Best software tool for mobile & Macbook to get started with GTD
JamesBedell
Registered
I advocate Omnifocus+Evernote
There is no one best tool, for sure. GTD is to a significant degree a journey of self-discovery. Your habits, beliefs and aspirations will change naturally over time.
I would start with Reminders and see what you think. Davidco has a GTD setup guide for the stock Apple apps that is helpful. If you want more horsepower, there are trial Mac versions of both Omnifocus and Things. In my opinion, these are the three best choices right now for an all-Apple environment.
Oogiem
0
In an all Mac environment I think Omnifocus is the most powerful. Large learning curve to take advantage of all teh tweakes but cane get started easily. I am very cloud adverse, so my small reference materials are in DEVONThink but Evernote can also work.
But what really matters is that it's best for you. Pick something, try it for a reasonable time and then tweak. But don't get caught in the changing the tool just because trap. Make changes only as needed.
But what really matters is that it's best for you. Pick something, try it for a reasonable time and then tweak. But don't get caught in the changing the tool just because trap. Make changes only as needed.
Oogiem
0
I agree with mcogilvie, those are areas of focus not projects.
So for me Health is an area of focus and a project is to increase my steps per day to a consistent 15,000. In Crafts I have a project to re-do my workflow checklist for integrating pictures into my Lightroom catalog and printing the ones I plan to use in scrapbook projects. Another is to knit a new helmet hat before winter and another is to finish my WW 1 Women's Auxiliary uniform before Halloween. In work I have a project to sort and evaluate ram yearlings and decide who goes to slaughter on 15 June. In Social I have a project to finish scanning the historical society glass plate negatives and another to get the thumbnails up on their web site.
I have been using OmniFocus Pro (OF) for a number of years on my Mac, iPhone and iPad. Over the years, I've also looked at other products, most recently Trello. What OF lacks (or else I haven't configured it properly yet!) is the ability to visualize all projects at once. This is what Trello ostensibly enables you to do, and why I took a serious look at it.
In the end, I found that Trello was just too "clunky". The OF user interface on all three kinds of devices just doesn't get in my way, and is tailored very nicely for iPhone and iPad usage on-the-go. I have to say it wasn't always like this with OF (!)
I have spent some time going though Joe Buhlig's really thoughtful approach to implementing GTD in OF and it has help tremendously. https://joebuhlig.com/ Not only does he explain step-by-step how to use OF, but he also discusses he has implemented some of the more advanced GTD concepts in OF.
Oh yeah, I use Evernote as my reference store - because it too is available on all my devices and anywhere I am.
In the end, I found that Trello was just too "clunky". The OF user interface on all three kinds of devices just doesn't get in my way, and is tailored very nicely for iPhone and iPad usage on-the-go. I have to say it wasn't always like this with OF (!)
I have spent some time going though Joe Buhlig's really thoughtful approach to implementing GTD in OF and it has help tremendously. https://joebuhlig.com/ Not only does he explain step-by-step how to use OF, but he also discusses he has implemented some of the more advanced GTD concepts in OF.
Oh yeah, I use Evernote as my reference store - because it too is available on all my devices and anywhere I am.
Oogiem
0
I'd suggest as a starting point the David CO Omnifocus Set-up Guide. Start there and then you can tweak as you learn more of the features fo the package.
And ask questions. I've been using Omnifocus for over 8 years, I might have some ideas for you.
markrich21
Registered
A free easy upgrade to Apple Mail is Mailbutler via the app store. It adds significant functionality related to GTD that Apple hasn't included. While Omnifocus is indeed powerful and also complex as a newbie GTD'r you need to adopt the GTD principles first and let the addition of tools progress naturally. Its definitely a journey! Good luck.
Right now, for my personal system, I'm still tweaking a system involving
OmniFocus
Trello
Scrivener
Reminders
Calendar
OmniFocus and Trello are fighting it out. OmniFocus seems like absolutely the most logical tool for the core lists, but for whatever reason, I'm finding that I'm just not using it. List after list is leaving OmniFocus and moving to Trello.
I abandoned my hope of using Jira Cloud for my personal system, because the mobile implementation just doesn't cut it.
My work system is now centered on Jira.
OmniFocus
Trello
Scrivener
Reminders
Calendar
OmniFocus and Trello are fighting it out. OmniFocus seems like absolutely the most logical tool for the core lists, but for whatever reason, I'm finding that I'm just not using it. List after list is leaving OmniFocus and moving to Trello.
I abandoned my hope of using Jira Cloud for my personal system, because the mobile implementation just doesn't cut it.
My work system is now centered on Jira.
Peter T-C
Mind like water
Hi,
For me the magic duo became Todoist and Evernote.
I've tried a lot of softwares, not to find the best one, but to find the best one for myself. As above mentioned, it depends on your own preferences.
Todoist has the functionality to implement everything GTD needs. For me one of the most important need was mobile usability as I'm on the go a lot of times and has lack of desktop view. Todoist was design with mobile first thinking, so it's perfect and still have a really nice, minimalist design on desktop.
The free version is a good start, but for GTD you'll need pro. (If you want to give it a try, I can send a 3 months pro code.)
Evernote is... Evernote.
One of the best tool for references. It has quite much power that is unnoticed most of the time. (We manage the whole companies planning-sales-project-reference-product development system in it...)
To highlight: OF is a good choice for many of us here, as it was already mentioned before, but I honestly suggest Todoist as a good tool too.
Choose the one that fits the best your needs.
All the bests,
Peter
For me the magic duo became Todoist and Evernote.
I've tried a lot of softwares, not to find the best one, but to find the best one for myself. As above mentioned, it depends on your own preferences.
Todoist has the functionality to implement everything GTD needs. For me one of the most important need was mobile usability as I'm on the go a lot of times and has lack of desktop view. Todoist was design with mobile first thinking, so it's perfect and still have a really nice, minimalist design on desktop.
The free version is a good start, but for GTD you'll need pro. (If you want to give it a try, I can send a 3 months pro code.)
Evernote is... Evernote.
One of the best tool for references. It has quite much power that is unnoticed most of the time. (We manage the whole companies planning-sales-project-reference-product development system in it...)To highlight: OF is a good choice for many of us here, as it was already mentioned before, but I honestly suggest Todoist as a good tool too.
Choose the one that fits the best your needs.
All the bests,
Peter
I have been interested in Todolist for a while. Would you mind sending me the 3 month promo code you were mentioning?Hi,
For me the magic duo became Todoist and Evernote.
I've tried a lot of softwares, not to find the best one, but to find the best one for myself. As above mentioned, it depends on your own preferences.
Todoist has the functionality to implement everything GTD needs. For me one of the most important need was mobile usability as I'm on the go a lot of times and has lack of desktop view. Todoist was design with mobile first thinking, so it's perfect and still have a really nice, minimalist design on desktop.
The free version is a good start, but for GTD you'll need pro. (If you want to give it a try, I can send a 3 months pro code.)
Evernote is... Evernote.
To highlight: OF is a good choice for many of us here, as it was already mentioned before, but I honestly suggest Todoist as a good tool too.
Choose the one that fits the best your needs.
All the bests,
Peter
memuneh
Registered
What GTD functionality does Mailbutler have? I’m curious to learn more.
memuneh
Registered
I’d love to know how you use DEVONthink. I’ve started with Evernote and I’m not yet convinced on the best reference tool. What does DEVONthink offer that makes you choose it over others?
Oogiem
0
DEVONThink is highly scalable. I have 3 databases and I could have more. Databases can be many gigabytes in size and it still handles them efficiently. I only synch 2 of my own databases to my iOS devices. You can either bring the documents in to DT or you can just use DT as a super powerful index for documents still stored in finder. It provides many ways to search or tag if you are a tagger. I can create smart groups for things I want to search for across my structure. I can integrate it with Hazel and do a fair bit of automatic filing. I haven't done as much with the see also and classify AI stuff but am starting to do that for research on a book I am writing. It's not cloud based which is a benefit to me. I do not use or trust cloud services, especially with sensitive data. I can set things up on my own server to handle the syncing. I can encrypt databases if desired to provide extra security. It handles more types of data and can easily round trip files in and out if required.
memuneh
Registered
Wow! Great info! Thanks for taking the time to explain your DEVONThink experience. I am going to download a trial version and play with it.