GTD for Palm OS... what are my options?

J

jkder

0
I just got a palm centrino with the OS system and i love it. I dont know whats out there besides what comes with the palm. Im convinced I can find something more effective for GTD on the palm then using the standard "tasks" that it comes with. Here's some stuff im looking for.

-not web based, for palm OS
-create large amount of catagories within one another. like folders containing folders, that you can input text quickly
-ability to attach notes to tasks
-have a quick link between projects and next actions, or all catagories for that matter
-be able to make it so completed tasks dissapear
-simple, fast.. etc

you get the idea. something very simple and pure gtd. I dont like copying and pasting text in order to move something from projects to next actions.. also want to input information easily without setting up a bunch of stuff like priorities, security, dates, etc.

thanks for the help all.
 
ive been reading, and im learning that one of the most used methods for the palm, even by david allen himself, is to put the projects in the Memo and all Next Actions in the Tasks.. for me thats alot of copying and pasting and switching back and forth from one application to another. No good. If there is something out there that keeps it all in one application ( except things like calender ) that would eliminate ALOT of hassle.

my friend has the most perfect method for his Itouch. just a bunch of simple lists, no filters, he can create as many sub lists as he want. When hes in a project list and he wants to move one of the steps to the projects to next actions he simply clicks on it and then clicks Send to any @context he pleases.

anything like this for palm?

right now im testing out keeping my projects and NA in Tasks, and using the notes for the actions needed in each project. if anyone has any comments on this method let me know.
 
jkder;66977 said:
I just got a palm centrino with the OS system and i love it. I dont know whats out there besides what comes with the palm. Im convinced I can find something more effective for GTD on the palm then using the standard "tasks" that it comes with. Here's some stuff im looking for.

-not web based, for palm OS
-create large amount of catagories within one another. like folders containing folders, that you can input text quickly
-ability to attach notes to tasks
-have a quick link between projects and next actions, or all catagories for that matter
-be able to make it so completed tasks dissapear
-simple, fast.. etc

you get the idea. something very simple and pure gtd. I dont like copying and pasting text in order to move something from projects to next actions.. also want to input information easily without setting up a bunch of stuff like priorities, security, dates, etc.

thanks for the help all.
Click to expand...

Um, to the extent that what you want is "pure GTD", the built-in palm app does it. It can hide completed items, has attached notes, is simple and fast. I believe priorities and due dates can be set to not display. You might want to spend some time exploring its settings, because the other features you describe (linking of projects and next actions, sub-folders) are hard to come by on the Palm. The major apps to look at are Agendus and Datebk, which build on the features of the native apps. Also, there's Life Balance, which is outline-based, and can be made to be GTD'ish. There are also some apps that sync to Outlook, if you use a PC, e.g., from Chapura.
 
FYI: lifebalance. LB has somewhat steep learning curve. I like it because I can view a list of projects with next actions under each one, or view next actions by context (not sure you might be able to do something similar...perhaps with some effort, in an outliner called shadow or shadowplan). There are other aspects of lifebalance i.e. it can prioritize items for you (with your priorities). The progress of program updates is glacial (compared to others).

You might consider sticking with plain vanilla palm apps.
 
jkder;66979 said:
..... projects in the Memo and all Next Actions in the Tasks.. for me thats alot of copying and pasting and switching back and forth from one application to another. No good. If there is something out there that keeps it all in one application ( except things like calender ) that would eliminate ALOT of hassle.....
Click to expand...

I've been using Palms since 1997, and GTD since '02. Currently using a Centro. I tried many different applications and approaches, including Shadowplan and LifeBalance (both fine programs, BTW). I settled on the basic system of NA's in Tasks and Projects & Someday/Maybe's in Memos. Any 3rd party software I use enhances usability, making things easier and faster, but doesn't change where the core data is stored.

Here are two key advantages to the Tasks/Memos approach.

Categories: The PalmOS has a limit of 15 categories (16 counting Unfiled) per app. If you use memos and tasks you effectively get 30 categories. I use Task categories only for @contexts., My Memo cats are Areas of Responsibility (Business, Home, Family, etc) and some Reference categories.

Easy Switching: Your bug is my feature. I have Tasks programmed to one hard button, and Memos to another. I simply press the appropriate hard button to switch between the two. If you keep everything in Tasks you actually do more clicking and/or tapping to go back and forth between tasks and projects.

One example of a utility I use is ToDoDA. It's a free program you can pop-up over selected text in memo and create a Task from that text. You also need a special launcher... I can explain that and more tricks I use if you are interested.
 
For what it's worth...

I used a Palm for nearly 12 years and never used or needed a list application. I used the native, vanilla Palm To Do and Memo Pad functions and found them to be robust, intuitive and totally functional for my GTD system. Not saying there aren't some good apps out there, but Palm is one device that actually does GTD implementation really well, right out of the box.

David Allen also still uses the built-in Palm To Do and Memos for his lists, synching to Lotus Notes.

Kelly
 
jkder;66979 said:
.. for me thats alot of copying and pasting and switching back and forth from one application to another.
Click to expand...

What are you copying-pasting?
If you really want an app to send an action listed in your Memos (Project) to Task (where you have your NA), there're several third party apps. I think there was Slap or similar.

If you just want to link the NA in Task to a Project in your Memos app, you can use PsLink. With PsLink, you can add the Project in the NA, then click on the Project to take you to Memos to view the Project details.

There are many apps available to customize Palm OS. But I second the suggestion to work with vanilla Palm apps first.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top