Getting Started with GTD

Intro

Hello there.

I’m Julian and I'm really pleased that you've chosen to download and listen to this episode.  I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to little 'ol me! 

If you're new here, then welcome to the Productivity Matters podcast. A podcast all about apps, products and services that help you be better at getting things done.

On this episode, I’m going to take a look at a number of things, so without further ado, let’s get started. 

So, as you may know from the last episode, I got married. It was almost two weeks ago (wow! doesn’t time fly) and it was a really magical day. Everything went according to plan, the venue looked fantastic and the bride was / is beautiful. 

We used apps to help manage all the tasks and meetings, and you can hear about it in the last episode, “We’re Getting Married”.

Now, it’s back to reality...

Getting Things Done

I’m currently reading Getting Things Done... the productivity methodology by David Allen. 

Yes. Whilst I’m a great advocate of being as efficient as possible, using apps, products and services, this is one area that I haven’t looked at. Until now. 

I’m about halfway through the book and already it’s having a effect on my thinking and I’ve made some tweaks to my workflow to better use it. I’ve also listened to some of the GTD podcast episodes to try and soak it up, as well as read some interesting blogs on the subject. 

In summary, GTD is based on storing, tracking, and retrieving the information related to the things that need to get done. Mental blocks we encounter are caused by insufficient 'front-end' planning. This means thinking in advance, generating a series of actions which can be done later without further planning. Our mind's "reminder system" is inefficient and seldom reminds us of what we need to do at the time and place when we can do it. Consequently, the "next actions" stored by context in the "trusted system" act as an external support which ensures that we are presented with the right reminders at the right time. 

I’m also amending the way I use ToDoIst to fit it into the GTD method. I’ll update you about that in a future episode. 

You can buy the book here

Getting Things Done

Apple Shortcuts

Shortcuts. It’s the app that was born out of Apple buying Workflow and integrating it into iOS. 

It’s recently been updated, adding more functionality. 

For those that don’t know, Shortcuts is a way to create small apps and launchers to get things done more easily. The best thing is you don’t need to know any coding language.

For example, you may want to take a selection of pictures, create a gif and then send it in a message.  With Shortcuts, you can do this very easily.

You use a wizard to create the flows.

I’ve created quite a few, one to record blood pressure, a couple to automatically post blogs and the best one is a script to quickly commentate on my sons football (soccer) match. 

I start with entering the name of the opposing team. A quick welcome includes the current weather conditions. 

Each action can be called from a menu and the name of the boy taking it. When a goal is scored, I enter the new score. 

Each of these are then sent to the WhatsApp group; as they happen. I do it for fun, and the parents seem to like it. So much, that they don’t even come to watch !! Maybe I should stop. 

It’s fine in good weather; but if it’s wet out I tend to be less frequent with updates!

The new update adds several new actions, the biggest of which is the ability for Shortcuts to work with the Notes app. There are now actions for Create Note, Append to Note, Find Notes, and Show Note. This is going to make both the Shortcuts app and the Notes app a lot more useful.

If you haven’t had a play, then spend some time looking at all the things that Shortcuts can offer… it’s not built into the OS, you will need to download the app, but it’s free and it’s definitely worth investing a little time to see what it can do for you.  There are plenty of pre-built Shortcuts, that you can use, and then maybe edit to build upon them for your needs.

Apple Shortcuts

Drafts 5

Drafts is a great way to capture text and has been on my iPhone for about a year. Earlier this week the developer released a version specifically for the Mac. It has all the great formatting functionality; the only thing missing at launch is the Actions - but they are on the way. When that happens, it opens up a whole new way to interact with Drafts and other apps. 

I use Drafts 5 to update a Google Sheet.  When I take a payment from a parent at my Cub group; I have a pre-formatted page, where I enter the date, amount and reason - I then run an action, which in turn calls a Zap from Zapier; and the sheet is updated.

The same for creating my monthly invoices.  Again, using a similar page to the one I just mentioned; I enter the date and number of days to be invoiced; and when I run the action, a Zap will enter this onto a new line in Sheets. A Zap, from Zapier, then picks this up and creates the invoice inside my invoicing software.  Brilliant.

One final example - returning to the Cub pack; if I want to send a group message, I can write it in advance in Drafts, and when it's time, I'll send it directly via WhatsApp, to the group.  It means I can create the message without fear of sending it in error; and if I have a task in ToDoIst to remind me to send it - then, job done!

Drafts 5

Cardhop

Cardhop - the contact manager from Flexibits, that was released on MacOS about 18 months ago, has today launched their iOS app; available for iPhone and iPad

I’ve been using it for a while, and jumped in straight away when I saw this available in the app store.  It costs £3.99, in the UK, and I believe it’s $4 in the US.  I’ve been waiting for this, as I just don’t like the standard Apple contacts app.

Like the Mac app, the iOS version of Cardhop makes it fast and easy to add a new contact or look up an existing one and it’s simple enough to use that it you may actually want to manage your contacts.

There have basically been no good contacts apps for mobile.

As I mentioned, Cardhop comes from Fantastical creator Flexibits, and is great because it lets you deal with your contacts quickly. 

At the bottom of the app, there’s a single search box that controls everything. Type a name / address / company / etc, and if there’s a matching contact it will be presented to you.

The natural language capability of Fantastical 2 is also prevalent here.  You can type commands; so typing “email Jane” will let you tap her name to immediately open up a new email - and since you can select your default email app, it’ll open it there too.

The search box also lets you add new contacts. So, start typing the name of someone who isn’t in your contacts list, it’ll automatically begin creating a new entry. You don’t have to go field by field to fill in their details, either: if you type “John Smith 01611234567 john.smith@productivitymatters.co.uk 1/1/01,” it’ll recognize those individual details as a name, phone number, email address, and birthdate, and plug them into the appropriate fields.

When you launch the app, you’ll be presented with your favourites; which is obviously blank to begin with, but is easy to add and re-order to suit you.  Click on a contact and you’ll see all the information you have for them.  Bear in mind the the app doesn’t create its own contact list.  Instead, it syncs with major contact list providers like Google and Microsoft Exchange.

Beneath the name, you’ll find the quick action buttons, which you can designate yourself in the settings.  Call, video, message, email and more, are all available.

What’s really good, is that when you are looking at a list, simply swipe the name to the right to access these quick actions, without opening the contact.

I mentioned you can email from the search, but it doesn’t stop there.

The really clever bit is in the shortcuts that you can type into the search box… enter WhatsApp Karen, and the contact card will appear, with the WhatsApp logo.  You don’t even need to enter WhatsApp - just wa and the name.

Enter Call and the contact name, and the telephone button will appear for each number you have for the contact.  Type Message and the contact name to go into iMessage.  Whilst it may take some getting into the habit, it’s a great way to interact with your contacts.

Cardhop for iOS does have one feature that the Mac app doesn’t: a business card mode. If you turn your phone into landscape, it will automatically pull up a business card with some basic contact info about yourself along with a QR code. If someone else scans the code, it’ll automatically import whatever contact info you’ve chosen to share about yourself.

I’ve only downloaded it today, but it’s already replaced the stock contacts app… Thumbs up from me for this one.

Cardhop

Thank You

And that’s it for this episode.  

Shortcuts, Getting Things Done, Cardhop and Drafts 5… I’ve covered quite a few things here and details of them all are in the show notes.

I hope you’ve found this episode interesting.

If you have any questions about anything, then please get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters or any of the other social places.

Don’t forget to follow me where you normally listen to your podcasts.

Thank you very much for listening and until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

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It's very much appreciated.  Thank you.

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The End Of The Series

Hi everyone.  Welcome to another episode from Productivity Matters.

In fact, this is the last in the current series; but don’t worry, I’ll be back in the new year. 

I've had a lot of fun making these, so in the great tradition of end of year shows; I thought I'd take look back at what I've talked about over the last 18 weeks.

What is productivity

If we're to understand how the tools and methods can help us, then we need to get to the heart of productivity, and what it actually is?

Productivity means different things to each of us; but one thing I think we can all agree on is that it’s the means to getting things done in the most efficient manner. 

It may be that the easiest way to do this is using good old-fashioned pen and paper.

The tech world has been overtaken with all sorts of apps to help us do something better. 

ToDoIst

Task managers are designed to help you make sure you've done what needs to be done.  Tasks are either one-off single jobs that need completing, or they are a bigger project broken down into more manageable chunks.

The market is a flood with task manager apps; GoodTasks, Things3, Wunderlist, and even Google have one called Keep.

I use ToDoIst for my task management; and the main reason I chose this is ease of use and the integrations into the other tools I already use.

One of the strengths of ToDoIst is the ability to use natural language to set dates and times, for reminders. It's simple to type 'Call Mum every Wednesday at 6pm'

ToDoIst will automatically create a recurring task, that appears each Wednesday. On the paid-for service, you can also set a reminder for 10 mins before (or whatever time you decide), to pop-up on your mobile phone, or desktop, so you'll never forget again.

On the paid for version you get extra functionality, including:

• Task Labels & Reminders - adding more control to the way you can filter and be reminded of tasks
• Add tasks via email - This is a good one. Simply forward emails direct to ToDoIst; either to the default Inbox, or straight into a project. A real time-saver
• Task comments & file uploads - Add extra comments to your tasks, and upload files to support the tasks
• Productivity tracking and charts
• iCal synchronization - Add your tasks into your calendar, so you can see them in one place.

I use the premium version; which at the time of recording is $36 per year (about £28).

www.todoist.com

Evernote

ToDoIst integrates nicely with Evernote, so that any reminders I set are automatically created in ToDoIst.

Evernote is my note-taking app of choice.  I have tried others, such as Bear and OneNote, but I just can't seem to get on with them as well.  Maybe that's because I've been using Evernote for so many years, and it's second nature.  Certainly, Evernote have had some negative press over this last year, with their new brand image; but the product itself is very stable.

I use Evernote for almost everything, from scanning documents to store them, for storing e-receipts that arrive by email, and their webclipper which I use to capture and save information from the web.

Evernote has a basic, free, version which will be just fine for many.  There is also a premium offering which unlocks a boatload of functionality.  

www.evernote.com

Online Security

On the subject of the web - how safe are you?  In one episode I talked about security, not only of your passwords, but also general steps you can take to make sure you don't fall for the scammers that are so prevalent, and increasingly clever, nowadays.

Staying safe online doesn't have to be hard, and must be considered all the time. 

Here are a few simple steps:

• Don't write passwords down where they can be easily found
• Never give out your credit or debit card PIN
• Change passwords frequently and
• Use different passwords everywhere
• Be aware of phishing attacks too - if an offer looks too good to be true; then it probably is.

I also talked about using multi-factor authentication, also known as two-factor authentication, as an added layer of security.  It sounds more complex than it actually is.  Simply, set up a second device to act as a barrier for the scammer.  When you log in to an online account, then you'll need to use your mobile phone to authorise the login.  Even if the scammer has your login and password, without your second device, they won't get access to your account.

A good password manager will help you to manage all your passwords - I use LastPass; but others are available, such as 1Password and Dashlane.  They're well worth investigating.

www.lastpass.com

Online Photos and Online Storage

When I looked at these, in separate episodes, I claimed that Google was the winner in both cases.  I still maintain that. As a service, Google really is second-to-none and since they are available across all platforms, then you're not constrained by the device you use.

Plus, they're free to use.  Although I did caveat that statement; since Google don't charge you, they do make their money by selling information for advertising purposes.  So, whether you class the services as free is probably semantics.  The majority of us have a Google Gmail account, or use their Photos app, or Drive, for storage. 

Or used one of their other plentiful services; like Maps; Translate and more. 

I did also look at Apples photos and Amazon also have a Photos app; which is free for Prime members.  For online storage, as well as Google Drive there are also offerings from Microsoft OneDrive, Apple (iCloud, for Apple users only), Dropbox and Box.

Fantastical 2

Time management in a busy life is important, and I use Fantastical 2 for my calendar.  

I know that each operating system has their own calendar; like Calendar on iOS, or Google Calendar; but I prefer the way Fantastical 2 can be used to enter information.  It's natural language capability means I just type the entry, without really thinking about the format.

Available on iOS and Mac, with some great Apple Watch integration; Fantastical 2 is also integrated very well with ToDoIst.

On the iOS version you can choose your default maps application, to open directions; from either Apple Maps or Google Maps. You can also choose the default browser, for opening links.

On the MacOS version, I have a work calendar that will automatically be displayed when I arrive in the office. This allows me to concentrate on what's ahead of me for the day, and not be distracted by personal events. When I return home, my personal calendar will be displayed.

Calendars can also be set up in 'sets', which allows me to limit certain calendar views. Calendars I've subscribed to can also be set up within these 'sets', so I can see them too.  The Mac app also offers the choice of light or dark theme.

This isn't a free app; like many others, but you do get a whole lot of bang for your buck.

www.flexbits.com

Notion

Billed as the workspace for all your online 'stuff'.  Lego bricks for software.  Notion can be used for pretty much anything and is possibly this years fastest growing app.  You can capture notes, add tasks, use tables, include a calendar, upload images, link to other sites and much much more.

The note-taking isn't quite as good as Evernote; in my opinion, and the task manager doesn't yet allow for recurring tasks, so is a little limited.

However, it is one app that really does cater for everyone and everything, and is definitely worth a look.

It's free to use (if you don't use up all 1000 blocks) but you can delete blocks and free up space if you need to; so it genuinely is free.

www.notion.so

Feedly, Pocket & Pocket Casts

There are two apps that I use daily, usually multiple times a day, to get my fix of the news and articles I'm interested in reading.

Feedly is a news aggregator and is brilliant at serving up the news I chose to receive.  They've recently been undergoing some enhancements, and the upcoming new version is totally brilliant.

The other app is Pocket, and they have had a makeover this year.  Pocket is where I capture all the articles and news items that I want to read later.  It syncs up to be able to read offline, if necessary, and the update makes this a seamless and smooth experience.  They have also made their read-out-loud functionality more prominent - so you have have the app speak the stories.  It's spookily good! o

Talking of reading out loud - podcasts are a great way to listen to interesting discussions, reviews or entertainment - although I don't need to tell YOU that!

Pocket Casts is a great podcast app, and has also had a new release in the last few weeks.  I use Pocket Casts daily to listen to the podcasts I subscribe too.  There are others on the market, including Castbox, Overcast and more and I will take a look at some of them in the new year.

Feedly, Pocket and Pocket Casts are all free to download and use; but they also have premium versions available.

www.feedly.com

www.getpocket.com

www.pocketcasts.com

IFTTT & Zapier

Automation is probably the biggest part of being as productive as possible.  Using technology to streamline your workflows, means you can spend more time doing what matters most.

I gave some examples of the relatively simple ways I use automation; using IFTTT (If This Then That) to update a shopping list, and using Zapier to update a Google Sheet. 

For Zapier, one of the main uses I have is to add a line to a spreadsheet whenever I buy something from Amazon.  Whenever a confirmation email is received, I have set up a Zap that will look in the email, take the information and add to a line on a Google spreadsheet.  Now, I can see at a glance what I’ve bought!

Again, both of these are free to use.  IFTTT is available via the web and as an app. Zapier is only available via the web; and does have a cost if you need more than the basics on offer. 

www.ifttt.com

www.zapier.com

Drafts 5

Drafts 5 is an app purely for capturing text.  It's brilliant at that; but with some formatting, and integrations, I can update a field on a Draft 5 document, then run an Action which will, bear with me, run a Zap, from Zapier, and add a line to a Google Sheet.  It's really quick to do, and saves having to open the sheet, navigate to the row and type the info.

I also use Drafts to add to my To Do list, in ToDoIst.  Entering the task details, I then run an action to create a task directly.

There are times when I'll receive an email with lots of different dates for various meetings.  In Drafts, I will enter each one on a separate line, along with the date and time.  I then run an action called Fantastically Good Event Parser.  Then it will take each line and create a separate event in Fantastical 2, using the natural language ability of the app.  This has saved tons of time.

Unfortunately, Drafts 5 is only available on iOS; with a Mac version in the works.  It's free to download and use, but the pro version does unlock additional functionality - but this is not necessary to get the main benefits of this great app.

www.draftsapp.com

Thank You

So, that's it.  I've looked at ToDoIst, Evernote, IFTTT, Zapier, Drafts 5, Feedly, Pocket and Pocket Casts, Google Drive,  Fantastical 2 and Notion. 

I hope you’ve found this episode, indeed, this series, interesting. 

Links to all the apps I've mentioned are in the show notes. 

If you have any questions about anything I've talked about, or have any suggestions for future episodes, then please get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters

The series will return in the new year, with a fresh look at some of these apps, and a look at more productivity apps and ideas to help you be better at getting things done.  

Of course, all the previous episodes are available to listen to wherever you normally listen to podcasts, and don’t forget to subscribe, so that you're ready for the new series.

If you've already subscribed, then thank you very much; I really do appreciate it.

Have a great time over the festive period and wishing you all a very productive New Year.

Until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

---

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The Swiss Army Knife for text

Introduction

Hi all and welcome to another episode from Productivity Matters. 

In this series I've been looking at apps that are designed to help you be more productive; to get things done as efficiently as possible.

I'm Julian, and on this episode I'm going to tell you about Drafts 5 - an app that lets you decide what to do with your text AFTER you've written it down..

Drafts 5

So, what is Drafts 5 and where can you use it?  Well, firstly, it's only available on iOS (via iPhone and iPad).  There is a Mac version coming, but it's not here yet.  It's not available on Android, Windows or the web.  It's a shame it's not everywhere, because, when you get under the bonnet (hood) and take a look, this is a very clever piece of software.

Imagine you are needing to take some notes.  They're not tasks, and they're not something you're going to do anything with immediately.  What do you do?  Fire up ToDoIst?  Open Evernote? Get a notepad?

Drafts 5 is an app that lets you type what you want, and just holds on to it, until you decide what you want to do with it.

Functionality

The application for Drafts 5 is immense.  In fact, at first look, it can do so much, it's scary.   In fact, on their website, they state that Drafts 5 is like the Swiss Army knife of text.

It's possible to create entire fully formatted, documents

When you launch the app, you are presented with an empty page, along with some navigation icons.

• Show existing documents
• Open a new document
• Get the information for the current documents
• Tags
• A character and word count
• Action button

At the bottom of the screen:

• Focus mode
• Navigation between documents
• Arrangement button
• Link
• Appearance
• General settings

Formatting and Dictation

I'll begin with the built in functionality.

• Text formatting
• Bullet points
• Bold/Italics
• Task lists
• Add web links
• Dictation - without the normal Siri limit

This last one is amazing.  You can quite literally speak, and Drafts 5 will capture it all.  You need to use grammatical words to punctuate the text, like, period or comma, but, of course, you can always go back over the text when you've finished, to format it and correct any words that were misheard.

There is also support for Apple Watch, Siri integration, iCloud sync, version history, custom app icons, different themes - yes, dark theme is available.  You can use iOS widgets for quick access to documents and more.

You can set up a text editing experience that's just how you want to use it.  There are tons of adjustments, like custom fonts, control ver spacing, line height and margins.

There are also extended options in a row above the keyboard, giving you easy access to the functionality.

If you write long-form articles, Drafts 5 gives you the ability to re-arrange complete blocks or individual lines - just by drag and dropping.  It's a great, simple, way to edit an article.

There are workspaces, which allows you to keep related documents together, and there is also tagging; helping to keep everything organised.

The power of Drafts 5 comes from the Actions catalogue.  There are so many integrations; too many to list here, that you can use to enhance the Drafts 5 capabilities.

Having said all that, let me give you some real-life examples of how I use Drafts 5.  I'm no power-user, but the way it helps me is fantastic.

Drafts 5 is available on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch

Examples

Basic

First and foremost, I use drafts to capture thoughts.  It's an app in my iPhone dock, and therefore can be reached quickly.  I just type and type and that's it.  Later, I can review and decide what to do.

ToDoIst

I also use Drafts to add to my To Do list, in ToDoIst.  Entering the task details, I then run an action to create a task directly.  I can also enter multiple tasks, one per line, and use a slightly different action to create multiple tasks in ToDoIst - that's a real time-saver.

Fantastical2

There are times when I'll receive and email with lots of different dates for various meetings.  In Drafts, I will enter each one on a separate line, along with the date and time.  I then run an action called Fantastically Good Event Parser. 

This bit is really clever - it will take each line and create a separate event in Fantasical 2, using the natural language ability of the app.  This has saved tons of time.

Automation

Those are a couple of basic applications; but it's possible to take the automation to another level.

I also use Drafts 5 to update a Google Sheet.  When I take a payment from a parent at my Cub group; I have a pre-formatted page, where I enter the date, amount and reason - I then run an action, which in turn calls a Zap from Zapier; and the sheet is updated.

How about creating an invoice?  Again, using a similar page to the one I just mentioned; I enter the date and number of days to be invoiced; and when I run the action, a Zap will enter this onto a new line in Sheets.  Another Zap then picks this up and creates the invoice inside my invoicing software.  Brilliant.

One final example - returning to the Cub pack; if I want to send a group message, I can write it in advance in Drafts, and when it's time, I'll send it directly via WhatsApp, to the group.  It means I can create the message without fear of sending it in error; and if I have a task in ToDoIst to remind me to send it - then, job done!

More

I have only scraped the surface of what Drafts 5 can do once a Draft has been created.  Other functionality includes; saving to online storage services, like Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox etc, or saving locally, to Files.

You can even integrate Drafts 5 into a Shortcut workflow, so you can retrieve a Draft document, do something with it and continue.

Cost

Almost every developer offers a free version of the app, that gives you the chance to try it before you buy.  Others have free use forever, but without the full feature set available.  Drafts 5 falls into this second category.  

You get one week of the full application, to try everything, then either pay £1.79 per month, or sign up for the annual subscription for £17.49 to get all the features.

Drafts Pro gives you the ability to edit Actions, different themes, Workspaces and more.  

Do you NEED all this?  

Many users can get by with the basic version, and quite rightly, the developer hasn't held back on the necessities; but if you feel you'll want workspaces to better organise your texts, you want the dark theme, or you'll be making use of Actions and need to edit them, then it's definitely worth the investment.

Thank You

You may have gathered that I enjoy using Drafts and I hope you’ve found this episode interesting.

Find out more about Drafts 5 at their website

If you have any questions about Drafts 5 or anything else, then please get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters

Don’t forget to subscribe where you normally listen to your podcasts and until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

Equipment I use to make my podcasts:
Blue Yeti Microphone - https://amzn.to/2R2am1N
Pop Filter - https://amzn.to/2OVMbQP
Microphone Suspension Boom Arm - https://amzn.to/2KBOVlM

If you purchase from these links then I may receive a commission.  This does not affect the price you will pay.  Thank you.