Here are a few tips that have worked for me to achieve the desired kind of big picture awareness and mental state suitable both for flow and for strategic thinking:
- keep a simple per-project todo list (I use a text file that I edit with emacs in text mode, one item per line. Delete when finished).
- realize that if you are procrastinating it might be because part of your brain disagrees with a decision you have made. Reflect on the decisions and uncertainties you feel, and let any objection come to the surface of your consciousness. Often the remedy is pretty quick and the procrastination disappears.
- escape the echo chamber. Maybe some people in your life are reinforcing stupid decisions or criticizing good ones. Be brutally honest with yourself and believe in yourself. Seeking social validation is in many ways a crutch.
- environment matters (people, architecture, city, flat, office, etc.). Be picky and find one that gives you the right mix of ingredients for productivity, inspiration, and happiness and doesn't make you feel bad about yourself, discouraged, etc. It may be very different than what works for other people or what is trendy.
This is a great example for those skeptics who claim there is never a magic recipe for anything. Looking back at all the times that I remember procrastinating, knowing this would have moved things forward a lot faster.
You can take this a step further and track these instances for retroactive pattern recognition and naming. Sometimes your unconscious reasons can only be named after years of subsequent life experience. Both reasons and names may be unique to you or your cohorts, which is why the all-encompassing term 'procrastination' is less than helpful.
I keep important things in mind and let the world remind me whenever I've missed anything.
I have two tools I use when this becomes unmanageable. I'll get out a pad of paper and a pen when the number of important open loops (things I can't just let go and let the world remind me of) exceeds the ability of my brain to focus on. I've had to seriously do this twice in the last two years. Open loops go one to a line, and get crossed off when they stop being open, i.e. I can leave them alone and the world will tell me when they become important again.
Second I can open up a project file. I'll start with a collection of ideas which will accrete until I'm ready to start a git repo, define some dependencies, flesh out the ideas in code. Since I started doing this, my reliance on the first tool has diminished.
Trello + Google Calendar is a big improvement over my previous, ad-hoc system.
For years, I used:
- Google Calendar for timed events
- Starred Messages in Gmail for things I'd need to reference
- Drafts in Gmail for things that needed replies
- a flat text file for misc things / things that didn't involve interation with others so didn't have emails.
The main problem with that system is that it doesn't really help with prioritization. Even things that have a date / time and go into my calendar, I needed some additional note about if they required preparation ahead of time. The text file would also regularly become cluttered with ideas I didn't have time to follow up on, that had to periodically be moved to a separate file.
Trello supports:
- Custom categories / prioritization levels
- Dates & Times
- Checklists
- Easy movement between phone + laptop
- A separate category for "long term", un-prioritized cards.
It is also perfectly functional at the free level if you don't want to pay.
So while I still star messages in Gmail if they're short-term and need to be referenced frequently, and I still use a calendar for timed events (Sunrise.am now instead of the Google Calendar interface), I've moved everything else into Trello. It also helps that I used the same two tools at work now -- I don't have to transition between two different sets of tools every day.
By not having so much stuff that it's untrackable.
Your question is too open ended. Projects? Basecamp. Todos? My own brain. Random stuff? Evernote. Files? Dropbox.
This is all fairly standard stuff, but I suspect I'd go back to my original point, which is that if you feel overwhelmed by "track"ing "everything" then there's a chance that you've just got too much stuff. Delegate. Trash things that aren't truly important. Pare down your list ruthlessly.
Work related: Jira for pretty much everything. Seriously, it's a fantastic product with insane amounts of customisation and only some quirks. The rest goes in OneNote (typically if I see something new which looks interesting but I don't have time to check it right away)
Personal: again OneNote for the same things (for example have a list of wines I really like).
Calendar-wise: my two jobs nor personal life require a full-blown calendar. I just put in in my head!
There is no single solution to track everything. And I believe there won't be, because for a tool to provide value for a specific subdomain of information, it needs to be tailored to that subdomain. For example, Evernote is great for capturing and tracking unstructured information, but bad for tracking numerical information (because aggregating numbers requires structure). If you look my list below, you see that each subdomain can have very specific use flow (e.g. passwords) and generic tool would likely to be really bad for that subdomain.
Evernote for capturing unstructured (or semi-structured) information: thoughts, links, excerpts.
Asana for tasks that need to be done.
Google Calendar for events and alerts.
Dropbox for files & media. For example, I put things like work contracts or flight tickets and other travel documents there instead of Evernote.
Keychain and 1password for passwords.
Various programs to track exercise: different programs for different sports: Strava for running, swimming and cycling, my own prototype iOS app for gym.
I've been battling with this issue for quite sometime now. I did not find the 'ultimate' solution (probably because there isn't any but self-discipline). One important tool that I found most helpful was `Reminders` on OSX, specifically the fact that I can put an alarm (one-off or recurrent) on each task. Given that Reminders are synced across devices (iPhone, iPad) and are available in the notifications center this helps me a lot when I'm on the move. One downside of using this method or any other is that your capacity to memorize the due tasks disappears as soon as you write them down. I'm not sure what's the psychological/neurological explanation for this, but it's true. If your task list is not that big, your brain is the best way to keep track of them. Otherwise be prepared to skip a few as soon as jot them down.
What I do:
I add anything associated with a date to Google Calendar.
For to-do's on my main project I use Google Tasks.
For ongoing, less important to-dos or ideas I keep a draft email and just add to the list. I reopen it and keep it minimized when I'm working from that list.
For short-tem stuff that I want to knock out I keep it in my inbox so I can knock them out quickly when I have time or I'm motivated to get a few things done.
Urgent/quick stuff I try to take care of the first time I look at it.
I send myself a quick email for everything so I don't forget, then sort it into the appropriate place above when I get a chance.
I generally stay ~close to inbox zero. This system works for me because I like everything in once place and accessible from anywhere. Additionally, all of my 5+ email accounts feed into my Gmail inbox. I don't use Gmail tabs or anything like that, I just spam/unsubscribe from most things.
I use Anki for a lot of things: Everything programming, sysadmin related, foreign words, facts I want to remember.
It's a tool for repetitive learning, but you can also use it as a snippet store, much like nvalt. The browser is excellent, it's cross platform, syncing is simple (You only need an ankiweb account).
I am building my own system that is a little bit like Evernote. I wrote a Firefox plugin for capturing clips from the web, I can upload all the eBooks, PDFs, etc., that I have accumulated, and as I search for and view stored information, my software automatically detects topics, entities, etc., and tries to pull in other information from DBPedia and from Bing search. I use simple tagging of information to collect stored information for different uses. I am just now rewriting it to be a multiple user system (I wrote it originally as a single user (me!) system).
I am trying to decide whether to try to sell it as a commercial product or open source it. The codebase is a collection of Clojure, Clojurescript, Java, and Javascript and is fairly easy to hack on.
I started tracking my daily routine (the ones that can be quantified) and built a project around that. It's now available to everyone. The code will be open sourced in a couple of months.
I use Notational Velocity (and its fork, nvALT) on Mac for almost everything. This replaced everything, including Evernote, etc. The text files are saved to git repository daily.
On Linux, I use vim (with lots of plugins that gives me similar functionality to NV).
- documents go into Google Drive (I pay £3.30/m, so get 100GB last time I checked)
- I have a Synology with 4TB, backed up to Glacier. This contains my art (huge scans) and other hacks I don't have on BitBucket or Github.
Since the Synology software is so good nowadays (and in keeping with self-hosting) I am considering putting my whole life on there.
A hangover from my gov days is "the strategy is delivery", so I get things out, see if it works, and if they don't, they save me some more note-taking and todo-ing down the line.
I think an important rule for living and working more efficiently is not tracking everything. Tracking the unimportant things is a waste of time unless you make it super easy.
For work: it depends on the company and the team.
For personal life: Google Calendar is still the best. I like creating events for things I've done. So the calendar is not only about future any more.
For both: RescueTime helps me make sure I don't waste time when I'm on my computer.
Thoughts: a to-do list is not enough. Priority and the time we actually have matters more when we want to get things done.
This works extremely well for me as i get new tasks from:
- Emails
- Meetings
More important is generating metrics about what you did with your time. I rely on a timesheet(xls with 24slots a day). Basically filling the slots upfront with task-ids when i need to plan for a few upcoming tasks, estimate effort etc. Also everyday i fill any empty timeslots in the sheet with what i did then.
2Months of this and i have:
- A better idea on my actual burn-down rate.
- Improved schedule estimates.
- No feeling of constantly being pushed to the limit.
I used to keep everything in evernote, trello, google docs, email etc.. Then I decided that I do not want my most personal information stored on someone elses computer so I moved to txt files on my local HD. I had about 5 text files going with todo.txt, weekly.txt, blog.txt. 3yearplan.txt and such. Then I just wrote a javascript app that manages tasks for me using require.js, backbone.js, underscore.js, and bootstrap. Works great, uses local storage, I'm happy.
Instead of a new tool, most people need a new system. I can't understand why GTD is not anymore in fashion (at least in HN) once it is the most efficient system I ever used. Since I implemented GTD, my life changed and I not even thought of going back.
I have a big whiteboard in my living room with three columns. To do, doing and done. Then I have loads of post-it notes. Each note has a title of what project it's for, then a brief description of what needs doing and a time estimate at the bottom. I just move 'em all along.
I keep a rough overview of that mapped out in Trello also as well which I keep in sync with my whiteboard, so that I can update it and add things whilst I'm not at home.
I use a plain text editor of my own design. The back end is written in C#, compiles with Mono, and I have front ends written in GtkSharp and WinForms. It treats files in a directory as pages in a notebook, and it automatically tracks history of edits and autosaves every few seconds.
Its primary distinguishing characteristic is that it auto-saves to two files: a plain .txt file, and a .log file containing deltas. Replaying the log file reproduces the contents of the txt file. I can scroll backwards and forwards through the log in the editor, as well as through pages (files) in the directory in modification order. By default, it opens up the most recently modified page.
Whenever I start on a new task or bug, I create a new page (with a single keystroke) and simply start writing out a TODO list or steps of investigation. As I complete items, I delete the detailed text associated with the item (leaving only the header line, moved to a DONE section), or as I discount threads of inquiry, I delete them. If needs be, I can scroll through the deltas, retracing my logic. Works great for refreshing my memory or reloading context when I need to switch to something higher priority.
By convention, I use the first line in each file as a title. I have a single keystroke that brings up a search box; the search box incrementally searches through every title of every file. Files are lazily loaded when opened. I don't browse the filesystem to open files, I open things up by title. If I need deeper search, I can grep the txt and log files in the file system; I haven't had a big enough need to add that feature directly.
The directory is stored in Dropbox for synchronization, which also makes my notes accessible on my phone. It's backed up separately.
Any conflict between .txt file and .log file is resolved by replaying the log, then appending the delta between .txt and result to the log. Thus if I make concurrent updates, or modify text files on my phone, they're still available without losing history.
I use this editor at several levels. I have some high-level pages that track broader priorities in a category, some that act as idea dumping grounds, and lots and lots of pages that involve work specific to a task.
I'm not far from considering linking it to Google Calendar - creating a text convention that can be cheaply scanned for and calendar entries created, for deadlines or whatever.
Nothing public I found was really simple and advanced at same time. Evernote, Google Keep/Task, Trello, even Jira and thousands of other things I tried. All failed - either UIX is crap or the basic things take ages.
I'm now using my own system called Kemu Note, Kemu tasks, Kemu links etc. (I'm the owner of Kemu as you can see ;) ). But it's not public yet.
I keep track of everything by using TSheets (http://www.tsheets.com). It allows me to report on time spent based on projects I've worked on. That way at the end of the week I know what I worked on and how much time was spent on everything.
Todo list never works for me, I always use a calendar (google calendar sync to lightning). For note taking, I use simplenote (nvpy as desktop client). I'm not very satisfied with simplenote, but haven't found anything better.
I personally use Trello for this. It works well on all my devices and sync immediately when I add any task in it. Also, its very easy to use. Surprising thing is I don't pay any single penny for it.
More sophisticated I think in terms of flexibility in workflows and plugin maturity. I was used to it from work, but it's really not that hard to learn.
By supplementing my working memory with task trackers, a wiki, and notes in my code.
Project overviews go into a task tracker, which is Jira for work and the ToDo app for home.
I track time constrained events on my calendar, with alerts set to go off at an interval chosen to ensure any pre-deadline tasks are completed.
I use vimwiki as my long term scrach pad, with work and home separated into separate wikis. In these I try and ensure that I can pick up any task I have worked on in the past just by reading through the appropriate page, and that I have enough cross-links to be able to dive into any subject I haven't touched in some time.
This does mean that the Wiki consumes quite a bit of time, as ensuring project notes are both complete and accurate means going back through everything and fixing assumptions.
Code notes keep track of the subtasks I need to complete in the code: I use `XXX` to delineate "complete me before releasing" tasks, and `TODO` for "look at this the next time you're working on this code". For example, I might outline the high level process first as a series of XXX comments. Then as I implement the code which replaces these comments, I will write necessary stubs with their own XXX comments on what needs to be implemented. If I write something I don't like (but it works), it gets a TODO for refactoring.
Sometimes these code comments don't even last for two minutes, but it ensures that if I have to leave the code base for a week, I can come back to it and quickly identify what I was doing and why.
External communications which require a response are all kept in my email inbox; if it's in my inbox it either needs to be reviewed or it needs a reply, upon review if it doesn't need a reply the data is moved to the appropriate location and the email is archived.
This results in a flow which revolves around getting a task (either via an interrupt or the task tracker), pulling up and reading through the appropriate project wiki page, and beginning work. The notes in the code let me know where I was in the process of completing this task, and what remains to be done.
Once a task is completed (or an interruption starts a new task), I do a bit of cleanup by updating the task tracker to reflect the work which was completed, checking code into git, close all the related windows and start on the next task.
In my job, context switches are usually triggered by in person conversations, and happen all too frequently. This is why I intentionally limit my working rate with frequent updates to the wiki and code notes, so I can get back to a task and not forget something vital because my working memory got fragmented by interruptions.
One improvement I hope to make at some point in time is to use separate windows to keep multiple tasks alive at any given time, which could reduce the extra context switch cleanup I currently perform.
- keep a simple per-project todo list (I use a text file that I edit with emacs in text mode, one item per line. Delete when finished).
- realize that if you are procrastinating it might be because part of your brain disagrees with a decision you have made. Reflect on the decisions and uncertainties you feel, and let any objection come to the surface of your consciousness. Often the remedy is pretty quick and the procrastination disappears.
- escape the echo chamber. Maybe some people in your life are reinforcing stupid decisions or criticizing good ones. Be brutally honest with yourself and believe in yourself. Seeking social validation is in many ways a crutch.
- environment matters (people, architecture, city, flat, office, etc.). Be picky and find one that gives you the right mix of ingredients for productivity, inspiration, and happiness and doesn't make you feel bad about yourself, discouraged, etc. It may be very different than what works for other people or what is trendy.