- Gtd Weekly Review Checklist
- Using Todoist With Gtd
- Todoist Gtd Waiting For
- Todoist Gtd Setup
- Todoist Gtd Forum
- Todoist And Gtd
- Gtd Context List
So, I went back to the fundamentals. I re-read GTD and re-applied it to my new work responsibilities. My GTD practice in my new job looks different from what it looked like with my old job. I've changed my Todoist set up, how I use my calendar, and I've been using project support materials more effectively. Get up and running with GTD in Todoist by following these 5 steps: Capture every task that comes to mind in your Todoist Inbox. Quickly type or dictate tasks as they occur to you using everyday language like “send invoice on May 3” or “water the plants every 4 days starting June 20 ending Sept 30.”. Todoist and GTD Bradley started exploring productivity methods in 2012 when he was running his business and building a house for his growing family — he and his wife have five girls and three boys, ranging in age from 7 weeks old to 18 (“Are you sitting down for this?” he says in response to being asked how many kids he has). Todoist: a well designed and implemented general task-management app. Requires a lot of tinkering to fit to the GTD system and then it’s a proper solution. I love how responsive and intuitive the app is and that it has many third party integrations.
GTD Journey: My thoughts on switching to Nirvana
I've been following the GTD (Getting Things Done) method to organize my life since 2013. GTD is a method of organization and personal productivity created by David Allen (this is the book). The main objective is to “empty our minds” and have a trusted system to store and manage our actions, projects, events, goals, objectives and even life purpose.
I've just spent about a year in the following cycle: trying Nirvana, loving it, using it for a while, then looking at other productivity apps, switching to Trello then Todoist, moving back and forth, then deciding I would stick with Nirvana.
Nirvana is a cloud-based task manager that can be accessed online on any platform and has Windows, iOS and Android apps as well. There is a basic version with some limitations (like the number of projects), a complete Pro version or a Lifetime subscription (you can check their pricing here). Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with the company in any way. It's just an app that I love!
Nirvana is made by a small independent team in Canada. So don't expect constant updates. The team is very deliberate on improvements and that makes the app extremely reliable. It brings together he GTD concepts beautifully. The developers attended the GTD Summit in 2019.
The one thing that made me fall in love with Nirvana at first sight was the global filter. It is brilliant and I had never seen it working so seamlessly in other apps.
I can setup different Areas of Focus, like “Personal”, “Work” and “Blog”. The global filter works across the whole system, so I can focus on my Work related Actions and Projects being sure that nothing from the other area is showing as well. I can also see the whole picture grouping all my areas together.
Also, keyboard shortcuts make it even easier to switch between areas of focus. There is a good list of keyboard shortcuts for adding items to the Inbox, adding a next action or a new project, for example.
The second thing was the implementation itself: it is based on GTD. After I saw Nirvana I wanted to have the same experience while using Todoist, for example. I tried to mimic Nirvana's setup on Todoist but it was not the same: trying to find the right combination of filters/tags/projects levels was not giving me the results I wanted (not to mention the time spent trying to get it right).
Gtd Weekly Review Checklist
In Nirvana all Actions can be categorized into “GTD-style” buckets right there, “out of the box”:
It offers a way to easily send emails into the app so that it goes directly to the Inbox.
The projects can be set up as “Parallel” or “Sequential“:
- Parallel: The actions are meant to be completed in any order.
- Sequential: The first action is intended to be completed before the second, and so on.
All items (even projects!) can be assigned to totally customizable labels (as GTD contexts like: @home, @calls, @errands, etc.)
There is even the option to assign levels of energy and time to each action so that we can filter using these parameters.
This Quick Guide shows all the main features of the app.
So right before moving to Nirvana I was using Todoist.
To be honest I enjoyed adding emojis to my projects and tags, getting a little elephant icon whenever I linked a note from Evernote, changing projects colors, the seamless Google Calendar integration, etc. And I knew that was only possible if I used Todoist (or some other similar app). But, during my quest to try to make Todoist behave like Nirvana, I just got frustrated. I tried hard! But it never ended up as simple and elegant as Nirvana.
So after I realized I was spending too much time tinkering with an app trying to make it become something else, I looked back at Nirvana and listed all the things I would miss if I did the switch.
These were the features I used in Todoist that I thought I would miss:
- The Groceries list => it could be implemented in Evernote or OneNote, so no big deal
- Integration with Google Calendar => I thought it was crucial, but is it really?? (I discovered it was not!)
- Emojis => no alternative, just live without it = less distraction
- HTML links on the task title => I can use the Notes field on Nirvana for links
- The little Evernote icon when I added a link to an Evernote note in Todost => no big deal
- Colors => no alternative, just live without it = less distraction
- My Book List => I used to have a book checklist on Todoist. I already use Goodreads to track my reading, so this list in Todoist was duplicated anyway.
I understood that all those bells and whistles were not an essential part of my GTD system. So I went back to Nirvana and moved everything I had in Todoist to it. This is a screenshot that shows the same projects on both apps after I did the move:
This image compares the Projects view (Work Area of Focus). You can see that my Todoist was all colorful and beautiful, but I had a lot of different filters to try to emulate Nirvana's global filter, and I got maybe too excited about creating contexts and putting them all in my favorites list on Todoist.
What I like about Nirvana is that I can see at a glance the full picture: my active projects, what is inactive, what is in “someday/maybe”, what is incubated (I use the “Later” option in Nirvana to park incubated projects). And it's super easy so go through the Next, Later and Waiting lists for each of my Areas of Focus or for all of them at once! In every view there is the option to filter by the labels (contexts) as well.
Seriously, simply classifying my projects between “Active” and “Inactive” has been a power struggle for me for years! I could never get it right! I realized I needed it to be clear and in front of me: the way Nirvana does.
Nirvana organizes the information better and that works pretty well with my agitated brain. Everything is listed in such an orderly manner: Inbox, Next, Later, Waiting, Scheduled, Someday, Projects, Reference. Projects in blue are active, Inactive projects are grey! Awesome for weekly reviews!
Also, I have a clear understanding now of the hard edges between my Calendar and my to-do list. I confess that with Todoist, given the focus it has on dates, I was “blurring” my calendar with my next actions and it was getting rather messy!
Using Todoist With Gtd
The “Focus” feature is another reason I love Nirvana! Focusing items gives them a star ⭐ and makes them appear in the Focus list. I tried to do that with my “Highlight Today” filter in Todoist, but it was too manual (I was using the priority flags to filter them.. it was not as easy and clean as Nirvana). Also in Nirvana items will show up automatically in the focus list if it's been scheduled or assigned a start date or due date. When the date arrives, the item appears in my Focus list.
It's true Nirvana lacks some hot exciting features (like Calendar integration or attachments), but it's all about having the essentials and getting rid of the superfluous.
Todoist Gtd Waiting For
After using Todoist for a while I missed something simpler with no distractions. Todoist is a good app..but..too many personalization options were making me spend too much time “tinkering” with the system instead of actually executing my next actions.
![Todoist And Gtd Todoist And Gtd](/uploads/1/1/8/2/118262824/590292748.png)
So I've finally settled with the trio:
- Google Calendar: for all events, reminders, day-time-specific stuff. (**)
- Nirvana: for all projects and next actions.
- OneDrive + OneNote: for reference and notes.
Nirvana is powerful and simple. Without a doubt an excellent implementation of the GTD framework!
(**) As a side note, although I have a personal Microsoft account my work is all about Google and it was easier to centralize both my Personal and Work Calendar in Google Calendar due to synchronization issues between Outlook and Google.
By Noisy DeadlinesMinimalist in progress, nerdy, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.
Todoist Gtd Setup
(this post originally appeared on the by.dialex.com blog here)
For many years, I have been using David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) productivity methodology. It is simple and easy to follow. All along, I tried nearly every to do list possible - Outlook, Notepad, Wanderlist, Onenote, Excel. They all felt clunky and against the beauty and simplicity of GTD. When I finally found ToDoist, I was in extasy.
ToDoist is everything I could want in a to-do list and productivity management tool - simple, elegant and quick. It gets out of your way. It has just the right amount of customization without being everything to everyone.
If you haven't used GTD, review this quick reference chart as I walk through my process. Here are my top 10 tips on how to Get Things Done with ToDoist!
1. COLLECT EVERYWHERE USING TODOISTS MANY INPUT METHODS
One of the main reasons I love ToDoist is that you can put it everywhere. Install all the clients. Keep it open on your desktop. Have it in your mail client. Have a quick email to your main projects. Here are the ways that I input my tasks using ToDoist:
- I enter most of my tasks using the PC client with Ctrl-Alt-A (which is the quick add shortcut on PC - I am sure it is similar on Mac)
- I add tasks on my mobile and iPad when I am on them (usually when out or doing the reading) using the great iOS application.
- I add tasks to my favorite projects with add task via email.
- I add tasks in Gmail with the great ToDoist Gmail plugin. Got an email with a task? Just hit the ToDoist button.
- I add tasks while browsing for a web page I need to remember via the chrome and firefoxplugins.
2. SET YOUR TODOIST PROJECTS TO BE THE MAIN CATEGORIES IN YOUR LIFE
Don't go too deep on your ToDoist Projects. I like two levels. This is because you can still group related tasks into subtasks to do grouping inside of a ToDoist Project. I have three main projects: Work, Home, and Shared (for shared projects). Under Work, I have Sales, Marketing, and Operations. Under Personal, I have Career/Coaching, Chores, and Shopping.
3. REVIEW TASK LIST EVERY DAY / EVERY WEEK USING THE IPAD APP
I love the iPad app the most for reviewing my ToDolist. I have to confess that I do this before I get out bed every day. I have found doing my review in the morning avoids the end-of-day decision fatigue (this is a real thing!) When I am reviewing, I am trying to do a few things. Reprioritize my list, move things out of my inbox to correct projects and get items that are old to the right dates. The iPad application works best for me because not only is it small and great for my pre-morning blanket wrapped to do a review, but swipe left is the quick method for moving to a new date with an awesome interface to move something to today, tomorrow, next week, next month or custom. On Sundays, I usually try to look at the whole list, not just the stuff that has fallen into today 'pile'.
4. USE FLAGS AND DRAG TO ORDER TO PRIORITIZE IN TODOIST
Task Priority is one of the difficult things in any to-do list management system. How do you keep from having 20 top priority tasks? The red, orange and yellow flags will automatically default to the top of your list if you are using priority sort (which is the default). Thus, I use the colored flags to set my top priorities. I usually set one red flag for my main thing I want to get done that day, and it is usually customer related. I set 2-3 orange flags of important tasks that should get done that day. Finally, I have a few key habits that I leave yellow. My next priority is done via the drag and drop order. Inside a flag color (including no flag), you can just drag and drop to change the order.
Skype for business web app on mac having network connectivity issues. Audio from all participants will be heard, but the Skype for Business on Mac client will only display video of the current speaker. The Web App could be used if viewing video from multiple participants at once if desired. See how to use the Web App when you have the client installed. May 07, 2020 Uninstall Skype for Business. Troubleshoot audio and video in Skype for Business. Troubleshoot connection issues in Skype for Business. Reset your PIN (Personal Identification Number) Skype for Business meeting help. Skype for Business training. Present programs in Skype for Business. Turn on error logs in Lync. Having problems with your Skype for Business calls? An Internet connection is the most likely culprit. A poor Internet connection can cause low-quality audio and video, delays, and dropped calls. During a call, the connection indicator is displayed and clicking it provides additional information. Could you please try using another Mac and see if the issue is related to the computer itself? If Skype for Business works fine in another Mac, we may need to collect three logs in the problematic Mac. Steps: Sign out Skype for Business - Terminal. Rm -rf /Library/Containers/com.microsoft.SkypeForBusiness. Killall cfprefsd.
5. SET CONTEXT AND TIME REQUIRED USING TODOIST LABELS
This may be one of my favorite things about ToDoist is the label/tagging system. This is where most people fall down on the GTD system. If you can set the context (where you are) and how much time you have (5 minutes or 60 minutes?), then you can always look at your to-do list in a 'gap' time and not have to think about what to do next. This is the key to productivity. Reduce your decisions. Know exactly what to do next. I have created color-coded labels for a few time frames from 5 to 60 minutes and a few contexts (PC, iPad, Home). You need to make your own, but as an example here is what my label bar looks like:
Todoist Gtd Forum
6. USE TODOIST'S LABEL AND RECURRENCE FEATURES FOR MANAGING HABITS
It is so easy to setup the Habit tasks in ToDoist. I try and do certain things like exercise and meditate every day. I set up a recurrence on these items using ToDoist's recurrence feature. If you want a task each day, you can just type in the date field 'Every Day starting today' or for a shortcut 'Ev Day start Today'. In fact, ToDoist can recognize most English dates like 'Each Weekday' or 'Every third Tuesday starting' or 'The first of every month.' I also use a label for my habits that is in red (see above) which easily lets me see my habits at a glance. I created a filter that shows my habits still left to be done today as follows: @Habit & (today | overdue):
7. DEFINE A SYSTEM FOR THE 3-D'S - DO, DELEGATE, DEFER
One of the key points of GTD is to be able to continually parse the flow of your life. To me, this is mostly email. I try and read my email multiple times per day (I know this goes against the convention). I have found continually parsing to be easier and less stressful to me. I try not to be interrupt driven, but when I first sit down in a gap, I process. Emails are either done in real time (if less than a 2 minute action), delegated to someone else (I use ToDoists shared projects with some of my team to assign a task. Otherwise, I just fire off an email and star it to review later), or defer it (create an action for the future in your ToDoist). At this point, if it is trash, spam or FYI, I usually just leave it read in my email box for later searching (search to me is better than filing). I do set up a tag for a future task that 'NeedsProject' or 'Someday_Maybe', as you can see from above. These are both GTD categories on how to defer items that are not tasks, but instead are containers (projects) for several tasks and items that you may eventually get to respectively.
8. NOW USE YOUR PRIORITIES AND FILTERS TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO NEXT!
Now that you have tasks in and you are ready to sit down and start working, use your filters and priorities to decide what to do. Do you only have 5 minutes? Filter for just 5-minute tasks. Sitting at your computer, filter for your computer context. Stuck at the doctor's office with only your iPhone? Filter for just your tasks labeled phone. Are you ready to just do the next thing? Pull up your Today tab in ToDoist and do your next task. Try to finish your red and orange tasks every day. Go back and look at your completed tasks on Sunday and you will be amazed how much you are getting done.
9. HERE ARE SOME OTHER RESOURCES ON TODOIST AND GTD
Todoist And Gtd
No system is perfect. You have to find a system that works for you. Before I found my system, I had read many books and tried many different things. Here are some other links to resources about ToDoist and GTD:
- Some of my methods were based on this ToDoist article on GTD.
- This article helped me with some of my contexts and filters (note that ToDoist does not let you use labels with the < symbol anymore).
- Here is a great blog post by Becky Kane (@19Kane91) about how she uses ToDoist and GTD.
Gtd Context List
10. BONUS TIP: USING A POMODORO TIMER
A Pomodoro timer is a method for driving flow - the ability to get lost in deep concentrative work where time seems to disappear, and you get tons of work done! Pomodoro is the best way I have found to get flow. The way it works is you set a timer for 25 minutes and work without breaking. Then you set another timer for 5 minutes and goof off on anything you want. You do this for four cycles and then take an extended break. Here is a quick and dirty Pomodoro Timer.
I hope your new year starts off great! But more importantly, I hope these tips will help you build a habit of organizing and attacking your tasks that will make 2016 your most productive year yet!