Things App
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Originally published on August 4, 2009
I finally decided to take the plunge and settled on a GTD app for my Mac and iPhone. For those who don’t know, a GTD app is for Getting Things Done. The premise being that you sort your to-do items, tasks and lists into meaningful categories that allow you to “focus” on what is important. “That way, the mind is freed from the job of remembering everything that needs to be done, and can concentrate on actually performing those tasks.”
My problem wasn’t that I couldn’t get things done, but I couldn’t sort efficiently through the maze of e-mails, links, documents, etc. that I am bombarded with as a graphic designer every day. I ended up testing all sorts of GTD apps for the next 6-9 months to assist in my workflow and all of them ended up lacking something.
I new that if I was going to commit to a GTD app, then it had to be really good. I wanted something that had simplicity, an intuitive interface, the ability to integrate mail, calendars, documents, and would finally help me get more done with less confusion. I tried Process, Daylite, iGTD and OmniFocus but they were either too complex, expensive or lacked intuitive approaches to managing my day.
After struggling with Apple’s lame iCal and Mail integration in prioritizing my workflow, I decided it was time to implement a new productivity workflow in my life. Enough was enough. I ended up going with Things from Cultured Code. So far I am really impressed with this little application for managing my daily, weekly and monthly tasks. The interface is elegant and intuitive and it’s incredibly simple to add new to-dos on the fly, attach e-mail, notes, due dates, documents and directories then prioritize everything in a snap. I end up focusing on the tasks at hand and less on who sent me what and when and where something is located. It’s a brilliant piece of work and will require a little shift in the way you think, but overall I’m very happy.
I’ll be reporting back over the next several weeks to give my results on how effective Things has done in improving my day-to-day projects and tasks workflow. Maybe I will end up losing some weight in the process too!
September 22, 2009
Well… I have been using the Things app for a couple of months now and I wanted to report back and give some feedback.
I started using Things and taking it seriously back in August. I began by reading the documentation and watching the video provided by the Cultured Code team. I cannot stress how important it is to read instructions before you begin. If you already do this, then you have been raised well. ; ) After using Things for a couple of weeks I found that it indeed helped me to focus on the tasks at hand for each day, however I slowly noticed that other projects began to creep in from e-mail.
My goal in using Things was to get away from e-mail running my life. E-mail slowly began pouring in from all sorts of areas and the mountain of tasks began to overwhelm me. I realized that e-mail gives us a false sense of control. We think we are on top of client requests, projects and communication goals because it provides us with a request or a response without having to ask for it. The problem with this is that many of these requests are not important or they dilute real communication. E-mail becomes a priority simply because it has the magical ability to appear on our desks. No one is their to deliver the message or tell you why. It’s simply there for you to figure out. As a result, we are stuck scratching our heads and wondering what priority we should give this message.
After a few weeks of using Things, e-mail again became a mainstay of managing projects. I simply had to respond to every e-mail someone sent me. Everything was a priority and everything was due yesterday. It was the only way I could make it through a project and get it completed. A few weeks later, however, I realized how much e-mail was making my life more complicated. I had to get this monkey off my back and get back to Things. I decided to reexamine my workflow by reading Chris Brogan’s article on reducing email. His article titled “How I Tamed my Inbox” summarizes what he has done to simplify his life. The article is interesting in that you learn how to make some fundamental shifts in how you approach communication and project management. By learning to prioritize and sort tasks by category instead of lists, you are able to sift through what is truly important for today and shelve unimportant tasks for another day. Some tools required are a calendar application and project management software (in his case he also uses Things).
I will report back again in a few weeks on what I have done to simplify my workflow by relying less on e-mail and more on project management. E-mail will always be an important tool of communication, but I’m not convinced that it’s the best way any more.
So, how’s it going with Things and taming the e-mail?
Thanks for asking. So far it’s been working slowly but surely. I have managed to stay on top of my email using a few tools Things, Mail.Appetizer and MailActOn. Using this combination of tools I can go through most of my email and follow my workflow mantra: Respond, Schedule, Delete or Archive messages. By prioritizing email messages into these key areas and scheduling action items into Things, email can be reduced and tamed considerably. In the end though, it’s less about the tools and all about separating priorities from the “noise” and “clutter” of email. I would love to hear whatever tool works best for you!
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