New - HELP with Tool suggestion and Workflow Service - THANK YOU

G

GTD

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Years ago I used David Allen's GTD methods through Outlook, but since I have switched to Mac I've failed to continue. Frankly, I just don't trust my current setup. Now I am looking to re-tool myself and get better organized ASAP. Specifically, I am looking for help in 2 areas:

1) I am looking for suggestions on what tool(s) I should use to best organize my work and personal life. A lot of my actions come from email so preferably I am looking for an all-in-one. I've briefly looked at IQ Tell and it appears to be a good tool, but it scares me that it may not be around much longer or beyond the next 2 years. I hear everyone rave about Evernote, but I don't fully get it. I am open to any ideas with the goal of having something Mac friendly, simplistic, and all-in-one, if possible- the fewer tools the better I think.

2) Ideally speaking, I would like to hire an individual/service to come to my office, for however long it takes, to setup up any new hardware and software across all of my machines, help me understand how to use, and dump all of my "stuff" into a system. Basically, help me with my brain dump and get organized with an ongoing system moving forward.

Does a person/service like what I just described even exist? If so, please help me find them.

Thank you in advance to everyone for reading my post and willing to help me get back on track so I can start GTD, again!
 
Oogiem

Oogiem

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Well I'm biased. I don't think there is a single tool that works well that covers both e-mail and GTD stuff in the mac world. Most of the all-in-one things do not have the required support for my own personal complex projects so I avoid them.

My own set-up is Apple mail for all e-mail (I have 13 different e-mail accounts that I work with), Omnifocus for GTD lists and current projects and DEVONThink for project support that is digital and for my newly implemented Someday/maybe lists for things like craft projects where I don't want to clutter up my regular Omnifocus system.

I almost never get projects or actions within e-mail that aren't also accompanied by extraneous stuff I don't need. So I clip the required portion and send only that to my Omnifocus inbox. I may drag entire e-nails that are project support in to the DEVONThink folder for that project.

On the person to come help, DavidCo offers one on one coaching. Not sure the cost for in -person coaching, I know they do that. I've used their virtual coaching and gotten good value from it. I'd ask them what the options are. Even attending an in-person seminar might be enough to get you back on track.
 
Oogiem

Oogiem

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marybankston said:
I know how to forward an email to OmniFocus for action, but how do you drag an email from Mail to a folder?
Click to expand...

I drag messages into a folder within myDEVONThink database. Although you can drag any message out into a finder window as well and it makes a copy in that location. I rarely use that feature though.
 
devon.marie

devon.marie

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Which email service do you use? I use Todoist for my GTD setup because it's incredibly flexible and on every platform I use. But, I use Google Apps/Gmail for my mail, and it has a Chrome app that integrates. This isn't nearly as helpful if you don't use Gmail, though you can email to Todoist no problem. IIRC neither Outlook for Mac nor Apple Mail allow for very good plugins, so many apps don't bother. Your already existing tools will probably help define the best tool for you.
 
H

harryroy6

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marybankston said:
I know how to forward an email to OmniFocus for action, but how do you drag an email from Mail to a folder?
Click to expand...

Is this a simple to forward an email to OmniFocus or not ? Would you like to explain it I want to know
 
Thais Godhino

Thais Godhino

GTD Connect
chirmer said:
Which email service do you use? I use Todoist for my GTD setup because it's incredibly flexible and on every platform I use. But, I use Google Apps/Gmail for my mail, and it has a Chrome app that integrates. This isn't nearly as helpful if you don't use Gmail, though you can email to Todoist no problem. IIRC neither Outlook for Mac nor Apple Mail allow for very good plugins, so many apps don't bother. Your already existing tools will probably help define the best tool for you.
Click to expand...
I'm using Todoist for my workflow too. It's incredible simple and the synk is amazing. I use Evernote for projects and Mind Meister for higher levels.
 
Todd V

Todd V

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I agree with Oogiem: there is no single tool that integrates everything on the mac. As such, you will have to discover what works best for you. Personally, I am not a big fan of working from an email program as a primary place to get things done. I prefer to get my email inbox to zero as often as possible and I only archive email that is absolutely necessary for me to keep. For those used to Outlook, I can see why email is a comfortable place from which to plan, organize, and schedule email-related conversations and tasks. Yet with so many notifications and distractions in an email program, I find I am more productive by getting my actionable stuff out of email and into my trusted system.

I have not heard of IQ Tell, but I can relate to your fears about programs dying off with no more support. It was out of that same frustration that I eventually developed my own system to help me get though graduate school. In order to help you further, could you say a bit more about the volume of email you receive and perhaps provide a few examples of your workflow?
 
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