Are You Getting Things Done?
Are you making good use of your time online? I sometimes find myself scattered around so much I can’t remember what I started doing first. This is a good way to NOT get things done! So, one of my goals for 2010 is to not only get more organized but to stay organized.
ToDo Lists:
I do this the old fashioned way, legal pads. It is sometimes messy because I usually have lists for different projects so I end up with several notepads scattered across my desk. NOT GOOD. This week I am planning to find a better system (I used to use a white board 6′ wide) to do this. I have experimented with a few GTD methods like using the tasks in Outlook (yes I still love my Outlook) or even using One Note to create project notes for each project I am working on. I currently have 2 sites of my own and am developing one for a customer, so keeping up with daily tasks for each is getting more difficult. Any GTD app suggestions?
Time Management:
I am really bad at this one too, so I am working on structuring my time better so I don’t have to spend 16hrs a day on my computer doing what I could have done in 10hrs. A typical day for me goes like this:
- Wake between 5am-6am and coffee is the VERY first thing I do, turn on the news channel, get computer cranked up.
- Generally I open my inbox (outlook), tweetdeck (or seesmic depending on my mood), facebook, and both of my site admin panels all at once.
- It usually takes me about an hour to go through emails, respond to comments on my blogs, and see what is happening on Twitter and Facebook, sometimes this is 2 hours if I get distracted.
- Google Reader, this can take me an hour or more, as I comment on plenty of blogs. I have been thinking of changing th eorder of this to after I write an article because so many of the sites I comment on use commentluv and this would help promote my new article (testing that today).
- Stats, I check my stats for my other site daily because it is a products site and I am tracking my traffic closely as I am nearing my “season”.
- Research, article writing, and generally surfing the web for ideas.
- Check Google Reader again.
- Customer site development. I usually get more involved in my client projects after lunch and I am able to close all other windows to completely concentrate on them.
- Late afternoons I usually just free flow into whatever I feel like doing, adding more Twitter followers, research, social networking, forums I visit, etc…
From time to time I take on a contracting project or I travel out of town (like I am now) and then this schedule completely changes, but for the most part, that is my day.
What about you? How do you manage your time and Get Things Done, do you use apps or pen and paper like me?
Tagged with: GTD • make use of • time management
Filed under: Blogging
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I’ve been procrastinating big time. I don’t have enough time to get everything done. I have 4 blogs to update, two communities I admin & I’m about to launch a 3rd one. I also returned to school & I really need to get working on my course. I really need to get focus and start using my time wisely. with that said I’m off to download mail, comment on poems etc.
To the casual observer reading your daily regimen, it seems you are always online and enhancing your mind. But how are you earning cash?
I still use my handy little post-it notes. I stick them on my screen and pull them off as I complete them. I also use outlook a little. Works for me…
I always start my day by writing down three goals that must be achieved. I then set an hour for each goal and then use the free online countdown timers and race against the clock to get my goal completed.
I’ve got this down to a fine art and can get a lot done this way. When I complete my list I then get the necessary chores done, working on client sites etc.
Then when my time becomes my own again, back to the stop watch and timer.
Regards,
Karl
I am a years-long Getting Things Done FIEND! It is such a great system.
My recommendation for software is OmniFocus (also has an iPhone app). Is it entirely based on GTD, not a retrofit. It is really great, but I still need other basic calendar stuff, for which I use the open source Chandler (waiting for a full iPhone app, has a quick entry app now).
Happy New Year!
Must be tough to handle all that, I know I have had as many as 6 blogs at once plus I was running my fence contracting business at the same time, something always gets neglected!
My online fence store and the other contracting projects, plus I develop and mange a few sites and am a community manager for a promotional products company….. plenty to do! LOL
I have used outlook tasks in the past but I need to be able to create groups of projects.
Sounds like a decent way to make sure those things get done…
Thanks for the tip Alison, I will be researching GTD (free) software over the next few days and will probably write a post on them next week…
Just wanted to update this, I found this article blog.7breaths.co.uk/2007/08/managing-time-and-projects-with-outlook.html and ti talks about integrating OneNote (microsoft) with Outlook, I already have Onenote just haven’t used it (have had it over a year!) so I am experimenting with it now…
I use post it notes all the time. And paper notes.
Most of my time is spend moving around from place to place so they work for me.
Plus a family, friends, a social life, work & two dogs. lol NO wonder I’m stressed!
Google calendar is great for keeping track of appointments, sharing your schedule with others, and getting reminder updates by email or alarm on your computer. For to-do lists, I use teuxdeux.com, which gives a free uber-user-friendly way to manage to-do list items. Post-it notes for quick notes for action-items, I need to remember to execute within an hour or two.
I devote Mondays almost entirely as a “free for all day” where I throw as much effort at getting projects started and moving for the week without much regard for organization. Tuesday, I pick up the pieces and plan out the rest of the week’s projects.
Ah! Keith.. Time management is the thing I am really missing right now! I need to get back to structure my time, actually you remind me with my simple way.. simple way “pen & paper” is my best!
I have to admit when it comes to blogging I am pretty slack as far as time management goes, but that’s probably because I don’t have deadlines and I am in a constant relax mode. One wonders what I could do with all the extra time if I actually became blogging proficient.
pen and paper has been my method for years, but I end up with too many notepads on my desk (one for each project!) so I am looking to clean up the clutter.
You could write more blogs, what else would you do? LOL
O briefly looked at teuxdeux but I think I am going to rediscover using Outlook and see how it goes.
Thanks for the link. I’ll check it out.
Now don’t you go putting any more fool ideas into my head Keith
You’ve used the phrase Getting Thing Done but you haven’t mentioned the book or David Allen. I presume you are aware of the book and his system. If not you should check it out.
That is actually a good point, I have heard of him but haven’t read the book. I should at least credit him in my post, so I will update later this evening. It has just become such a common term…
I use a simple out line in Microsoft word. At the top I have goals and some motivational stuff I read every morning.
Below that I write “This Week” in bold and list tasks below that. The I write “next week” in bold and list next weeks tasks.
Below that I write project names in bold with specific tasks underneath.
I then Highlight tasks
Red= most important
yellow = important
Blue = next task for a given project.
Gray is in progress waitng for someone else
Magenta = delegate
It works for me
pen, paper, phone chalk anything!
To be honest if I think of a quick idea, I use pen and paper, sometimes put the title straight into wordpress and save the draft.
If I have a mega idea I sometimes phone myself, it goes straight to answer machine and I use it like a recorder.
Thank you for a great big kick up the behind. If we’re going to get this serious as a charity this year, I have got to plan my time. No more of this flitting from one thing to the next!
Have nothing to add to the discussion as I do not plan my time. Watch this space as a reformed character slowly emerges
Eleanor
P.S. As an aside, I would seriously recommend you see what your site looks like on the iphone or touch. It was completely impossible to add a comment and just wait until you see what the mobile plugin does to your list of social networking links
I’m on the PC now and having seen how it’s meant to look, I love it!
Have been experimenting with a few plugins for mobile, I deactivated that one, will keep searching….
Sometimes life is full of too many distrations.
I focus on 3 tasks aday. Only when those tasks are completed can I add another 3 items from the task list.
Good luck!
Hi Keith,
I’d recommend giving the wptouch plugin a try. I found it thanks to James @theinforpreneur and it shows up great on the iphone. You can edit settings to choose which pages you add to your menu and even tinker a little (and very easily) to add your logo.
El
I have tries that plugin, it doesn’t support Blackberry browsers, blackberries are now the #1 selling smartphone (according to sales numbers) and I think leaving out the top selling smartphone isn’t going to make my site very mobile friendly.
Plus I use blackberry
That sounds like a simple yet effective way to attack to do lists.
I’m still looking for some tools to give my working more structure. I am not willing to pay for Outlook and don’t really have a good calendar which will sync with my Windows Mobile phone. All the getting organized takes time and interferes with actually getting my commitments done.
I have a limited time available for working on my blog.
It works best for me to work in 15 minute increments on a task, take a quick break and then go back for another 15 until I am done.(I even use a timer)
I have a list of projects for my blog and after I am done with the daily tasks
(write,promote) then I pick one and work on it for a few minutes.
I always try to write before I open twitter or other site for a least 15 minutes so I don’t get distracted. If I think I need to do research or don’t have a an idea I will brainstorm ideas for the time instead.
I like Outlook as way to schedule tasks and also use the note application. I have a wiki set up as a GTD planner and that is very useful.
Michelle