posted at 21:00:00
By Flipping Heck!

Posted In
GTD/Productivity

Update: You can see my response to GTDFrk's Comments here

There's a Meme going on over at "Getting Things Done" about your "Killer" GTD setup. I'm probably a little late to join in (hey, I'm late for everything - it's expected of me!) so I thought I'd use it as the kick in the backside I needed to write about me and my Moleskine which I was meant to do ages ago (did I mention I was always late?). So, here it is, my "Killer" GTD setup!

My Moleskine and Uniball Clear rollerball

What's all this fuss about Moleskines, they're just notebooks right?

Well, yes.

And no.

I don't know what it is a about the Moleskine exactly but there's certainly a big following for them and Wikipedia can pr....

View Full Entry

Jun

27th
2007

Site Update - Reader Survey Added

posted at 16:52:09
By Flipping Heck!

Posted In
Site News

I've just been sent my password to access the Foldera website (only been waiting for about a year for an invite!) and it got me wondering how you, my dear readers , manage your "To-Do"/task lists.

So, please vote using the new "Reader Survey" area, unless you've altered the view on the website, it's on the right-hand-side under the search box.

RSS subscribers, please visit the website to vote

Thanks!

Apr

30th
2007

11 tips for keeping your inbox clean.

posted at 12:48:20
By Flipping Heck!

Posted In
GTD/Productivity

We've all been there, all of a sudden your once empty inbox is now filling up like nobody's business and the stuff just keeps piling on top of you.

I've spoken previously about my GTD email setup and how I organise my sent emails but sometimes it's all too easy to fall off the bandwagon. Although I sometimes find that having an empty inbox is sometimes a bit freaky (I feel like I have no friends, okay?!) when it's filling up rapidly that can be just as disheartening.

Firstly, I have to admit that I'm the worlds-worst person at sorting out my personal email inbox, mainly because I never use it (I just quickly reply to the emails I want to and then I'm off mate - no computery stuff for me at home if I can avoid it thank-you-very-much!) but I'm so uptight about my work inbox it's not funny (there's currently one email in there at the moment waiting for a reply which'll I'll do and then file).

So, how can we reach a "Mind Like Water" state with our overflowing inbox? Whilst these tips won't be new to everyone, sometimes it's just nice to have....

View Full Entry

Nov

29th
2006

GTD Revisited

posted at 08:34:06
By Flipping Heck!

Posted In
GTD/Productivity

Frank Meeuwsen of "What's the next action" has emailed fellow GTD bloggers and asked them to help him celebrate his blog's second birthday by revisiting their GTD practices. In a recent podcast at 43Folders, David Allen says that it can take up to 2 years to get into the "swing" of GTD. So what better way to celebrate the "launch" of the new home of "Flipping Heck" and the birthday of "What's the next action" than to have a look back at my journey into "Getting Things Done"?

Before I start, for those of you new to "Getting Things Done" you can brush up on the terminology by reading my "What is GTD?" post.

I first read "Getting Things Done" about a year and a half ago so I'm just slightly out of David Allen's "two year" bracket but I think I've spent long enough implementing my current system (and various others too!) to answer Frank's question.

Being a web developer, I have to admit that I found the whole concept of "Contexts" within GTD pretty ....

View Full Entry

Dec

15th
2005

Organising your desktop

posted at 11:11:38
By Flipping Heck!

Posted In
GTD/Productivity

Update: Please see below for a new version

I was sick and tired of having icons stuck all over my desktop (I'm a sucker for downloading/saving stuff to the desktop for sorting "later") so I've designed some wallpaper to help me organise and manage the files on my desktop:

Organise your desktop
(click to view larger version)

The page is split up into 6 sections:

My PC - My computer, My Documents etc
To Install - Programs to install on the machine
To Delete - Unwanted programs/icons
To Read/review - Documents that require my attention
My Links - Frequently used links
Work In Progress - Things I'm currently doing

You can download a 1024x768 (yes I know but I have a crap laptop at work) version (JPEG format) from here

Update: As requested by Karen, I have moved the "To Delete" and "Work in progress" text up so it's visible on smaller screens you can dowload the new version

View Full Entry

Nov

21st
2005

Grocery Shopping Hack: Weekly Shopping Lists

posted at 01:37:18
By Flipping Heck!

Posted In
GTD/Productivity

I don't know about you but the weekly trip to the supermarket it a dreadful experience for me. Yesterday I was left with a list and asked to go. No problem except the list only had 3 things on it. Cue me wandering 'round the house for 20 minutes trying to figure out what we needed.There has recently been a conversation on the Analogue GTD group about managing Grocery/Shopping lists and I decided to take some of their advice and organise my shopping habbits.

Each week we have roughly the same thing so it seems stupid to write out a new list each time, invariably missing something off, so I give you the "Weekly Shopping List".

The list consists of all of the groceries that I tend to get every week, on the top is a small magnetic clip so I can stick it on the front of the fridge. The idea then is that whenever anyone uses something they either check it off to say it needs replacing or write down the quantity of the item needed.

View Full Entry

Oct

8th
2005

Organising your Digital Photos

posted at 10:32:23
By Flipping Heck!

Posted In
GTD/Productivity

Define your Structure.

Decide before you start how you want to structure the folders and files to put your photos in. Will each year be in its own folder? Will you organise the photos into folders by topics? Will you not bother with folders at all?

Once you have decided this, you can begin the process of sorting photos and moving them into the right folders. Here are a couple of tips to bear in mind when you're doing this

Rename files to something more appropriate rather than just using the generic names assigned by your camera.
Keep to the same naming system throughout, this'll speed up finding photos in the long run.
Append files names with the date created to assist in searching
Be ruthless, you don't have to keep everything, get rid of the photos you're not happy with. Remember you wouldn't stick all of your regular photos in an album.
As you're renaming/deleting files, why not do a bit of editing as well and get rid of that Red Eye
If you're using Windows XP, turn on the thumbnail option for the folders so you can see a preview of the photo at a glance.

Taking it Further

Whilst the "My Pictures Folder" in WindowsXP is quite handy for looking at a few images, if your collection grows then it may be worthwhile investing in some photo organising software. These allow you to add descriptions and tags to your images, allowing for easier searching and better filing. Below are s....

View Full Entry

<< Older Posts