Does anyone use a Barcode Scanner for Capturing?

HelenM said:
I'd be tempted to use it like those Amazon buttons that were around a while back - scan the code and it takes me straight to the relevant Amazon page where I can click Buy Now! However if you buy your detergent at the supermarket I guess your way works better.
I'll be honest, I have a chalkboard in the kitchen. One of the best capturing tools I have!
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@HelenM

Nice . . . while corkboard on this end as a visual inbox . . . and now GTD thanks to you . . . perhaps a @grocery list . . . all with one push-pin . . . bam !
 
As cheesy as it may sound, but thank you for this discussion. It's the first thing I've read since registering.
 
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mickdodge said:
I know I'm late to the party here, but this feed got me thinking about my GTD next actions grocery list. Like others in the thread, I don't see any use for barcodes. But QR codes, on the other hand, can contain very useful information and can be read by just about any smartphone.

I've used Nirvana for GTD for 8 years now and haven't looked back. I use the app on my iPhone and the website on my desktop PC. I thought I'd try a quick experiment using QR codes.
  1. I used https://goqr.me/ to make a text based QR code. For instance, I entered the text, "Purchase More Tide Laundry Detergent".
  2. I printed out the QR code, cut it out, and taped it near my washing machine.
  3. I then used Apple's Shortcuts app on my iPhone to create a script that opens the camera to scan the QR code and copies the text to the clipboard. It then immediately opens my Nirvana app. (Unfortunately, the Nirvana app doesn't have any integrated shortcuts yet)
  4. I placed a home screen shortcut to the Shortcuts script I created right next to the Nirvana shortcut.
  5. I ran the Shortcut script and scanned the QR code. It opened the Nirvana app where I click on the inbox.
  6. I then create the next action by quickly pasting the text into entry field and tagging it using my "grocery" context
This was a much quicker way to to add it to my next actions list than manually typing it in. It could most definitely be improved on, but the concept is there and it works. Now I just need to play around with it some more. Thanks for giving me the idea!
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That's very inventive, and I'd be interested in hearing more about this as you refine it. For those of us who aren't adept with Apple scripting (like me), I recommend Braintoss. It's a wonderfully simple app available for an inexpensive one-time purchase. You can easily dictate something and then with the touch of a button send it to Nirvana, Evernote, Todoist or any other program that accepts emailed input. I use it on my Apple watch and it works great. It has the extra advantage of not requiring me to come up with a QR code every time I see something I want to add to one of my lists.

Again, @mickdodge, I think what you came up with is innovative and I hope you're continuing to have success with it. But for those of us whose minds are a bit lower-tech, Braintoss is nice.
 
I get the idea of using a barcode to track stuff, like scanning it when you add it to your system or want to check its status. But for digital tasks, I’m not sure it makes sense in my routine. Feels like it could just make things more complicated when I just want to capture stuff quickly and move on.
But hey, if you're looking for a way to make sure things are legit and add a bit of security without much hassle, I’ve come across an ID verification API that could help with that. It’s pretty easy to add into your workflow if you’re concerned about verifying identities. Check it out if you're curious: https://www.idanalyzer.com/products/id-verification-api.html
 
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