Sorry for this long post, but I wanted to share my evolution through the tools I've used. I have been doing GTD for about 6 months now. I've been searching for the right tool and I think I have finally found it, the GTDTiddlyWiki: http://shared.snapgrid.com/gtd_tiddlywiki.html
I've tried a number of methods. Here are the drawbacks I found with each of these.
I think the most important thing I've found after using it for a week is the linking between items. Just by using CamelCase you create a new "tiddler" that you can then click on. So you can create links between all the items that are related. Next actions connect to their projects, and from the projects, you can see where on your next action lists items are placed. You can also tag tiddlers with categories. For example I have a bunch of things I like to call Folklore. I have a Unix folklore list, a Windows folklore list, etc. They are just random things I learn along the way, that I want to remember so I put them on these folklore lists for future reference.
I still use the palm for calendars and contacts. I only sync with my Mac once a week, just as a backup. I also use the palm as a capture device, when I'm walking down the street, I use the voice memo to capture my ideas. But once I'm home or at work they get put into the TiddlyWiki.
I've tried a number of methods. Here are the drawbacks I found with each of these.
- Palm plus paper – I put all of my contacts and calendar items on the palm. I used paper for project and next action lists. The problem I found with this is that the paper was hard to keep up to date, neat and organized. Paper is great for that first capture moment, I still use it for that. But once it gets processed, I prefer electronic form because it is easier to reorder, move items from one action list to another, delete items, etc. For example moving it from the NA to Someday/Maybe list. With paper only, you either write the whole list over again or cross it from one list and write the whole item again on the new list. Labor intensive.
- All Palm - My next try was for an all palm solution. The palm is good for calendar items and contacts, but the Tasks are just not good enough. Problems I found are that the input is slow and painful, I have never gotten used to the new graffiti. But the biggest problem is that I use a PC at work and a Mac at home. Syncing between these two platforms is just a nightmare, I tried it once and it took hours to recover from that mistake. Second just synching with the Mac is a major pain. The Palm desktop software on the Mac is a total joke. I bought the missing sync and tried syncing with the Mac apps, iCal and Address Book. The problem is that the support for Tasks in iCal is pathetic. Worse, syncing is always a major pain. Things get duplicated or don't get copied to the Mac at all. I hate it.
- Palm plus Word - So on to my third try, palm plus word documents. Palm still good for calendar and contacts. All my lists were now in word documents. Each list was it's own document. A project list document, a next action list doc, someday/maybe doc, etc. I first tried a single word doc, but it was too difficult to move from list to list. But the problem with having all these different documents is that it became difficult to quickly switch between them. It wasn't horrible, mind you. I was pretty happy with it, until I stumbled upon
- The GTDTiddlyWiki – With this method I still keep calendar and contacts in the palm, but all my next action and projects are in the GTDTiddlyWiki. Some of the things that make this really great.
- Everything is in a single file
- it is all easily and quickly accessible, on the top left is a link to each important list (customizable of course) and it is trivial to create a link to something else. So if I have an item in my NA list, I usually put a link to the project, so when I am ready to work on it, it takes one click to get the project materials in front of me
- it is all searchable and for the geeks out there you can use regular expressions!!
- It is cross platform, since it is html and javascript it works on both my PC and Mac, I have one for work and one for home. I put the home tiddler on my USB drive and bring it to work.
I think the most important thing I've found after using it for a week is the linking between items. Just by using CamelCase you create a new "tiddler" that you can then click on. So you can create links between all the items that are related. Next actions connect to their projects, and from the projects, you can see where on your next action lists items are placed. You can also tag tiddlers with categories. For example I have a bunch of things I like to call Folklore. I have a Unix folklore list, a Windows folklore list, etc. They are just random things I learn along the way, that I want to remember so I put them on these folklore lists for future reference.
I still use the palm for calendars and contacts. I only sync with my Mac once a week, just as a backup. I also use the palm as a capture device, when I'm walking down the street, I use the voice memo to capture my ideas. But once I'm home or at work they get put into the TiddlyWiki.