Get Everything Done

I am using AF in Google Notebook.

I created New Notebook called TODO, in the notebook I create sections Page 01, Page 02... Then I'm adding notes (25 per Page) into pages. Counting is easily made by adding tags page01, page02... When you finish the task than you remove tag page01, page02.... and you know how many task is left on the page. In each note you can write comment, you can format text (strikethrough, change text background for highlighting...).

Simple, free and online and I hope it will help me to organize my disorganized life.

Hi Boris,

Yes, neat idea. I just tried it and I can see that it is a simple way to accomplish AF on the computer with little fuss. It has strike out, highlight in any number of colors, you can move the notes around, you can tag pages for search if you like. Nice idea.

I forgot to mention, you can also add tags like WORK, HOME and filter it. What is important is to delete those tags when you finish, or cross the task off the list, otherwise completed or crossed task will appeared in filter.

Unfortunately, I'm hearing that Google is dropping support for its notebook. That is really the problem with software. Once you have a nice system set up, the software developer either sells out to a mega-corp (like MS or Google) or become bored with it and wanders off.

Hi Boris
Have you tried Evernote? It's free and might do the trick.....It's a nifty app.
learning as I go

Also, there is Zoho Notebook (very powerful), Google Docs spreadsheet or maybe just plain, old Excel would do the trick. There is also quite a good, dedicated program called ToDoList by AbstractSpoon as previously mentioned here but maybe a bit OTT for a simple list like AF uses. As for me, I think paper has been a revelation (I'm normally stuck to a PC all day), but everyone to their own poison.

Do tags undercut the system?

After using AF on paper with some success for a week, I started to add tasks to a list on my computer, intending to transfer them to my paper list later.

Well, this led to "just trying" the list in my favorite task program (Taskpaper), which lets you assign both Project Headings and tags.

Tags seemed at first a great way to basically keep a list within a list. I'll just all the basement workshop tasks with "basement", then sort by tag, and then work the basement list round and round using AF.

That seemed ok.

But then I found myself tagging things like "finances" and "on the computer" and "phone calls".

And I began to worry that I might be straying out of AF territory.

If the point of AF is to let your senses pick the tasks for you, do you want to narrow down the list at any given time (by the use of tags, or sublists)? Or do you really want the full list present so that each item can influence your choice?

Any thoughts?

ds

Hi ds

I experimented with Tags in OneNote and whilst they worked well I personally found that they interrupted the flow when scanning. It was if it was adding another prompt which for me at least I felt was potentially a block to my intuition.

I am still using paper as my primary AF source and the only additional notation I have (apart from adding the date to the first item of the day) is to put a bracket around groups of items, which for me are primarily backlog items. If I enter a list of say 10 backlog items, for example emails to deal with, or paper items, bracketing them highights to me that they are part of a backlog. I suspect that is in some way telling my subconscious either that they are urgent because they are overdue or that they are not urgent because they are so overdue!

ds

Also see the following post for a discussion on tags:

http://www.markforster.net/forum/post/633631

RE: Tags

Yes, tags can be distracting. If you have too many tags or too many items tagged, you have basically gone back to the GtD "context list". Where they are useful is if you, for example, come across an item like "[E] Mail Rent Check", it is probably useful to look for everything else tagged [E] so as to do as many errands at the same time as possible. But in the case of "[Call] Call Joe to get number of arms dealer", having a list of all phone calls is not usefull, at least for me ... that is what really made contexts silly for me. (Which is why I have no tag for "calls" in my list.)

I think that only tags that are crucial to have should be included. Any more than that and the list will not work as advertised ;-)

That's a clear answer, Mike--and more or less what my own instincts were suggesting.

Weirdly, "get number of arms dealer" is actually one of the items on my list...

ds

Hope it's not linked to a "take over work" task tho' ...............? :-)

DS,

You are a funny person ;-)

oops - meant "take over world" task!