GTD by Daniel Gold. From what I can tell, he’s done well and has gone on to write about GTD and other apps, which coincidentally was my original plan. Frankly I was irked, but you can’t blame David and he did inspire me to rethink my path. That got me wondering if all that effort voluntarily selling for a company that didn’t know I exist was helping anyone, especially myself. So I spent a number of months wandering my personal desert and contemplating.

Truth is: the tools aren’t the problem, we’re the problem. Self-discipline is the keyword and many of us lack it.

But what does this have to do with Evernote?

Evernote is a note-taking tool that’s available damn near anywhere, be it web or mobile device. Everywhere you go, you can have all your recipes, checklists, to do lists, or whatever wherever you are. But why? Why do you really need to carry everything you once kept in drawers or on walls with you? What good reason is there for you to put your entire file cabinet – something that you likely shouldn’t need to look into more than a few times a week – in your face constantly?

Convenience and fear, I believe.

This may be an exaggeration to some extent, but hopefully this point is clear: you don’t really need to carry everything with you because it just doesn’t make any sense. In fact, I propose that Evernote becomes unnecessarily burdensome and inspires hoarding, packrat like behavior. If you really get carried away, you’re capturing every little thing with any remote value because you just don’t want to forget it. We become afraid to let go.

But your brain purposely forgets things. It know there’s only a certain amount that matters. We should learn to listen to it and perhaps accept that we really don’t need to have an external brain at all when we’ve already got so many reliable solutions.

I’m ranting, I’m sure, because I’m disappointed in myself. Once again I’ve gotten carried away with trying to impose an unachievable level of control over my life through complex project and task management systems. I have to accept I’m probably getting enough done already. I’m likely blaming myself more than the tools, but simplifying my life includes quitting Evernote.

Ways I’m Quitting Evernote

You probably skipped much of the above to get to this list. I can’t blame you. I went off quite a bit up there, didn’t I? Sorry. This happens every so often when I realize I’ve slipped back into juggling more things than I need to and I beat myself up about it. Big breath… so here we go:

Put checklists where they’re needed. If you watched Fearless Felix jump from the edge of space, you probably noticed the checklists taped to the wall in front of him. He didn’t have them in a computer screen or on a mobile app; they were placed where he needed them at a specific time. I’m printing and taping some of mine as well. For things like my weekly review, I’ve copied and pasted my checklists onto my Google Calendar appointments. Others are text files in a Support folder on my desktop and a few more in Dropbox for those rare occasions where I do need to access them remotely.
Native tools for photos. I’ve never been a fan of saving all my photos to Evernote, especially because all computers come with photo management software. I’m relying on iPhoto to keep things collected and also am backing up to a hard drive.
Book and blog notes offline. This was totally unnecessary, carrying all my writing notes with me. I never reviewed any of them unless I was at a computer anyway so I’m keeping them where I actually use them.
Blog drafts in my blog. Start in WordPress, end in WordPress.
Local project notes. Local drive only. Folders for every project, notes included. No need to put my project plans in one place and files in another and it was never very secure putting some of those files in the cloud anyway. Funny how we carry all these devices with us that have all kinds of memory then freak out if we’re not on the cloud.
Paper notebooks for goals and lists. I’m creating a special notebook for life lists, long-term plans, and basically anything I only look at periodically.
Tasks and projects in Things. Though I’ve spent time using OmniFocus, I’m back to using Things for Mac/iPhone once again. I like having something bubble up my tasks into contexts, something I can’t do on paper without a lot of fuss and I don’t like carrying a lot in my pockets (paper notebooks would add to that).
iCloud notes. Some lists are handy to keep with you and I’m using iCloud to manage those. As the week as gone on, I’ve found ways to even cut these out (see above).
Voice memo for song ideas. In case you’re not familiar, I’m a long-time musician and songwriter. While I was recording my song ideas to Evernote, I’m now using a native iPhone app. Not great, but syncs just the same to the computer where I’ll be listening to them anyway.
Letting go. This a big one. Just as I should in the real world, if I’ve not touched something in months, I’m just throwing it away. If it’s forgotten, I might be better off.
Dropbox for those few must-have files. Some files ARE worth keeping with you. I’m using Dropbox for those. Why not just use Evernote? Because I don’t want to be tempted by fixing formatting, adding tags, or adding to a backlog of crap I’ll just frustrate myself with.

Simplifying my life

How does doing all of this simplify my life? It puts things where they’re needed and used, where there are already tools for the job. I don’t need checklists on my phone for things in the garage. I could just put them in the garage. I don’t need all my blog drafts in the cloud when they’re already in the cloud on the blog where I’m typing it. Quite often we’re adding an in-between tool, a third party/wheel by using things like this and it’s just not necessary.

It’s not you, it’s me

I’ve got a little more work to do, but I’m nearly finished with my relationship with Evernote. I know there are millions of people who will disagree with me, who are doing great with the tool, and I’m happy for them. Me and Evernote, however, our relationship has been too rocky. Obviously I’ve tried to make it work, but it’s just not meant to be.

Now – as always – I’m going to continue working on my self-discipline, chipping away at the waste ,and getting things done as simply as I can.

Tasks as Outcomes: Taking Charge of Your To Do List

Weszt — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:03:39 +0000

Let’s skip the explanation and get right to the examples:

Daily review vs. Plan my storybook day
Journal entry vs Calm my super charged mind (via journal)
First draft of X vs Write a kick-ass first draft of X

See the difference?

Tasks don’t have to be matter-of-fact; they can be outcome focused, verb-driven, something we own. We need to know why we’re doing what we’re doing, so why not put purpose into the little things? This can be very helpful in weeding out those items that don’t build up to the greater goals.

To me this is an excellent way (though not the only way) to combine Agile thinking into GTD. At the very least, it injects a little fun into my day.

Stop Whining and Solve the Problem

Weszt — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 17:04:01 +0000

It may be part of human nature to make things more complicated than they need to be. Instead of getting right to the task of fixing things, we often complain and let issues fester. We look for silver bullets, solutions that will make everything better all at once. But silver bullets are costly and generally add more complexity than they remove. We often make things worse by making things “better”.

I propose that if we have the time to whine, then problems are a luxury.

If we have the time to whine, then problems are a luxury.

Let me illustrate my point by introducing you to Keith Knight.

I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with Keith last night at the League of Legends World Championships in Los Angeles. To quote MSNBC:

Knight has a form of it called Amyoplasia Arthrogrypos. That means he was born with far less muscle mass than he was supposed to have and, over time, his joints have stiffened and fused.

Keith is an avid gamer and big fan of League of Legends and Guild Wars 2. But he can’t play like many of us because he can’t use his hands. He plays with his head and mouth.

With his head and mouth!

He had a problem and he solved it. That’s as inspirational as it gets for me. Keith is not whining, he’s getting it done. He wants to play games, so he’s playing them. He didn’t need a silver bullet, he moves the mouse with his head and taps the keys with a pen he holds in his mouth.

Elegant, resourceful, and awesome. That’s solving problems. That’s inspirational.

Just Enough Where Needed (My New Mantra)

Weszt — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 15:39:17 +0000

Just enough to…

keep things moving
make a decision
fill the need
solve the problem
answer the question

Anymore might be nice, but it’s not necessary. Anymore may be overkill.

We don’t need hours for GTD style weekly reviews when only a few tactful moments will do. We don’t need a task list with a rich hierarchy of tags when three lines on a piece of paper tell us what’s most important to do today. We don’t need a huge backlog of user stories when a couple of Post-It notes get everybody on the same page.

We don’t need most of what we think we do.

So my new mantra is “just enough where needed” and I’m trying hard to find what’s just enough to keep things moving and to put the simplest of tools where they might actually be useful.

Surprisingly as a user experience designer, it’s taken me a long time to begin to truly understand the real strengths of simplicity. Another lesson I’m still learning.

[Updated: 10/16] Everything Has Weight: Going Without Evernote (and Other Apps)

Weszt — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:51:49 +0000

This week I’m chasing an idea: do I really need all the apps I’ve said I do?

I’ve got apps for my schedule, tasks, notes, reminders, habits, music, and more. I’ve got a journal, work notebook, notebook for brainstorming, and another for lyrics, not to mention dozens of digital notebooks I carry with me in Evernote.

But do I really need them?

I believe EVERYTHING has weight, digital or not, so the more you keep, the more you carry. Evernote is great at capturing things, but it’s easy to get carried away and before you know it, you’re hoarding every stupid thing you see online away because you “don’t want to forget it”. Digital pack rats all of us.

But your mind purposely lets you forget things. You simply don’t need but so much information to survive and thrive. Maybe we should embrace the natural state of things a little?

So I’m experimenting with fewer apps and notebooks, starting with Evernote. I’ve copied just three notes from it and am putting the app on a shelf. If I’m doing well, I’ll start looking away ways to transfer that stuff I keep somewhere else, probably just go old school and back things up to a hard drive.

I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that the sky won’t be falling anytime soon.

[Update: 10/13/2012] More than 24 hours now and there’s been almost zero need to use Evernote at all. Will likely scan a few notebooks for today’s weekly review, but I’m already making plans to offload my stuff. More specifically, I’m now thinking about where content I’ve been keeping in Evernote – if I need to keep it all – would be better placed. For instance, what would only be used on a computer or a phone?

[Update: 10/16/2012] Hard to believe it, but I’m actually feeling less stressed than I did a few days ago. Not sure exactly why, but I’ve only glanced at Evernote a couple of times, all where there was information there that needed to be moved somewhere else. I’m arguably getting more done, though this could be me projecting or dumb luck.

Noise in the Mix: the Trap of Repeating Tasks

Weszt — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:09:57 +0000

Be frugal with things that repeat in your task management system!

I’ve made this mistake dozens of times, using my task apps as coaches, expecting them to nudge me towards being more productive. For a while this works, but sooner or later I start resisting. This distracts me from the most important things on my Today list which means my defensiveness is slowly me down.

Scheduling recurring tasks (think: calendar) works better for me and helps keep noise out of the task mix.

Help Hanami with a survey!

Weszt — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:11:49 +0000

I’d like your help in shaping the future of Hanami Design. If you’d be so kind, please fill out the short survey below – your thoughts really important to me!

If you’re having trouble seeing the embedded survey below, try refreshing the page. Leave a comment if you’re still having difficulty.

The “What’s Up?” Tickler List

Weszt — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 04:56:26 +0000

I’ve recently added a new weapon to my personal daily toolbox: The “What’s Up?” list.

A “What’s Up?” list reminds you of things that are going on in your life that you don’t want to forget and aren’t evident from your project and action lists. In a way, it’s a tickler file that focuses on now instead of the future.

For example

Project X is only partially there
Project Y has been announced
Lost a little weight, could lose a little more and add muscle
Team will probably be talking about Subject X a lot soon
Borderlands 2!!!

(the last item is actually on my list

What do you do? Scan and modify it everyday so you can keep a general idea of what the hell is going on. Seems most useful for describing what’s between the lines of your other lists and calendar items.

Hopefully this makes sense and works well for you!

League of Legends Honor Initiative Announced

Weszt — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 21:18:31 +0000

Very excited that so many news sources have decided to cover the League of Legends Honor Initiative and felt I had to share all the links. Thrilled to be the UX designer on the project and congratulations to the team!

PC Gamer
http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/09/20/league-of-legends-honor/

Kotaku
http://kotaku.com/5945063/league-of-legends-adding-honor-system-to-reward-players-for-being-good-to-each-other

EuroGamer
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-09-20-league-of-legends-honour-system-to-reward-players-for-good-behaviour

IGN
http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/11/12/hey-league-of-legends-community-dont-be-a-jerk

The Escapist
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119725-League-of-Legends-Honors-Well-Behaved-Players

Gamespy
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/league-of-legends-clash-of-fates/1226150p1.html

Softpedia
http://news.softpedia.com/news/League-of-Legends-Gets-Honor-System-Encourages-Friendly-Attitudes-293928.shtml

Gamezone
http://www.gamezone.com/products/league-of-legends/news/honor-in-summoner-s-rift-positive-reinforcement-coming-to-league-of-legends

More!
http://www.cinemablend.com/games/League-Legends-Honor-System-Rewards-Nice-Players-47154.html
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2012/09/20/league-legends-honor-system-acknowledges-good-game-behavior
http://nerdreactor.com/2012/09/20/riot-announces-the-honor-system-for-league-of-legends/
http://www.gamesnext.com/topic/league-of-legends-honour-system-to-reward-players-for-good-behaviour/
http://www.thesupervideogamesblog.com/2012/09/honor-system-announced-for-league-of.html
http://imgmr.com/index.php/pc/news/2509-new-league-of-legends-system-aims-to-promote-positive-enforcement
http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/9/20/3362470/league-of-legends-honor-system
http://www.pcgamesn.com/leagueoflegends/league-legends-introduce-honor-system-reward-good-play
http://www.rtsguru.com/game/435/article/4086/New-Honor-System-Coming-to-League-of-Legends-Soon.html