Emacs org-mode is the perfect tool for GTD.

GreenDog said:
You're right. It's not worth most people's time. I just happen to use emacs.

By the way, you can combine evil mode and org mode in an SSH session on iPad if you want to try a mobile interface.
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Emacs are like Russian literature. They are rich in substance and offer timeless value. But it is often hard to get into - and more of an acquired taste.
 
I have perfected my emacs org-mode GTD setup even further. It is even more ultimate now. Perfection can be improved. Now, I have projects that are repeated on a regular basis on top of repeated tasks. Daily tasks are just repeated tasks that are repeated daily.

If I bought a single board computer for wake on lan functionality and VPN, I would be able to connect from a tablet to my desktop computer over SSH. You can use a bluetooth keyboard with a tablet or a laptop.

I can use org-mode over SSH on a tablet. evil-org-mode enables vim keys on emacs. VIM keys are suitable for SSH sessions.

If you want to work offline, you may set up a folder synchronization system so that when you get home, your org-mode files are automatically synchronized.
 
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Hi GreenDog,

I like the look of your GTD set up with org-mode. I happen to be a user of Spacemacs and regularly use Org for TODOs and more. So, it makes a lot of sense to me to try your configuration out. Have you published your GTD Org set up on GitHub, GitLab, etc?

Oh, I thought that perhaps for quick updates on Android, it might suffice to use Orgzly.

https://github.com/orgzly/orgzly-android

Cheers,
Steve.
 
Hi steshaw, not OP but I did implement this in my personal Emacs (using Doom Emacs, I highly recommend this). The problem I had was with mobile, in particular Orgzly. There is no auto-sync, and I found that often I would leave Emacs open on a couple laptops as well as my mobile and things would get out of sync and things would just kind of vanish. I use Emacs religislouly but for GTD I've moved to Todoist and using the Todoist plugin in Emacs. Everything stays perfectly in sync, and this works great for me. I would much prefer to move to solely Emacs but I haven't found a good way to keep everything in sync. I've been using Dropbox to hold Org files, but would prefer a self-hosted option (I run NextCloud and Seafile at home)
 
Hi Edward,

I'm a happy Spacemacs/Neovim use at the moment so I'll take a look at Doom Emacs. Thanks for the tip.

I figured that Orgzly sync could be a problem. There is work on a "Git" sync but it's not there yet.

I'll take a look at Todoist! Since I use Org for other things (clock my work hours and notes), I'm inclined to stay with Org. I'm happy to continue capturing on mobile using email (or pencil and paper). Since I work from home and rarely roam without my laptop, this won't be a problem personally. I can always view my org files from mobile using the browser. It would be great to have a solution that would suit more people!

Cheers,
Steve.
 
@steshaw I will try to upload it on github or gitlab. You can use emacs in ssh on an android device.
You may want to set up wake-on-lan via a single board computer or your router.

Remember that GTD is useless without discipline.
 
Thanks, GreenDog.

I'll certainly give the ssh option some thought. It will take some set up. I'll probably email-to-self as currently.
 
Hey, thanks for sharing this. Could you please upload your modified latest setup?


GreenDog said:
I have perfected my emacs org-mode GTD setup even further. It is even more ultimate now. Perfection can be improved. Now, I have projects that are repeated on a regular basis on top of repeated tasks. Daily tasks are just repeated tasks that are repeated daily.

If I bought a single board computer for wake on lan functionality and VPN, I would be able to connect from a tablet to my desktop computer over SSH. You can use a bluetooth keyboard with a tablet or a laptop.

I can use org-mode over SSH on a tablet. evil-org-mode enables vim keys on emacs. VIM keys are suitable for SSH sessions.

If you want to work offline, you may set up a folder synchronization system so that when you get home, your org-mode files are automatically synchronized.
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biscuittoman said:
3 months of GTD past, and 2 weeks into the org-mode learning.

I have tried 20+ apps that does a bit of GTD, listened to all episodes of GTD podcast, purchased guides from here, read upon numerous threads for implementation etc. And my conclusion was that there is really no perfect app. Still, we are human beings and we strive for perfection. And a system like GTD tickles that side of us every now and then.

org-mode is really great, but there are some disadvantages:

- It requires a PC and a keyboard at the basic level, web and mobile use is limited. (For those who are master at emacs could probably do much more than that, and there is Orgzly for Android which I use but between PC and using Orgzly, I do prefer PC and that kind of defeats the purpose for capturing)
- The learning curve is steep.

After 2 weeks my left hand and the wrist is starting to hurt. I don't think I used it all that much - just learning stuff and setting up the system. That scared me a bit, not gonna lie. Then, I started to think: Am I missing something here? Why did I get into this GTD stuff? To be stress-free AND productive. I'm not sure org-mode or any software provide this. GTD IS really tool-agnostic. Complicating and overthinking stuff bring more headache. But I do support whoever does find use in tools, be it org-mode, todoist or paper-based.
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emacs sometimes is translated as "escape, meta, alt, control, shift". Therefore I understand your wrist's hurting.
2 things I did:
  • using a natural keyboard (in my case the Logitech Ergo 860, but YMMV)
  • using Doom Emacs. With the vim-compatible evil-keybindings you do not need to twist your wrist by far as much as with vanilla emacs.
 
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